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WATCH MDOU MOCTAR LIVE AT THE NIGER RIVER
Last winter, bassist Mikey Coltun travelled to Niamey, Niger to join his bandmates – Mdou Moctar, Ahmoudou Madassane, and Souleymane Ibrahim – and to prepare for the release of the group’s Matador Records debut, Afrique Victime.
To date, that trip has yielded a documentary, a Tiny Desk (Home) concert, and an impromptu concert. And somehow, the best is still to come.
Today, you can watch “Mdou Moctar: Live at the Niger River. Filmed at dawn beside a campfire and a pot of Tuareg tea, the set captures stripped-down generator-powered performances of the songs “Tala Tannam,” “Bissmilahi Atagh,” “Ya Habibti,” and “Chismiten.”
From Mikey Coltun:
Before it was decided that it was too unsafe for us to travel together outside the Niger capital, Niamey, we were planning to do concerts in villages throughout Niger, all with beautiful scenery. When Ahmoudou and I spent some time together at the beginning of the trip, we went location scouting in Niamey to see how we can achieve something similar while staying around the capital.
A friend of ours had taken us to a place on the outskirts of Niamey, “In the bush”. This land was right on the Niger River: a river flowing through Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria. Brainstorming different locations for filming, we came up with the idea to film a few songs at this location as the sun was coming up one morning.
On the night before I departed Niger, we played a late concert, loaded everything into Mdou’s car, packed in there all together, and dropped off the gear to the location about 30 minutes away. Mdou decided to sleep on location with the gear so none of it gets stolen. The rest of us woke up the next morning at 4am, got into the car, picked up breakfast at a bakery, and drove to the location.
We set up quickly as we didn’t want to lose filming the sun coming up. We made a fire to keep us warm and also to keep the Tuareg tea brewing while we played. As we started playing “Tala Tannam” the sun came up and the two-colored Saharan bird, the pied crow, the symbol for Mdou Moctar, flew above us. Midway through the session we were greeted by a pack of goats coming towards us from who knows where. They stopped and listened for a bit. Totally spontaneous, as things usually are for the Mdou Moctar group. This session proved to be one of the most beautiful performances we’ve played together.
Released in June, Mdou Moctar’s Afrique Victime was met with widespread critical acclaim, receiving a Best New Music nod from Pitchfork and favorable reviews from the likes of MOJO, Uncut, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The Wire and many others. The album has amassed over 2.7 million global streams to date. It has received several “Best of 2021 So Far” nods so far, including from Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Paste and others.
Radiohead present Kid A Mnesia Exhibition
Radiohead and Epic Games Publishing are proud to present KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION: an upside-down digital/analogue universe created from original artwork by Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood and sound design by Nigel Godrich to commemorate 21 years of Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac albums.
KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION will be available beginning November 18th as a free download for PlayStation 5, PC and Mac at EPIC GAMES STORE.
Some two years in the making, KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION was originally conceived as a physical installation debuting in London and designed for portability, for possible travel to New York, Tokyo, Paris and so on.
A confluence of events including but not limited to laws of zoning and physics and Covid-19 would conspire to thwart those best laid plans, moving KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION beyond the physical world. Thom and Stanley, along with Kid A and Amnesiac producer Nigel, would join forces with video/computer artist and creative director Sean Evans, theatre set designer Christine Jones, interactive producer Matthew Davis, his studio [namethemachine], and game developers Arbitrarily Good Productions to reimagine KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION in a non-corporeal form that would enhance and emphasize the inseparable nature of these sounds and visions. Finally, Epic Games Publishing would be enlisted to put it all out into the world.
Everything experienced within KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION is sourced directly from the original artwork and multitrack recordings of those fourth and fifth Radiohead? albums—all rebuilt from the original elements in a new controlled space without the limitations of stereo sound or LP/CD packaging.
KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION can be considered a mutant re-engineering of KID A MNESIA, the multiple format triple-album release marking the 21st anniversary of Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac albums, released November 5th via XL Recordings. KID A MNESIA collects Radiohead’s fourth and fifth albums alongside the debut of a newly compiled third disc titled Kid Amnesiae. Exclusive to this release, Kid Amnesiae is comprised of unearthed material culled from the Kid A / Amnesiac sessions. Along with alternate versions and elements of Kid A and Amnesiac album tracks and B-Sides, Kid Amnesiae features the never-before-heard If You Say the Word (available now as a digital single) and a previously unreleased studio recording of Follow Me Around
Pinegrove Announce New Album and New Tour Dates. Release single 'Alaska'
New Jersey-based group Pinegrove announced their new album 11:11 will come out on January 28th through Rough Trade Records.
Self-produced with mixing by Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie, The Decemberists, Tegan & Sara), 11:11 is the band’s fifth studio album following 2020’s Marigold.
They also shared their lead single Alaska a gallop of dense, bracing guitar-fueled rock that lurches out of the gate with tectonic force, boasting hooks at every turn.
Additionally, Pinegrove confirmed two Canadian shows to take place in February in Toronto (February 12th @ Phoenix) and Montreal (February 14th – L’astral)
Ruthven Live at 180 The Strand
Paul Institute and XL Recordings are pleased to announce the premiere of Paul Institute Presents: Ruthven Live at 180 The Strand. Available to stream now via FACT, the live recordings sees singer-songwriter and producer Ruthven perform a stunning live rendition of his new single Don’t Keep It To Yourself and two never-before-heard tracks ‘123 Days’ and ‘The Window’ at the London’s cultural venue, 180 The Strand.
Ruthven is joined by a full live band including Ben Reed, the bass guitarist behind Frank Ocean’s album Blonde & Endles, Berwyn & Pa Salieu’s musical direct Avi Barath on keys, drummer to Puma Blue and Nilufer Yanya Ellis Dupuy, These Ghosts’ guitarist Calum Duncan, and backing vocalist to the likes of Nao, Nicola Sipprell. Together, the musicians showcase the multi-layered production in Ruthven’s music; a sound that takes the DNA of iconic R&B classics by the likes of Marvin Gaye, Peter Gabriel, and filters them through a modern lens to create music that is truly timeless.
Speaking on the recording, Ruthven says “Going through these songs with a band woke me up a bit – I think I’d forgotten how much I enjoy playing and singing with a band while I’ve been in album and recording mode but I think that I’m all for moving further in this direction for a bit”
In addition to the live performance, you can stream an exclusive ‘In Conversation’ interview between Ruthven and Paul Institute founder A. K. Paul via FACT. The duo delve into a wide range of topics from the inception of the Ruthven and Paul Institute relationship, musical inspirations, fatherhood, and producing music during Ruthven’s time as a member of the London Fire Brigade.
Lucy Dacus Releases “Thumbs Again” and Announces rescheduled Toronto and Montreal shows.
Before there was news of Home Video, an album which captured the complexities of Lucy Dacus formative years growing up in Richmond, VA, leading her to be named “one of the best songwriters of her generation” (Rolling Stone), Lucy presented the long-awaited “Thumbs” to the world.
Debuted on tour in 2018 while on the road with boygenius, “Thumbs” became a fan favourite, immediately and deeply impacting audiences: “Depending on what you’ve been through in your life, those words might leave you weeping in public, too,” commented Stereogum. Lucy now releases a full-band version of the arresting original, titled Thumbs Again Here, the simple instrumental backbone of “Thumbs” is filled out with electric guitar, synth, and drums and is how many have heard the song on Lucy’s recent tour. Listen to Lucy delve deep into “Thumbs” via the recently released Song Exploder episode.
Following last week’s performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Lucy announces a February 2022 North American tour, which includes rescheduled dates for five shows including Toronto (March 1st – Danforth Music Hall) and Montreal (March 2nd – Corona Theatre).
