Mdou Moctar is a guitar-shredding genius currently based in Agadez, Niger. A self-taught semi-nomadic Tuareg, he plays in a traditional Takamba style which, when paired with electric guitar, gets seriously psychedelic. Coming from a conservative religious family, he mostly played weddings and recorded a couple albums - Afelan, a live album with fiery guitar blasting out over an ecstatic crowd, and Anar, a much more tender mostly acoustic affair with autotuned vocals. His music was passed around via on SD cards and Bluetooth phone file-sharing in Mali and Niger until it came to the attention of Christopher Kirkley, whose Sahel Sounds label has been mining the deserts of western Sahara for contemporary takes on traditional north African music. He got in touch with Mdou, who couldn’t believe anyone was contacting him about his music and hung up on Christopher. Eventually he not only convinced Mdou he was legit but even convinced him to star in an adaptation of Purple Rain and record a soundtrack for it. Most recently, Mdou recorded the epic Ilana (The Creator) in Detroit.