Courtesy of Noura Mint Seymali
“Noura Mint Seymali” is a psychedelic and worldly experience for your ears. This desert blues-funk band from Mauritania is composed of Noura Mint Seymali and her husband, Jeiche Ould Chigaly. The band has gotten the attention of VICE-owned online music editorial Noisey, and has been described as an artist “you need to know aboutÛ. The band are gaining traction, and they have been touring festivals all over the world this summer in order to promote Moorish music internationally: from Sziget festival in Budapest, to Urkult in Sweden, Lowlands in the Netherlands, Roskilde in Denmark, and many more.
Imagine Seymali’s husband, Jeiche, as a modern day Jimi Hendrix donned in traditional wear from Mauritania: it’s hard not to have a smile on your face. To make it even better, Jeiche Ould Chigaly’s favorite band is Dire Straits, and has been heavily influenced by them. Noura started her music career at 13 years old. Her warbling and devotional voice immediately takes your mind off the beaten track, as if you were adventuring along gargantuan sand dunes in West Africa. Noura also plays the ardine: a harp-like instrument made from two pieces of wood at an angle, with a resonator made from a gourd. The ardine is an instrument that is solely played by women in West Africa.
Despite the fact that there are no music schools in Mauritania, Noura has been able to solidify her presence and career as an artist, as it has always been a part of her life growing up (her mother was a singer, and her father wrote the national anthem). Their latest album “Tzenni”, which the couple released in 2014, is a carefully crafted work that flows easily from track to track, and each song is just as stimulating and delightful to listen to as the previous. For those who are Wes Anderson fans, I listened to this entire album over and over whilst on my train from MontrÌ©al to DC and it made me feel as if I were in The Darjeeling Limited, despite gazing upon the deciduous forests of North America.
The band describes themselves to be “In a rare merger of cultural authority and experimental prowess, Noura Mint Seymali applies the ancient musical traditions of the griot with a savvy aesthetic engagement in our contemporary moment, emerging as a powerful voice at nexus of a changing Africa.” I think this gives more than a few reasons why this band should be on your watch list for the coming years. Noura Mint Seymali will perform in Minneapolis February 19, and at UCLA on March 5.
You can listen to Noura Mint Seymali’s full album, “Tzenni”, on Spotify.
You can also listen to their “Azawan” EP (2012) and “Azawan II” album (2013) on Bandcamp.
Tracks you should listen to: El Madi, El Mougelman, Hebebeb, and Tzenni.
Visit the band’s website here!