Artist: Mdou Moctar
Album: Funeral for Justice
Concert: Treefort Music Hall, October 19, 2024
Reviewer: Thomas Metzger
ALBUM REVIEW:
Mdou Moctar’s newest album Funeral for Justice is a pyrotechnic, explosive modern-day blend of Saharan blues and Jimi Hendrix, with tracks about brutal government regimes and family tradition.
Mahamadou Souleymane, better known as Mdou Moctar, is a Tuareg songwriter/musician from Niger. He made his first guitar himself, using spare pieces of wood and bicycle cables. However, the small village of Agadez he grew up in did not allow secular music, so he had to practice in secret. His practice sure paid off, as you can argue he is one of the most talented, interesting guitar players out there right now, with constant comparisons to Jimi Hendrix.
Lightning fast solos, chugging 6/4 grooves and lyrics about his home village were prominent on his last full length album Afrique Victime. Funeral for Justice takes those points and turns the amplifier up to 11. “Funeral” has Moctar singing about oppressive government coups and the longing of freedom for his people while shredding these absolutely face-melting solos, especially on the track “Imouhar,” meaning “brother(s).” The track opens with a subdued Saharan Blues riff, and group vocals come in singing:
“Imouhar, you know this indeed we have a written history/Written in books and the whole world knows it.”
Then, the track opens up as an explosion of electric guitar hitting you square in the face. After pleading to his people to not abandon their traditions, Moctar erupts into another mind-bending solo, now using his guitar to assert his frustration and persuade his people. Moctar does not hold back. You know exactly what he is feeling.
The songs on Funeral for Justice are inherently political, mostly inspired by the Nigerian government being taken over by a violent, right-wing military coup back in 2023 while touring for Afrique. It was because of this coup that Moctar and his band couldn’t return to their home country, and were afraid for the lives of their loved ones. The final track “Modern Slaves” shows Moctar yearning for peace and safety for his home, singing, “Oh world, why be so selective about human beings?/ My people are crying while you laugh.”
Moctar’s feelings about oppressive regimes on this album are relatable to anyone who has gone through it: the longing for peace and stability, and the uncertainty of what will come next. While Funeral for Justice is a cry for help and for freedom from the abuse of fascist powers, Moctar will also release Tears of Injustice in 2025, which features an entire rerecording of the album on acoustic instruments, in what Matador Records describes as “the sound of grief” and “the meditative mirror-image to the blistering original.”
CONCERT REVIEW:
While Moctar’s studio albums do a good job demonstrating his talent on guitar, where he truly shines, in my opinion, is in the live setting.
Fast-forward to October 19, 2024, Treefort Music Hall: Can and Neu playing over the house PA, providing just a small snippet of the classic sounds of the past that Moctar and Co. have adopted into their playing. While there were many events happening around the Treasure Valley that night, those who chose to see Moctar were delivered an amazing performance.
The lights go out, and a tape-loop recording consisting of chicken roosts and background wind and conversation plays over the house speakers. Moctar and his band stroll out on stage, dressed in Nigerian garments and huge white scarves. Very nonchalant, not saying much to the crowd. Just a simple smile and wave. Mdou Moctar is a man of few words, but needless to say, his playing does the talking for him.
And then, the tape loop ends and the band launches into the opening track of Funeral for Justice, and in an instant, we are 0 to 100 mph. Moctar’s fiery guitar chops light up the crowd, myself included.
While the similarities of Moctar and Hendrix are apparent, Moctar has formed his own style and path of guitar playing, borrowing the stylings of Saharan blues legend Ali Farka Touré and mashing them together with raunchy blues riffs played at the speed of light. Listening or watching him solo with no pick is enough to make even the most seasoned of guitar vets go “Holy s***!”
While Moctar may be across the world playing shows night after night, he certainly hasn’t forgotten about his people. The passion and intensity he puts in every single riff, jam and song is felt across the entire room.
And just like Hendrix had Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding laying the foundation for Hendrix to go crazy, Moctar’s backing band – rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, drummer Souleymane Ibrahim and bassist/producer Mikey Coltun – were putting in work, laying the steady 6/4 grooves for Moctar to release his anguish and frustration through his guitar. Drummer Ibrahim pounds those drums and provides an awesome mix of rock, blues, disco and Afrobeat rhythms throughout his playing. Guitarist Madassane provided the tight rhythm guitar, and bassist Coltun spawned thunderous bass that you could feel in your entire body.
It surely can’t be easy laying the foundation for a player like Moctar to do his thing, but his band members make it look so easy. With someone like Moctar taking the lead, the band needs to be rock solid and grounded, and they very much were. Songs can spin off into extended, krautrock-meets-Saharan-blues-style jams, where Moctar takes the lead and plays like his life depends on it. And in a way, it does.
About halfway through, we launch into another explosive jam. Surprisingly, about midway through the 6/4 shred-fest, the beat switches to a 4/4 disco/funk groove that couldn’t be resisted by the crowd. It was a nice foray into a style that we maybe don’t often associate with Moctar, but could be reminiscent of late-era W.I.T.C.H. (We Intend To Cause Havoc) albums.
After about an hour and 15 minutes of face-melting solos, the band exits the stage, the crowd screaming and clamoring for more. Moctar returns to the stage, solo. The crowd loses it. He slowly picks up and tunes his guitar, and in this moment of anticipation and “what will happen next,” I have never heard Treefort Music Hall so quiet. No barware clinking, no background conversations; you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was waiting in awe at what he would do next.
After the rest of the band returns, they launch into a final, atomic-level explosion of a jam, Moctar taking to the front of stage. He knows what the crowd wants, and he is feeding off it. Running both hands up and down the neck of his Olympic White Fender Strat (similar to Hendrix), Moctar shreds his most intense performance of the entire night. He wants the crowd to remember this show, and boy will it be hard to ever forget.
While Funeral for Justice is great on a nice turntable and speakers, truly nothing compares to seeing Moctar live. The jams get more intense, and the energy in the room is irresistible. The face-melting solos blasting the noggins of everyone inside Treefort Music Hall that night will linger on in the minds of everyone who was there, and I truly feel bad for anyone who wasn’t there to experience it. Moctar is a once-in-a-lifetime talent, one that I will drop everything to go see if they come to town, and so should you.
