Global Notes: Sahel Sounds
By Galilee AbdullahGlobal Notes: Sahel Sounds
By Galilee AbdullahSahel Sounds began as a blog in 2009. It’s since grown into a record
label. The blog shared field recordings. The founder, Christopher Kirkley,
still uses the platform to document recordings of the musicians he works with.
Sahel Sounds bills itself as primarily an “exploration of sound and music in
West Africa, particularly in the Sahel region of Mauritania, Mali, and Niger
via filmmaking, field recordings, visual art, mp3 archiving, cell-phone data
collection, and cross cultural experiments.”
Sahel Sounds features some of
today’s premiere Tuareg musicians, including Mdou Moctar, Les Filles de
Illighadad, Amanar de Kidal, and others. The label has also produced films,
such as the 2015 film Rain The Color Blue With A Little Red In It (Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai), starring musician Mdou
Moctar. This year, Sahel Sounds collaborates with Imouhar Studio for the film Zerzura, coming out this July. Moctar is on tour in the United
States, and will be at the Old Town School of Folk Music on June 6. We’re joined by Kirkley, an explorer, music archivist,
artist, curator, and occasional D.J.