Tuareg guitar has become one of the most popular folk music in the contemporary Sahara. Originally political ballads, created in exile in Libya, today the sound has expanded to encompass everything from introspective love songs, blistering psychedelic rock, and synthesizer and drum machine. At its core, the music still relies on poetry to transmit a message, carried by the pentatonic solos of a guitar.
Browse the Sahel Sounds archive below for an extensive collection of posts, recordings, and albums about the genre.
Video of Fatou Seidi Ghali from Les Filles de Illighadad, the tuareg guitar and tende duo from central Niger. Fatou is featured on the recent LP of the same name. The above footage was shot by neopan kollektiv for the upcoming film [play][record] - a story of sahel sounds. Les…
Les Filles de Illighadad by Fatou Seidi Ghali & Alamnou Akrouni The new record of Fatou Seidi Ghali and Alamnou Akrouni - "Les Filles de Illighadad" - might be called "traditional music," for lack of a better word. It's that music that fills the day to day aspect, a constant…
The sand in Mauritania always carries the scent of the sea. You can tell you're far from the iron-rich dust of Timbouctou. Sitting under a tent in a wide empty space of sand and brush, dominated by hulking concrete half finished mansions, I meet with Tuareg guitarist and longtime collaborator…
Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai or "Rain the Color Blue with a Little Red in it," is Mdou Moctar's feature length fiction film. It is largely a musical film, and like any musical film now has a soundtrack - featuring new compositions by the band, in what is effectively their first…
After nearly a year from our shoot, we're pleased to announce the premiere of our film. Starring Mdou Moctar, a longtime Sahel Sounds artist and collaborator, Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai ("Rain the Color Blue with a little Red in it") is the fictional tale of a young guitarist trying to…
? Music video treatment for "Ataraghine", Hama's synth composition featured on the new LP. A cover of a song by Aghaly Bekaye. Featuring footage of Hama in action with images from Niger's Cure Salée, edited together for some desert psychedelia.