Celebrated Tuareg Musician, Mdou Moctar, Returns With New Single 'Ibitlan'

Celebrated Nigerien-born, Tuareg musician Mdou Moctarreturns with the blazing new single "Ibitlan."

The psychedelic track sees the artist delivering electrifying guitar riffs in the Tuareg tradition. He sings passionately throughout the track, which as the artist notes, is a love song describing his lover's beauty. He further described the song in a statement via The Fader:

It's like when there's a valley, with a stream running through it, and all the plants are green. The song is about how my girlfriend is beautiful like that. Her skin is like a yellow flower, and her smile is like lightning.

The track is the artist's first since the release of his 2019 album, Ilana (The Creator), which NPR Music described as the most "insane psychedelic guitar album of the 21st century." Before then, he released 2017's Sousoume Tamachek.

Back in 2015, the artist released the memorable Tuareg remake of Prince's 1984 filmPurple Rain and Jimmy Cliff's 1973 filmThe Harder They Come, Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai, via Sahel Sounds. It was a seminal project that also produced a classic soundtrack by the same name.

Listen to Moctar's latest below, and stream his latest album Ilana above.

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