Spectacular Psychedelic Roots from Mauritania

Presented in association with Batuki Music Society

"gutsy, declamatory playing and singing...Impressive." - The Guardian (UK)

Noura Mint Seymali is Mauritania's most internationally renowned performing artist. Drawing on the ancient repertoire of the Moorish griot, her band creates "a full blown sandstorm of hypnotic grooves, melding traditional Mauritanian instruments, like the ardine and tidinite, within an electrified psychedelic rock band.” (The Quietus - UK) Reared in a transitive culture where sounds from across the Sahara, the Magreb, and West Africa coalesce, Noura Mint Seymali currently drives the legacy forward as one of Mauritania's most adventurous young artists.

“The arrival of Mauritanian vocalist Noura Mint Seymali in front of Western audiences feels like the start of a new era.” - National Public Radio (USA)

Though performances at events like globalFEST (USA), Festival-au-Desert (Mali), Hayy Festival (Egypt), Jeux de Francophonie (France) and Festival Timitar (Morocco) and collaborations with artists like Tinariwen, Bassekou Kouyaté, and Baaba Maal, the band is actively exposing Mauritanian roots music to the world. In a rare merger of cultural authority and experimental prowess, Noura Mint Seymali applies the ancient musical traditions of the griot with a savvy aesthetic engagement in our contemporary moment, emerging as a powerful voice at nexus of a changing Africa.

“Seymali and her group are impeccable, a riot of traditional Mauritanian music and psychedelic rock” - The Wire (UK)