I’m sure Mdou Moctar would sound great in Madison Square
Garden—he’s been playing bigger and bigger venues--and while he
has claimed he doesn’t really know much about rock 'n' roll, he and
his band understand the same thing that rock’s biggest and best do:
loud guitars rule, no need to overthink it. But as a proud Tuareg
Nigerien artist, there’s something fitting and evocative about him
sitting by the Niger River at dawn, playing an intimate set, sitting
cross legged near a fire. Or maybe it’s just beautiful songs played
in beautiful scenery, no need to overthink it.
At any rate, this
morning Mdou Moctar released a video of a 20-minute, four-song set,
played at dawn on the banks of the Niger and it’s so great that the
entire concept of the Tiny Desk concert—music but in the
stultifying environment of an office!—now seems suspect. The songs,
from the group’s latest album
Afrique Victime, are reworked
for the setting, and the goats that roll up seem to enjoy it well
enough, for a moment anyway.
Until you get a
chance to see them in an arena, enjoy Mdou Moctar:
