Mdou Moctar is angry. The composer, singer and guitar hero Tuareg was at the time of recording his sixth album, at the end of a long tour during which his native Niger suffered a coup d’état, demonstrating that the presence of French and American soldiers in the country did not favor the stability. White hot, the breathless quartet bites into the title song calling for the awakening of African leaders, a rock blast which sets the tone for the rest of this album, the most powerful, the most intense in its discography. It is neither more nor less than a call for mobilization – for the defense of the Tamachek language on Imouhar, for example, where, past the deceptively muted introduction, thunder the drums and one of the best guitar solos heard on the album. Fierce anti-colonialist, Moctar still keeps France in his sights on this explosion named Oh Franceafter having identified it on the title song of Ilana. The Creator (2019) then in Africa victim (2021). We don’t make better committed, relevant and eloquent rock today.
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