{"title":"Mdou Moctar","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"mdou-moctar-afrique-victime-vinyl","title":"Moctar, Mdou: Afrique Victime (Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/m4uKeQmuqM0?si=MibMS0InEn_HBIhf\" height=\"300\" width=\"full\" allowfullscreen=\"\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" frameborder=\"0\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eWith \u003cem\u003eAfrique Victime\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIf \u003cem\u003eIlana\u003c\/em\u003e was a late ’60s early ’70s ZZ Top and Black Sabbath record – \u003cem\u003eAfrique Victime\u003c\/em\u003e is mid-’70s to early ’80s Van Halen meets Black Flag meets Black Uhuru. The ferocity of Moctar’s electric guitar and the band's hypnotic rhythm section are on awe-inspiring display “Chismiten” and the mournful yet incandescent title track. Elsewhere, Moctar finds inspiration in highlighting lesser-known facets of the group: “While people have gotten to know Mdou Moctar as a rock band, there is a whole different set of music with this band done on acoustic guitars, which we wanted to incorporate into this album in order to go through a sonic journey,” he says. Mdou pays homage to one of his heroes Abdallah Ag Oumbadagou, the legendary Niger musician and political revolutionary, on songs “Ya Habibti” and “Layla”. “Abdallah was a contemporary of Tinariwen and helped to pioneer the sound of Tuareg guitar music blended with drum machines and electronic sounds”.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eAfrique Victime\u003c\/em\u003e sounds and feels like a Tuareg hand reaching down from the sky, and we are very lucky for this chance to get lifted.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChismiten\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTaliat\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYa Habibti\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTala Tannam\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUntitled\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAsdikte Akal\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLayla\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAfrique Victime\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBismilahi Atagah\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e","brand":"Matador ‎","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39347672547443,"sku":"OLE1614LP","price":25.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1481\/5374\/files\/mdou-moctar-afrique-victime.jpg?v=1712212288"},{"product_id":"mdou-moctar-tears-of-injustice-vinyl","title":"Moctar, Mdou: Tears Of Injustice (Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tMUEnIBaCFU?si=L7rsN3MDpj3bxbJz\" height=\"300\" width=\"full\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eTears Of Injustice\u003c\/em\u003e is the acoustic version of \u003cem\u003eFuneral For Justice\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf \u003cem\u003eFuneral For Justice\u003c\/em\u003e was the sound of outrage, \u003cem\u003eTears Of Injustice\u003c\/em\u003e is the sound of grief.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMdou Moctar’s new album is \u003cem\u003eFuneral For Justice\u003c\/em\u003e completely re-recorded and rearranged for acoustic and traditional instruments. It is an evolution of the band’s critically-adored breakout – the meditative mirror-image to the blistering original.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn July of 2023, Mdou Moctar was on tour in the United States when the president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, was deposed by a military junta who made him prisoner at the presidential residence. They ordered the nation’s borders closed, leaving band members Mdou Moctar, Ahmoudou Madassane, and Souleymane Ibrahim unable to return home to their families. Plans to record a companion to \u003cem\u003eFuneral For Justice\u003c\/em\u003e – then still many months from release – had been in the works already, but the idea now took on new urgency and gravity. Two days after the tour wrapped in New York City, the quartet began tracking \u003cem\u003eTears Of Injustice\u003c\/em\u003e at Brooklyn’s Bunker Studio with engineer Seth Manchester.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“We wanted to make a separate version of \u003cem\u003eFuneral\u003c\/em\u003e for people to hear,” explains the band’s US-based bassist and producer, Mikey Coltun. “We’re always playing around with arrangements at shows. We wanted to prove that we could do it on a record, too. And there’s a whole other side of the band that comes out when we play a stripped down set. It becomes something new.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey chose to track \u003cem\u003eTears\u003c\/em\u003e sitting together in one room, keeping the session loose, stripped down, and spontaneous. “We didn’t really work on the arrangements prior to going in,” recalls Coltun. “We’d just play, find the feel, and do the song.” Things came together quickly, with principal recording wrapped in only two days. The hypnotic 8-minute take of ‘Imouhar’ is actually two distinct passes through the song performed in quick succession – Moctar didn’t stop playing long enough to split the takes apart. After a month, the band was able to return home to Niger and, when they did, Coltun gave Madassane a Zoom recorder to take along. The rhythm guitarist used it to record a group of Tuaregs performing call-and-response vocals, which were later added into the final mix.