Guitar Phenom Mdou Moctar Brings A ‘Funeral for Justice’ To the Paradise
There aren’t many musicians who can pull off what Mdou Moctar exhibits on a guitar. The Nigerien native has an approach to the instrument that’s completely unique while incorporating stylistic elements from the music of the Tuareg people, which is the ethnic group he’s a part of. He doesn’t strictly limit himself to blues scales and his way of improvising sets himself apart from other guitarists. Moctar is also very consistent in the quality of his creative output while maintaining an anti-authoritarian message of hope and unity, which is evident in his seventh album Funeral for Justice that came out via Matador Records on May 3. As part of a tour with his band in support of the full-length release, Moctar is going to be doing what he does best on June 23 at the Paradise Rock Club located on 969 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.
Going along with the messaging I just mentioned, Moctar’s new record provides commentary on the difficulties within his home country of Niger and the Tuareg community he’s a part of. There’s a major anti-colonialism aesthetic as well that critiques the foreign policies of countries who have affected the African continent in numerous ways.
“This album is really different for me,” Moctar explains about the messaging behind Funeral for Justice. “Now the problems of terrorist violence are more serious in Africa. When the United States and Europe came here, they said they’re going to help us, but what we see is really different. They never help us to find a solution.”
Moctar wasn’t alone in the making of the album with the rest of his band consisting of multi-instrumentalist Mikey Coltun, drummer & djembe player Souleymane Ibrahim and rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane contributing to the recordings with the process taking place in a home studio in New York City. Coltun handled the production & engineering as well while Heba Kadry did the mastering and Seth Manchester, who is based out of Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket, did the mixing.
“Mdou Moctar has been a strong anti-colonial band ever since I’ve been a part of it,” Coltun mentions about both the band’s collective mindset and the album’s tone. “France came in, fucked up the country, then said ‘you’re free.’ And they’re not.”
Along with the title track, other highlights off of the album include “Imouhar, “Takoba” and “Oh France”. With this being said, I recommend listening to Funeral for Justice from beginning to end in order to get the full experience. I also recommend showing up to the Paradise right at 8pm this Sunday night to check out the opening act, which is the Tacoma, Washington based alternative artist Justin R. Cruz Gallego. For now, stream a few songs off of the full-length at the link below and we’ll see you at the show.
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