Ilana (The Creator) | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 29, 2019 | |||
Recorded |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 38:58 | |||
Language | Berber ( Tamasheq) | |||
Label | Sahel Sounds | |||
Producer |
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Mdou Moctar chronology | ||||
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“For 48 years France has exploited the uranium in our country, and yet we still don’t have roads, medicines and in many places there is no water or electricity. France says we are independent now but we have no independence, we are modern slaves. They say this is an Africa problem, but we have had enough of what France is doing to us; it’s as if we’re still in the 15th century.”
—Vocalist Mdou Moctar on the political themes on Ilana (The Creator) [4]
Ilana (The Creator) is a 2019 studio album by Nigerien desert blues band Mdou Moctar. The album was the first where the guitarist Mdou Moctar converted his solo musical project into a full band and has received positive reviews by critics.
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Ilana (The Creator) received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 from 5 critic scores. [5] J. D. of The Economist wrote that this album "mastery of Moctar's craft" as a guitarist as this album "makes use of brilliant and dense fingerpicking as well as the power chords favoured in hard rock" [1] Reef Younis of Loud and Quiet scored this album a 7 out of 10, summing up his review "few have stories as compelling as Mdou Moctar but, as ‘Ilana (The Creator)’ testifies, he also has the Saharan sounds to back it up". [6] NPR's Bob Boilen called this "the most insane psychedelic guitar album of the 21st century" and recommended that listeners come at it "with the volume cranked". [3] Editors at Pitchfork Media scored this release 8.0 out of 10 and critic Andy Beta praised this release as "an incandescent set of guitar music with a spontaneous, celebratory air—and a latent urgency reflecting the region’s very real difficulties". [7] At PopMatters, Adriane Pontecorvo rated this album a 9 out of 10, writing that the album builds on the desert blues tradition and yet "still sounds fresh and different from anything Moctar’s contemporaries do, but it is wholly based on his considerable skill as a rock guitarist and songwriter rather than on trying to get in on current trends". [2]
All songs written by Mahamadou "Mdou Moctar" Souleymane.
Mdou Moctar
Additional personnel
Ilana (The Creator) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 29, 2019 | |||
Recorded |
| |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:58 | |||
Language | Berber ( Tamasheq) | |||
Label | Sahel Sounds | |||
Producer |
| |||
Mdou Moctar chronology | ||||
|
“For 48 years France has exploited the uranium in our country, and yet we still don’t have roads, medicines and in many places there is no water or electricity. France says we are independent now but we have no independence, we are modern slaves. They say this is an Africa problem, but we have had enough of what France is doing to us; it’s as if we’re still in the 15th century.”
—Vocalist Mdou Moctar on the political themes on Ilana (The Creator) [4]
Ilana (The Creator) is a 2019 studio album by Nigerien desert blues band Mdou Moctar. The album was the first where the guitarist Mdou Moctar converted his solo musical project into a full band and has received positive reviews by critics.
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Ilana (The Creator) received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 from 5 critic scores. [5] J. D. of The Economist wrote that this album "mastery of Moctar's craft" as a guitarist as this album "makes use of brilliant and dense fingerpicking as well as the power chords favoured in hard rock" [1] Reef Younis of Loud and Quiet scored this album a 7 out of 10, summing up his review "few have stories as compelling as Mdou Moctar but, as ‘Ilana (The Creator)’ testifies, he also has the Saharan sounds to back it up". [6] NPR's Bob Boilen called this "the most insane psychedelic guitar album of the 21st century" and recommended that listeners come at it "with the volume cranked". [3] Editors at Pitchfork Media scored this release 8.0 out of 10 and critic Andy Beta praised this release as "an incandescent set of guitar music with a spontaneous, celebratory air—and a latent urgency reflecting the region’s very real difficulties". [7] At PopMatters, Adriane Pontecorvo rated this album a 9 out of 10, writing that the album builds on the desert blues tradition and yet "still sounds fresh and different from anything Moctar’s contemporaries do, but it is wholly based on his considerable skill as a rock guitarist and songwriter rather than on trying to get in on current trends". [2]
All songs written by Mahamadou "Mdou Moctar" Souleymane.
Mdou Moctar
Additional personnel