Mahamadou Souleymane (born c. 16 August 1984[1] or 1986[2]),[1] known professionally as Mdou Moctar (also M.dou Mouktar), is a
Tuareg songwriter and musician based in
Agadez,
Niger, who performs modern rock music inspired by
Tuareg guitar music. His music first gained attention through a trading network of mobile phones and memory cards in West Africa.[3] He sings in the
Tamasheq language.[4] Moctar's fourth album, Ilana: The Creator, released in 2019, was the first to feature a full band. He plays guitar in the
takamba and
assouf styles.[4]
Biography
Mdou Moctar was born in the Nigerien village of
Tchintabaraden, and then grew up in
Arlit, a mining town.[5] After listening to artists such as
Abdallah Oumbadougou he wanted to play the guitar, but his family disapproved of electric music,[6] so he had to build his own guitar using bicycle cables for strings.[5]
His first album, Anar, was recorded in
Sokoto, Nigeria, in 2008 and prominently featured
autotuned vocals and influences from
Hausa music.[4][7][8] The album was not officially released at the time but the songs became popular across the
Sahel when they went viral through mobile phone music trading networks.[9] Many of Moctar's initial songs were shared as
MP3 files person-to-person throughout Niger via Bluetooth without his involvement.[10]
Some of the songs reached a global audience when
Sahel Sounds released them on the Music from Saharan Cellphones: Volume 1 compilation.[5] Two songs were covered with English
homophone lyrics by Brainstorm,[11] an American band from
Portland, Oregon. Anar was released on vinyl in 2014 with a high price, due to "predatory business practices" from
Sixt on Moctar's first European tour.[12]
His next album, Afelan, was recorded live in Tchintabaraden and features "rusty-edged jams and sun-weathered ballads".[13] The title track is named after a celebrated historical/folkloric hero of the
Azawough of Western Niger.[14] It contains a cover of
"Chet Boghassa" by
Tinariwen. Moctar became aware of international interest in his music in 2014:
"I first met [Christopher Kirkley of Sahel Sounds] on the mobile phone as he had called me ... It was a weird conversation, as I thought my cousin was pulling a joke on me so I hung up. This American guy calling me, saying he wanted to work with me for my music, it just couldn’t be real. He called me again and we talked. He came to visit me in my village and also sent me a lefthanded guitar, which is very hard to find in Niger. This guitar has crossed several African countries to arrive in my hands, I have been playing it ever since!"[15]
Moctar released his fifth studio album Ilana (The Creator) in 2019; it was his first studio album recorded with a full band.[16]NPR's Bob Boilen named the album "perhaps the most fiery psych-rock of the 21st century"[17] while Happy Mag placed it at no.13 on their list of "The 25 best psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s", labelling it "serious music for a serious cause."[18] Moctar's sixth album, Afrique Victime, was released via
Matador Records on 21 May 2021.[19] The album received positive reviews from international publications including Rolling Stone,[20]Paste,[21]Pitchfork,[22] and The Guardian.[23]
International tours
During February and March of 2022, Mdou Moctar was touring with sixteen dates as the opening act for
Brooklyn-based
indie rock band
Parquet Courts' North American Tour.[24] Moctar also had eight headlining shows added to the beginning and end of this tour, which would be followed up by headlining a spring 2022 European tour.[24]
The Irish leg of the tour was cancelled due to visa issues.
In 2023, Moctar embarked an American tour that included performances at the
Pitchfork Music Festival and the
Newport Folk Festival.[25] During the
2023 Nigerien coup d'état, Moctar and his band were unable to return to Niger and launched a
GoFundMe campaign on August 3, 2023 for funding to remain in the United States indefinitely.[26] By August 6, the band had raised $100,000, with musician
Jack White among the donors.[27]
Films
Moctar appeared in the short film I Sing the Desert Electric in 2013.[28] He also had the starring role in the 2015 film Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai (Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red In It).[29] The soundtrack features music performed on set and at
L'Embobineuse.[30] In 2022, Moctar appeared in a
Fender Sessions video and performed three songs from their album Afrique Victime, including the title track "Afrique Victime", "Ya Habibti" and "Chismiten".[31] Moctar recorded an
NPR Tiny Desk Concert, recorded in the winter of 2020 from a home in
Niamey, Niger and released on
NPR's website on 24 May 2021.[32]