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Mdou Moctar USA Tour 2017

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MDOU TOUR 2017

After many years, we’re proud to announce the Mdou Moctar USA tour! Mdou & the band will be starting off on the EU/UK, then headed across the USA, with shows on the West Coast, Midwest, East Coast, down to the South.

I first heard Mdou’s music in 2010, and finally met him in person two years later. During the first meeting we recorded his debut album Afelan. At the time, Sahel Sounds was a nascent label taking its first stumbling steps in a tumultuous and confusing music industry, so when Mdou asked “How can I tour in America?” I responded disparagingly: “We can work together, I can help your music to travel, but I have no idea how to make a tour happen, above all in the USA.”

At select screenings, we’ll be screening our film, the Purple Rain inspired Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai. But we also are talking about making a sequel of sorts, an ethnographic film from Mdou & the band as they cross America and explore what it means to tour in 2017. Maybe with a little bit of Spinal Tap thrown in. It is rock music, after all.

Akounak DVD

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Akounak DVD
Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai is now available!

The first ever Tuareg language fictional film, based on the legendary rock-u-drama “Purple Rain,” Akounak or “Rain the Color Blue with a Little Red in it” explores the world of a musician trying to succeed in the raucous subculture of the Niger guitar scene. The protagonist, real life musician Mdou Moctar, must battle fierce competition from jealous musicians, overcome family conflicts, endure the trials of love, and overcome his biggest rival — himself. Carried by stunning musical performances from Mdou, the film is a window into modern day Tuareg guitar and an experiment in participatory ethnographic filmmaking.

The past year, the film has toured around the world at various screening and festivals. We got to travel around with the film and meet lots of folks. Mdou got to come to the US for the first time and present the film in New York. We had loads of unexpected press, and learned that blogs are still killing it. We’ve even got to organize a few screenings for celebrities (we’re not saying who). It’s been a fun, weird journey, and we’re excited to keep moving forward – thank you for the support!

You can rent/stream from Vimeo or grab a limited edition Akounak DVD from the shop. In Tamashek, with English, French and Spanish (streaming only) subtitles.

Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai OST

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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 studio album.

The music for Akounak was recorded over the past two years. Some of the acoustic pieces were recorded on the fly, spontaneous sessions during pre-production. Other songs were recorded during the shoot itself. Some of the instrumental music is a result of running out of gas in the bush and toying around with a portable amplifier under a tree 20 kilometers outside of Agadez. The songs with the full band were recorded in Marseille at L’Embobineuse in single takes. The soundtrack was mixed by label mate and frequent collaborator Jesse Johnson of Boomarm Nation.

Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai OST is now available on vinyl from the shop and digital via bandcamp.