Afrique Victime

Raw electric folk-outs are the order of the day: “Ya Habibti” sounds improvised in its introductory section, while “Layla” (not that one) is marked by a terrifically jagged, clawing playing style.... — The Wire, June 2021 More…

Release Date: 21st May 2021
Catalogue No: OLE1614LP
Label: Matador

Presto Recording of the Week

28th May 2021
Pitchfork

Best New Music
Presto Recordings of the Year

Finalist 2021

1. Chismiten

2. Taliat

3. Ya Habibti

4. Tala Tannam

5. Untitled

6. Asdikte Akal

7. Layla

8. Afrique Victime

9. Bismilahi Atagah

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Recording of the Week, Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime

28th May 2021

The Nigerien singer, songwriter and electric guitarist unleashes his fiery sixth full-length record, in some of the most spirited rock music you'll hear all year.

One of the pioneers of modern day Tuareg guitar music / Desert Blues. For fans of Ali Farka Touré, Fatoumata Diawara & Tinariwen.

With Afrique Victime the prodigious Tuareg guitarist and songwriter rips a new hole in the sky – boldly reforging contemporary Saharan music and “rock music” by melding guitar pyrotechnics, full-blast noise, and field recordings with poetic meditations on love, religion, women's rights, inequality, and Western Africa’s exploitation at the hands of colonial powers.

The music listeners are the beneficiaries of the staggeringly powerful do-it-yourself musical ethic of Mdou Moctar – the man and the band – who’ve worked so hard to bring the spirits of families and communities in Niger to the West. Afrique Victime sounds and feels like a Tuareg hand reaching down from the sky, and we are very lucky for this chance to get lifted.

Reviews

June 2021

Raw electric folk-outs are the order of the day: “Ya Habibti” sounds improvised in its introductory section, while “Layla” (not that one) is marked by a terrifically jagged, clawing playing style. For all that Moctar stands out among the present-day crop of Tuareg blues and post-blues acts by offering the largest, riffiest rock moments, he can also be lower-key and tender.

28th May 2021

Moctar’s equal appreciation of both the traditional sounds of his country and of Western guitar gods past is extremely palpable; there’s not an ounce of cynicism in his music. Whether he’s singing about the injustices faced by his people, reminiscing about his family back home, or in the middle of a fiery guitar solo, this is some of the most spirited music you’ll hear all year.

20th May 2021

The Tuareg guitarist and his bandmates deliver the fullest picture of his gifts yet. Recorded piecemeal during tour breaks, the album captures the group’s easy chemistry and explosive energy.

July 2021

Like the sand dunes of the Sahara itself, Mdou Moctar is still scorchingly hot…

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Afrique Victime

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Recording of the Week, Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime

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Afrique Victime

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