Mdou Moctar at Ascend Amphitheater, 5/2/2019
One of the most fascinating breakout acts in recent memory is left-handed six-string virtuoso Mdou Moctar of Agadez, Niger. He has blazed quite the trail through the clubs, halls and theaters of North America in 2019. Operating at a clip not seen by an overseas group since the brief, explosive reign of Israel’s Monotonix a decade ago, Moctar and his four-piece band have played approximately 270 gigs in the past 365 days. The 33-year-old musician’s Mercy Lounge show Monday with Boogarins (a psych-rock juggernaut from Goiânia, Brazil) marks his third appearance in Nashville since January. He played a show organized by arts nonprofit FMRL at Little Harpeth Brewing first, then returned in May to open for Tame Impala at Ascend Amphitheater.
Moctar is a member of an ethnic group called the Tuareg, a nomadic people spread across five countries in the Sahara, and he sings in a language called Tamasheq. Growing up in a religious family not keen on music, he clandestinely built his first electric guitar and honed his expressive, hypnotic playing style performing at weddings during the 2000s. He fused traditional Tuareg music with newer technologies like Auto-Tune, and became a local sensation through file-sharing on cellphones. He crossed paths with Christopher Kirkley, a Portland, Ore., musicologist traveling the area looking for intriguing musicians to signal-boost on his Sahel Sounds label (named for the sprawling north-central African region encompassing Niger and parts of 13 other nations).
Kirkley wrote and directed a 2015 Tamasheq-language homage to Prince’s Purple Rain titled Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai, starring Moctar as the motorcycle-riding hero. (The film’s title, because there’s no Tamasheq word for “purple,” translates to “rain the color of blue with a little red in it.”) This past spring, Sahel Sounds issued Ilana: The Creator, a blistering nine-song studio LP that is Moctar’s most hi-fi recording to date and first album to get a wide-scale release internationally.
Even when his face is partially obscured by the combined turban-and-veil (called a tagelmust) customary for Tuareg men, Moctar is a naturally charismatic performer. He’s a soulful shredder who makes it look effortless, and his shows are ecstatic communal experiences full of passion and movement. Ahead of his Mercy Lounge gig, on a break from recording sessions in New York with Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Will Oldham), Moctar spoke via phone about his origins, travels, future plans and more. (Special thanks to Sahel Sounds for facilitating, and friend of the Scene Nita Schriver for assisting with translation from French.)
Because the Tuareg are nomadic by nature, does the traveling-band lifestyle come naturally to you?
Yes. It’s cool. A crossing of cultures.
What’s the experience of touring and performing for audiences in the United States been like for you?
People are very happy with the music I’m giving them. Even though they don’t [fully comprehend] the message I’m transmitting, they like the melody. It’s very touching. I’m here to share the joy and show them what I’m capable of. I’m proud to say that a lot of my shows are sold-out.
It’s reassuring to know you’ve been treated well.
Yeah, people appreciate it. I’m a very open person. As soon as I finish the concert, I come down to greet my fans, sign autographs, take pictures.
What’s been hard about being so far from home for so long?
Touring is hard work, takes lots of energy and courage. Of course I get calls from my family — “Oh, we miss you” — and it’s touching, but work is work.
Could you expand on the messages about women’s issues on the Ilana album?
I have sympathy for women, children and older people. I like to encourage women to become artists, to encourage them to have a full life.
You have a big heart.
That’s my idea in life. Right now I’m building a school for girls, because [where I’m from] there are no high schools for girls. They have to be sent away and … there can be problems. If her parents are in the bush and she doesn’t have enough money, she [might end up] sleeping with someone … and if she gets pregnant it’s a big shame for her and her parents. The girl might not be able to get married. [So] I’ve bought the land to build this school, and have started construction on [it].
That interests me personally. How can people donate money?
Women are suffering … and when I’m home I go to hospitals in poor areas, but I don’t do it in front of cameras. I don’t do it so the world will praise me. I really don’t know how to ask for money, since I don’t make a lot of [it], but a percentage [of what I make] goes toward the school. And I sell Tuareg jewelry.
Is Agadez peaceful? Safe for foreigners to visit?
The media says things that aren’t true, to prevent people from going. [Bass player] Mikey [Coltun] has been there three times. France gets political, [discouraging] people from going, [saying] “They’re criminals.” … There are criminals everywhere. We don’t make arms. Those are made here [in the U.S.] We make music. But we don’t have diplomats to spread our message.
Some Americans think Africa is a country, which it’s obviously not, it’s a continent.
Yes. It’s many countries. There are customs that I don’t know anything about. Africa is vast.
Did Tuareg electric-guitar contemporaries like Bombino help show that a career in music could be possible?
Yes, Bombino I’ve known about for a long time. He’s from the same place as I am.
So you didn’t listen to Western rock growing up?
No, never.
When did you first hear it?
Four years ago: Jimi Hendrix. Three years ago: Eddie Van Halen.
And Prince? Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai was the first I heard of you.
I didn’t know about him. I was explaining my life circumstances [to the filmmakers], and that’s how it came up, the idea for the movie. I’d love to make more films.
You were also the first Tuareg guitarist I’d heard to incorporate elements like Auto-Tune and synth instruments into your arrangements. How did that come to be?
I’m a curious person and just wondered how Tuareg music would sound with Auto-Tune, so that’s what pushed me to it. But from my first album to Ilana, there’s not one that’s the same. I’m always looking for new things. It’s my nature.
Is it ever overwhelming to have access to all the music and equipment you do now?
I know my genres, and I know my limits. I know which instruments I shouldn’t touch. Not to say they’re not good, but they’re not for me, so if something is not to my taste I leave it alone. When you go into a shop to buy a guitar you don’t try every single guitar. It’s the same for music. You’re not obligated.
Is there a dream musician or band you’d like to perform or collaborate with?
Eddie Van Halen I’d love to open for. I wish I could’ve seen Hendrix.
What are some of your favorite sights you’ve seen, and food you’ve eaten, on the road?
Tuareg men don’t speak about food — sorry! I really, really liked Disney World … [at Epcot’s Spaceship Earth attraction], seeing how the world started, the pyramids, then [getting] in something like a plane and going all the way up to the stars, as if it’s real. I was overwhelmed! In Portland we slid on ice, with these shoes with something like a blade. …
Ice skating?
Yes! I did it for a week. I started cautiously, but [by] the fourth day I was going by myself and people were surprised how quickly I had picked it up. When I was skating, I forgot about everything, it felt like flying. I’m from the desert, so [to me] it was incredible.
Do you see music as a long-term career?
I don’t see music or travel as work. It’s just what we do. The magic of it is the connection with people. When you strike the guitar and the sound travels … it’s like medicine. It calms people, makes them happy. I’m glad I have a guitar and not a weapon.
