Hot on the heels of the release of his critically acclaimed sixth album Afrique Victime, Mdou Moctar has announced spring 2022 UK and European tour dates. The UK leg will see Moctar and his band – composed of rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, bassist Mikey Coltun and drummer Souleymane Ibrahim – bring their renowned virtuoso performance to Brighton, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester, culminating in a show at London’s Oslo on April 14. A full list of upcoming dates can be found below.
Recorded across four studios and two continents, Afrique Victime has drawn universal praise as a powerful rallying call and innovative musical synthesis – a melding of guitar pyrotechnics and full-blast noise with poetic meditations on love, inequality, and Western Africa’s exploitation at the hands of colonial powers.
Earlier in May, Moctar broadcast a live performance filmed over three consecutive nights in Niamey, Niger. The i Paper described it as: “A beautiful, accidental party in the Sahara (…) Moctar is a magnetic, if unlikely, rock star on the brink of a global breakthrough”, while The Spectator noted: “The introductory screen text for the performance explained that what had been intended to be a single performance ended up being three on consecutive nights, and that kids came from all around, attracted by the noise. I was sceptical about that: kids? Really? But a substantial part of the crowd that gathered really was actual kids. And at the start of the final song, ‘Chet Boghassa’, they ran to the empty space in front of the band and danced in the way that only kids do: unselfconsciously and with giddy abandon. It was a joyful end to a brilliant performance.”
Afrique Victime is result of the combined efforts of Mdou and the members of the band that shares his name: rhythm guitarist and longstanding collaborator Ahmoudou Madassane, who helped form the revolutionary first woman-fronted Tuareg guitar band Les Filles De Illighadad; drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, also a member of both the well-known Niger band, Sultanat Star De L'air and the longest running wedding band in Agadez; and producer and bassist Mikey Coltun who over the past three years has played over 500 shows on three continents as Mdou Moctar’s bassist, road manager, producer/recording engineer, and friend. Coltun recorded and produced Afrique Victime around the band’s travels in 2019 – working in studios, apartments, hotel rooms, venue backstages, and in field recordings in Niger.
The music listeners are the beneficiaries of the staggeringly powerful do-it-yourself musical ethic of Mdou Moctar – the man and the band – who’ve worked so hard to bring the spirits of families and communities in Niger to the West. Afrique Victime sounds and feels like a Tuareg hand reaching down from the sky, and we are very lucky for this chance to get lifted.
TOUR DATES
North American tour dates:
02.09 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
03.03 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
04.09 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
05.09 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
07.09 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
08.09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
10.09 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
11.09 – Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts
12.09 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
14.09 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Café & Music Hall
15.09 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
17.09 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
18.09 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
20.09 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
21.09 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
22.09 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
23.09 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival
24.09 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
25.09 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
26.09 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
28.09 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
29.09 – Oakland, CA @ Starline
01.10 – Pioneertown, CA @ Desert Daze Pre-Party
02.10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
UK & European tour dates:
01.04 - Het Bos – Antwerpen (B)
02.04 - AB-club – Brussels (B)
03.04 - Bumann - Köln (D)
04.04 - Paradiso – Amsterdam (NL)
05.04 - Effenaar – Eindhoven (NL)
06.04 - Komedia – Brighton (UK)
07.04 - Hare & Hounds – Birmingham (UK)
08.04 - The Sugar Club – Dublin (EIR)
09.04 - Ulster Sports Club – Belfast (UK)
10.04 - Drygate – Glasgow (UK)
11.04 - The Brudenell Social Club – Leeds (UK)
12.04 - YES – Manchester (UK)
14.04 - Oslo – London (UK)
15.04 - La cave aux Poètes – Roubaix/Lille (F)
16.04 - Le Hasard Ludique – Paris (F)
17.04 - Doornroosje - Nijmegen (NL)
18.04 - Molotow - Hamburg (D)
19.04 - Alice – Copenhagen (DK)
20.04 - Nefertiti – Gothenburg (S)
21.04 - Blaa – Oslo (N)
22.04 - Fasching – Stockholm (S)
23.04 - Plan B – Malmö (S)
24.04 - Frannz Club – Berlin (D)
25.04 - UT Connewitz - Leipzig (D)
Recorded across four studios and two continents, Afrique Victime has drawn universal praise as a powerful rallying call and innovative musical synthesis – a melding of guitar pyrotechnics and full-blast noise with poetic meditations on love, inequality, and Western Africa’s exploitation at the hands of colonial powers.
