(2019) Mdou Moctar - Ilana: The Creator

Review:
Mdou Moctar immediately stands out as one of the most innovative artists in contemporary Saharan music. His unconventional interpretations of Tuareg guitar and have pushed him to the forefront of a crowded scene.
…After a chance meeting with engineer Chris Koltay, with whom Moctar bonded over the music of ZZ Top (especially the band’s 1973 album Tres Hombres, with its own repetitive boogie guitar), the two made their way into a Detroit studio, pulled in a live band and made Ilana: The Creator. That band included Ahmoudou Madassane, known his meditative and acid-tinged soundtrack to the Saharan western Zerzura in 2018. With fiery performances, and later overdubs and rhythms recorded in Niger, a modern classic was born. At home, Mdou Moctar is a gifted musician and a performer of wedding music. He writes songs with influences that include diverse influences such as Takamba trance rhythms and the guitar-tapping technique of Eddie Van Halen, as learned from YouTube videos. (And, like Jimi Hendrix, Moctar plays a left-handed Fender Stratocaster guitar.) So feel free to come at Ilana (The Creator) any way you wish, but do it with the volume cranked.Ilana actually begins with “Kamane Tarhanin”, a song that starts out with strings and voices in the distance before the drums kick in. For the rest of the track, Moctar goes all in on energy, lets loose tidal waves of melody… do you see what I’m getting at? There is no shortage right now of proficient Saharan guitarists in the international music market, of course. Bombino springs to mind easily, as do bands like Tinariwen, Tamikrest, Imarhan, and Etran Finatawa. Each artist has a different approach, of course; Tinariwen set a precedent for melancholy blues, while Bombino’s brand of “Tuareggae” sets a brighter tone and Imarhan looks farther north for influences.

Tracklist:
01 - Kamane Tarhanin
02 - Asshet Akal
03 - Inizgam
04 - Anna
05 - Takamba
06 - Tarhatazed
07 - Wiwasharnine
08 - Ilana
09 - Tumastin

Summary:
Country: USA
Genre: psychedelic rock, world