Afrique Victime

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Afrique Victime
Studio album by
Released21 May 2021 (2021-05-21)
StudioNiamey, Niger[1]
Genre
Length41:23
LabelMatador
ProducerMichael Coltun
Mdou Moctar chronology
Ilana: The Creator
(2019)
Afrique Victime
(2021)
Funeral for Justice
(2024)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Exclaim!9/10[4]
The Guardian[5]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[6]
MusicOMH[7]
Paste9.0/10[8]
Pitchfork8.4/10[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Uncut[11]
Under the Radar[12]

Afrique Victime is the sixth album by Tuareg musician Mdou Moctar. It was released on 21 May 2021 as the artist's first album with Matador Records[13] and received positive reviews from international publications including Rolling Stone,[10] Paste,[8] Pitchfork,[9] and The Guardian.[5] The album is sung almost entirely in Tamasheq, though parts (including the name of the album and its title song) are in French.[14]

The band released a companion documentary about the making of the album, including the difficulties faced with their bandmembers living on two continents: three Nigerien musicians and one American, their producer and bassist, Mikey Coltun.[15]

Several critics added the album to their end-of-year best album lists for 2021, including the New York Times (number 5),[16] Pitchfork (number 8),[17] The Guardian (number 10),[18] Rolling Stone (number 26),[19] and Consequence (number 35).[20]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Mdou Moctar.

Afrique Victime track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Chismiten"4:58
2."Taliat"3:48
3."Ya Habibti"3:31
4."Tala Tannam"5:38
5."Untitled"1:25
6."Asdikte Akal"4:31
7."Layla"4:26
8."Afrique Victime"7:25
9."Bismilahi Atagah"5:36
Total length:41:23

Personnel[edit]

  • Mahamadou 'Mdou Moctar' Souleymane – lead guitar, vocals
  • Ahmoudou Madassane – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Michael Coltun – bass guitar, backing vocals, drum machines, production
  • Souleymane Ibrahim – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Afrique Victime
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 180
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 92
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23] 31
UK Album Sales (OCC)[24] 36
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[25] 57
UK Physical Albums (OCC)[26] 36
UK Vinyl Albums (OCC)[27] 22
UK Record Store (OCC)[28] 14
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[29] 16
UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC)[30] 2

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (2021-05-20). "Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  2. ^ "Afrique Victime by Mdou Moctar Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  3. ^ Monger, Timothy. "Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  4. ^ Khanna, Vish (17 May 2021). "Mdou Moctar Takes His Peerless Guitar Rock to New Heights on 'Afrique Victime'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime review – wild, virtuosic Tuareg blues". The Guardian. 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  6. ^ Scott, Paddy (17 May 2021). "On Afrique Victime, Mdou Moctar and his band are the true sound of youth resistance". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  7. ^ Bemrose, Bekki (19 May 2021). "Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime | Album Reviews". MusicOMH. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Mdou Moctar's Vision Blossoms into a Desert Flower on Afrique Victime". pastemagazine.com. 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  9. ^ a b "Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  10. ^ a b Grow, Kory (2021-05-20). "Mdou Moctar's 'Afrique Victime' Redefines Freedom in Rock". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  11. ^ O'Connell, Sharon (21 May 2021). "Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime". Uncut. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  12. ^ Krcatovich, Dustin (20 May 2021). "Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime (Matador) - review". Under the Radar. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Mdou Moctar Announces New Album Afrique Victime, Released Music Video For Single Tala Tannam". Guitar.com. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  14. ^ Ayers, Mike (2021-07-02). "Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime". relix. Retrieved 2021-12-09. Aside from a bit of French in spots, the songs are all sung in Tamasheq...
  15. ^ Minsker, Evan (2021-09-16). "Mdou Moctar Releases Afrique Victime Documentary: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  16. ^ Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (2021-12-02). "Best Albums of 2021". New York Times. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  17. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Pitchfork. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  18. ^ Szatan, Gabriel (2021-12-06). "The 50 best albums of 2021, No 10: Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  19. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (2021-12-03). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  20. ^ Consequence staff (2021-12-07). "Top 50 Albums of 2021". Consequence. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Sales Chart top 100". Official Charts Company. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  26. ^ "Official Physical Albums Chart top 100". Official Charts Company. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  27. ^ "Official Vinyl Albums Chart top 100". Official Charts Company. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  28. ^ "Official Record Store Chart top 100". Official Charts Company. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  29. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  30. ^ "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart top 100". Official Charts Company. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.