Audio: Noura Mint Seymali 'Azawan' [EP]

Azawan is an EP in 5 modes by Mauritanian music divaNoura Mint Seymali. Adhering to the cycle employed in traditional performance of Moorish music in Mauritania, each mode is played in sequence — a melodic orbit corresponding to the human life cycle in which once a stage is left it may not be returned to. The track names on Azawan are simply the name of the mode in which they're played. The EP represents Noura's first recording with a scaled back 5-person formation playing in the Moorish griot idiom. The name "Azawan" means "ensemble" in the Hassaniya language and is not to be confused with "Azawad," the state declared in neighboring Northern Mali by the Touareg MNLA. Stream the EP below and buy it on bandcamp.