Earlier in May, Moctar broadcast a live performance filmed over three consecutive nights in Niamey, Niger. The i Paper described it as: “A beautiful, accidental party in the Sahara (…) Moctar is a magnetic, if unlikely, rock star on the brink of a global breakthrough”, while The Spectator noted: “The introductory screen text for the performance explained that what had been intended to be a single performance ended up being three on consecutive nights, and that kids came from all around, attracted by the noise. I was sceptical about that: kids? Really? But a substantial part of the crowd that gathered really was actual kids. And at the start of the final song, ‘Chet Boghassa’, they ran to the empty space in front of the band and danced in the way that only kids do: unselfconsciously and with giddy abandon. It was a joyful end to a brilliant performance.”
Afrique Victime is result of the combined efforts of Mdou and the members of the band that shares his name: rhythm guitarist and longstanding collaborator Ahmoudou Madassane, who helped form the revolutionary first woman-fronted Tuareg guitar band Les Filles De Illighadad; drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, also a member of both the well-known Niger band, Sultanat Star De L'air and the longest running wedding band in Agadez; and producer and bassist Mikey Coltun who over the past three years has played over 500 shows on three continents as Mdou Moctar’s bassist, road manager, producer/recording engineer, and friend. Coltun recorded and produced Afrique Victime around the band’s travels in 2019 – working in studios, apartments, hotel rooms, venue backstages, and in field recordings in Niger.
The music listeners are the beneficiaries of the staggeringly powerful do-it-yourself musical ethic of Mdou Moctar – the man and the band – who’ve worked so hard to bring the spirits of families and communities in Niger to the West. Afrique Victime sounds and feels like a Tuareg hand reaching down from the sky, and we are very lucky for this chance to get lifted.
TOUR DATES
North American tour dates:
02.09 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
03.03 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
04.09 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
05.09 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
07.09 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
08.09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
10.09 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
11.09 – Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts
12.09 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
14.09 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Café & Music Hall
15.09 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
17.09 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
18.09 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
20.09 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
21.09 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
22.09 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
23.09 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival
24.09 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
25.09 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
26.09 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
28.09 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
29.09 – Oakland, CA @ Starline
01.10 – Pioneertown, CA @ Desert Daze Pre-Party
02.10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
UK & European tour dates:
01.04 - Het Bos – Antwerpen (B)
02.04 - AB-club – Brussels (B)
03.04 - Bumann - Köln (D)
04.04 - Paradiso – Amsterdam (NL)
05.04 - Effenaar – Eindhoven (NL)
06.04 - Komedia – Brighton (UK)
07.04 - Hare & Hounds – Birmingham (UK)
08.04 - The Sugar Club – Dublin (EIR)
09.04 - Ulster Sports Club – Belfast (UK)
10.04 - Drygate – Glasgow (UK)
11.04 - The Brudenell Social Club – Leeds (UK)
12.04 - YES – Manchester (UK)
14.04 - Oslo – London (UK)
15.04 - La cave aux Poètes – Roubaix/Lille (F)
16.04 - Le Hasard Ludique – Paris (F)
17.04 - Doornroosje - Nijmegen (NL)
18.04 - Molotow - Hamburg (D)
19.04 - Alice – Copenhagen (DK)
20.04 - Nefertiti – Gothenburg (S)
21.04 - Blaa – Oslo (N)
22.04 - Fasching – Stockholm (S)
23.04 - Plan B – Malmö (S)
24.04 - Frannz Club – Berlin (D)
25.04 - UT Connewitz - Leipzig (D)