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn \u003cem\u003eFuneral For Justice\u003c\/em\u003e, anger at the plight of Niger and the Tuareg people is plainly expressed in the music’s volume and velocity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn \u003cem\u003eTears\u003c\/em\u003e, the songs retain that weight sans amplification. They are steeped in sadness, conveying the grief of a nation locked into a constant churn of poverty, colonial exploitation, and political upheaval. It is Tuareg protest music in raw and essential form. “When Mdou writes the lyrics, he typically writes them with an acoustic guitar. So you’re getting closer to that original moment,” says Coltun. “It retains heaviness, but it’s haunting.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlack vinyl version.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eFuneral For Justice (Injustice Version)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eImouhar (Injustice Version)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eTakoba (Injustice Version)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eSousoume Tamacheq (Injustice Version)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eImajighen (Injustice Version)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eTchinta (Injustice Version)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eOh France (Injustice Version)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eModern Slaves (Injustice Version)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e","brand":"Matador","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50388253049178,"sku":"OLE2091LP","price":26.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1481\/5374\/files\/mdou-moctar-tears-injustice.jpg?v=1740496785"},{"product_id":"mdou-moctar-ilana-creator-2026-vinyl","title":"Moctar, Mdou: Ilana (The Creator) - 2026 (Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Js7EsTTs7e0?si=xbDXzSPQwGEt9_3_\" height=\"300\" width=\"full\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlistering and hypnotic, \u003cem\u003eIlana (The Creator)\u003c\/em\u003e (2019) marked the beginning of a new chapter for Mdou Moctar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is the Nigerian guitar hero’s first album recorded with a live rock band and perfectly captures the heavy, psychedelic sound – part Tuareg desert blues, part ZZ Top – that the quartet had honed through endless touring and which would come to explosive fruition on \u003cem\u003eAfrique Victime\u003c\/em\u003e (2021) and \u003cem\u003eFuneral For Justice\u003c\/em\u003e (2024).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIlana\u003c\/em\u003e was the first step and its songs remain setlist standbys for the quartet’s soaring performances.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2026 black vinyl repress.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eKamane Tarhanin\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eAsshet Akal\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eInizgam\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eAnna\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eTakamba\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eTarhatazed\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eWiwasharnine\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eIlana\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eTumastin\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e","brand":"Matador","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53450546708826,"sku":"OLE2043LP","price":28.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1481\/5374\/files\/mdou-moctar-ilana-creator.jpg?v=1769604433"},{"product_id":"mdou-moctar-ilana-creator-2026-cd","title":"Moctar, Mdou: Ilana (The Creator) - 2026 (CD)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Js7EsTTs7e0?si=xbDXzSPQwGEt9_3_\" height=\"300\" width=\"full\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlistering and hypnotic, \u003cem\u003eIlana (The Creator)\u003c\/em\u003e (2019) marked the beginning of a new chapter for Mdou Moctar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is the Nigerian guitar hero’s first album recorded with a live rock band and perfectly captures the heavy, psychedelic sound – part Tuareg desert blues, part ZZ Top – that the quartet had honed through endless touring and which would come to explosive fruition on \u003cem\u003eAfrique Victime\u003c\/em\u003e (2021) and \u003cem\u003eFuneral For Justice\u003c\/em\u003e (2024).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIlana\u003c\/em\u003e was the first step and its songs remain setlist standbys for the quartet’s soaring performances.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eKamane Tarhanin\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eAsshet Akal\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eInizgam\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eAnna\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eTakamba\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eTarhatazed\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eWiwasharnine\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eIlana\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eTumastin\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e","brand":"Matador","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53450606805338,"sku":"OLE2043CD","price":14.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1481\/5374\/files\/mdou-moctar-ilana-creator.jpg?v=1769604433"}],"url":"https:\/\/freebirdrecords.com\/collections\/mdou-moctar.oembed","provider":"Freebird Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}