The debut tour of Mdou Moctar and the band wrapped up last month. I’ve spent the past month since the tour thinking of how best to sum up the experience. In lieu of too many words, I’ve put together this short collaborative video collage:
In the concerts, the band brought a fierceness to the stage that electrified the audiences, and myself, even after nightly shows. On the long journeys from Sweden to Portugal, we joked at the surreal cultural chasms of Europe and Niger. And throughout the multitude of problems plaguing the journey – robberies from unknown assailants, institutional bureaucracies, and predatory businesses, we kept our heads up. Touring is not easy. We’re forever indebted to the people who helped us along the way.
And we’re continuing forward. The movie is in the final stages, and will wrap up soon, with an upcoming Agadez screening. And though touring was never the intention of this site/blog/label/project, the opportunities continue to assert themselves, and Mdou will be returning for another European tour in the fall. I’ve pressed up a small quantity of Mdou’s first album, the never before released “Anar” – 8 tracks of autotuned Tuareg guitar anthems. The vinyl will be available only on the tour, via the shop, and bandcamp:
I apologize in advance for the high price, but after a series of problems on the previous tour, culminating in a $3000 car rental bill from Sixt in Denmark the tour made no money after a month work, so we’re trying to recoup some of our costs to pay for the next one. You’re encouraged to send any and all complaints to info@sixt.dk on our behalf. And be careful in dealings with the monsters of the rental car world. Here be dragons.
Well the money sucks then but you had a good tour eh?
U can get a car here one month rental free miles 1000USD van 1600USD