Sahel Sounds is an American record label, based in
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, Oregon which specializes in
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
from the southern part of the
Sahara
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
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, location =
, country =
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desert.
Details
Sahel Sounds was founded by Christopher Kirkley, a self-proclaimed "amateur ethnomusicologist",
who traveled to Africa in 2008 after hearing a CD by
Afel Bocoum
Afel Bocoum (born 1955) is a musician from Mali, noted as a singer and guitarist. He began his career as a member of Ali Farka Touré's group ASCO, and Toure is often regarded as his mentor. Both men come from the town of Niafunke on the River Ni ...
. Kirkley spent almost two years in Mauritania, Mali, and Niger.
When he returned, he started the label, which releases albums frequently recorded by Kirkley in the field.
[ Some of the earliest releases were songs collected from musicians' cellphones, under the title ''Music from Saharan Cellphones''. Problems there included finding out who these artists were so he could get the right permissions and to pay them for their music; he says that the artists received 60% of the proceeds from the first album.][ One of the artists featured on these compilations was ]Mdou Moctar
Mahamadou Souleymane (born c. 16 August 1984 or 1986), known professionally as Mdou Moctar (also M.dou Mouktar), is a Tuareg songwriter and musician based in Agadez, Niger, who performs modern rock music inspired by Tuareg guitar music. His musi ...
, whom Kirkley convinced afterward to star in a remake of the Prince film '' Purple Rain''.
As an effort to steer clear of cultural appropriation, he claims complete transparency about finances, and divides all profits equally between the group and the label.
Artists
* Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla
*Ahmed Ag Kaedy
Ahmed Ag Kaedy (born 1979) is a Malian guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the leader of the group Amanar de Kidal. Originally from Kidal, he is a member of the nomadic Tuareg people, whose distinct style of rhythm and use of the guitar is oft ...
* DJ Diaki
* Etran de L'Air
* Kader Tarhanin
* Les Filles de Illighadad
* Luka Productions
*Mamman Sani
Mamman Sani is a Nigerien-Ghanaian musician. He first recorded his electronic organ music in 1978 but it remained largely obscure and undiscovered until 2013. He is considered to be an early pioneer of Synthesizer, synth music in Niger. Sani foun ...
*Mdou Moctar
Mahamadou Souleymane (born c. 16 August 1984 or 1986), known professionally as Mdou Moctar (also M.dou Mouktar), is a Tuareg songwriter and musician based in Agadez, Niger, who performs modern rock music inspired by Tuareg guitar music. His musi ...
* Tallawit Timbouctou
*Hama
Compilations
*''Music From Saharan Cellphones''
*''Music From Saharan Whatsapp''
See also
* Desert blues
Tishoumaren (ⵜⵉⵛⵓⵎⴰⵔⴻⵏ in Neo-Tifinagh script) or assouf, internationally known as desert blues, is a style of music from the Sahara region of northern and west Africa. Critics describe the music as a fusion of blues and rock mu ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
American record labels
Desert blues