The music of the Nigerino Mdou Moctar, guitarist and leader of the homonymous band, has always had two faces: the electric and the acoustic one, the sound of a crowded club and that of a camp at night, music for weddings and that for funeral.
If last year's album Funeral for Justice He had the furious sound of the protest, the new Tears of Injustice It tells what happens the next day, when you meet again and seek comfort and strength in friends, remembering who has fallen on the field and cursing those who are in power.
Recorded at the beginning of 2023, Funeral for Justice It was the band's seventh album, the third for the Matador label, an explosive mix of psychedelic rock, Tuareg's desert blues, stratospheric solos worthy of Prince. In July of that year Moctar and a piece of his band, namely the rhythmic guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane and the drummer Souleyman Ibrahim found themselves exiled after the coup d'état that led to the deposition of the president of the Niger Mohamed Bazoum and the closure of the borders (the bassist Mikey Coltuno lives in the United States).
After the tour of Funeralthe band then found himself playing in a Brooklyn study and, as Coltun said, “it was a rather tense session, everyone was looking for news about phones. And then we turned off the Wi-Fi and focused on the songs, even if the boys did not know if they would eventually be able to go home ».
The songs that have affected, often within a single take are acoustic versions of the pieces of Funeral. They have put their hand back to arrangements and structures, making them play less explosive, but not less powerful for this. The result will like to love lovers, to those who appreciate contemporary and explorers of the inner spaces. “We have tried to put all our energy in Funeral for Justice To make it left and danceable, “said Moctar. “Now we want me to listen and capture all the words you sing.”
The five minutes of Imouharone of the “missiles” of Funeralare reimmaginated in a new shape, until they reach eight minutes and to make it come to mind now Neil Young to Laurel Canyon, now a desert landscape, with the electric solos replaced by acoustic guitars and distant drums.
The protest song against colonialism Oh France He opens with an solo put in a loop before finding his own groove. If the electric version brought into mind a punch raised after launching a Molotov, the acoustic one is based on the voices in unison and on a sort of calm fury. And at the bottom of the album it arrives Modern Slavesa piece on the ability to react to despair by joining your friends and making splendid music, it doesn't matter with what instruments.
From Rolling Stone Us.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
