Mdou Moctar have announced a new album by the title of Funeral For Justice. It’s set to release May 3. The title track, “Funeral For Justice,” is also going to be released. The album was recorded at the close of two years spent touring the globe following the release of 2019’s Afrique Victime.
The music is louder, faster, and more wild; the guitar solos are feedback-scorched and the lyrics are passionately political. There’s nothing held back nor toned down.
The songs on Funeral For Justice speak without hesitation on the plight of Niger and the Tuareg people.
“This album is really different for me,” explains Moctar, the band’s singer, namesake, and indisputably iconic guitarist. “Now the problems of terrorist violence are more serious in Africa. When the U.S. and Europe came here, they said they’re going to help us, but what we see is really different. They never help us to find a solution.” The producer and bassist, Mikey Coltun, says “Mdou Moctar has been a strong anti-colonial band ever since I’ve been a part of it. France came in, fucked up the country, then said, ‘you’re free.’ and they’re not.” The song “Oh France” tackles this issue head-on.
Damon Locks on Funeral For Justice:
“There is a beauty in listening to music made in the spirit of energetic transformation. When the sounds transform the air and the listener. This record transports the listener into the heart of the music of Mdou Moctar. The blending of intention and motivation creates a burst of sound that embraces and shakes and invites one to dance! It invites one to breathe. It invites one to be in solidarity with the music. It invites one to be in touch with the human condition. What does it mean to be free in these times? Can the world be liberated from the colonial mindstate that has caused such harm and mistrust? Can we mourn our losses yet build anew to form something more astounding, more fantastic. Funeral For Justice says we can.”
A sound that carries weight makes an impact. A sound that carries time transcends time. We are not only listening to music, but we are living through it. We are living with it. We are living in it. The artist sees history and makes poetry from it for the present. Mdou Moctar’s Funeral For Justice requests your presence. Show up open to the celebration of life, loved as it should be loved. Experience the exaltation and exuberance. The words speak of ascension, awareness, sorrow, apathy, knowing, and growth. The guitars speak of power, energy, jubilation, transcendency, immediacy, and tradition. The drums and percussion mark the pulse of now as well as a timeless dance that involves us all, as it did those that came before us. The wires that carry the message feel alive with fire and purpose, explosive with possibility. This “funeral” is an acknowledgment. This “funeral” is abundant. This “funeral” overflows into the street filled with dance. This “funeral” stretches late into the night, kicking up the dirt, with the hum of a generator, an ever present member of the rhythm section. This “funeral” is a clarion call for reason and a belief that change is possible.
So join Mdou Moctar in this funeral for justice, knowing rebirth is possible. A new justice is possible. With your voice, your heart, your dance, your stomp, a new justice is born. Mdou Moctar welcome you with joy and open arms. Be here. Feel here and do, alongside this music. Don’t stand alone; join with others and do. Fight for liberation. Stand against oppression, alongside this music, and do!”
Presave Funeral For Justice here.
They will also be going on a headline tour across the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe in the summer. This includes a performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Fstival in April.
Mdou Moctar Tour Dates:
April 14: Indio, CA @ Coachella Music and Arts Festival
April 21: Indio, CA @ Coachella Music and Arts Festival
June 5: Atlantic City, NJ @ Anchor Rock Club
June 6: Harrisburg, PA @ The Abbey Bar at ABC
June 7: Richmond, VA @ Cheers Brown’s Island
June 8: Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
June 9: Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
June 11: Charleston, SC @ Pour House
June 12: Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
June 13: Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
June 14: Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo
June 15: Indiapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi
June 18: Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
June 19: Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag
June 20: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
June 21: Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall
June 22: Greenfilend, MA @ Green River Music Festival
June 23: Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
June 26: Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
June 27: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
June 28: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
July 3: London, United Kingdom @ Electric Brixton
July 7: Beuningen, Netherlands @ Down The Rabbit Hole
August 19: Berline, Germany @ Festaal Kreuzberg
August 20: Leipzig, Germany @ UT Kruzberg
August 21: Munich, Germany @ Ampere
August 22: Milan, Italy @ Magnolia Summer Stage
August 25: Paris, France @ Petit Bain
August 26: Antwerp, Belgium @ OLT Revierenhof
August 27: Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
August 30: Dorset, United Kingdom @ End of the Road Festival
August 31: Manchester, United Kingdom @ Manchester Psych Fest
September 1: Birmingham, United Kingdom
September 2: Glasgow, United Kingdom @ Saint Luke’s
September 3: Newcastle, United Kingdom @ Boiler Shop
September 4 @ Leeds, United Kingdom @ The Brudenell Social Club
Funeral For Justice Tracklist:
- Funeral For Justice
- Imouhar
- Takoba
- Sousoume
- Imagerhan
- Tchinta
- Djallo #1
- Oh France
- Modern Slaves
