Tuareg rocker Mdou Moctar is releasing his new album Afrique Victime this Friday, May 21. It’s already gained a lot of hype through its great pre-album singles, but he’s giving us one more before we get the whole thing. The new single is called “Taliat”, and Mdou reveals:
“Taliat means woman. In our community, women are queens, they have a lot of power, that why I use the term taliat to talk about them. A woman in the Tuareg community has to be protected, but she also has to be treated as equal.”
The way that Mdou plays guitar naturally evokes the image of a flame, and he has the skills to make it intense (as on “Afrique Victime”) or soothing (as on “Tala Tannam”), but here on “Taliat” he brings a little of both. With both voice and instrument, he describes the burning passion he has for the women in his life, honours their strength, and also shows thankfulness for everything they do.
Mdou Moctar’s new album Afrique Victime comes out this Fridaym, May 21, via Matador (pre-order/save). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bandcamp.
If you’re as fascinated by the artists as we are, then we highly recommend this long-read on Dazed about him, his band, his country and Africa.
