MAURITANIA: Mauritanian singer fuses traditional and western music influences to audiences' delight

Record ID: 614679

  • Title: MAURITANIA: Mauritanian singer fuses traditional and western music influences to audiences' delight
  • Date: 3rd February 2010
  • Summary: NOUAKCHOTT, MAURITANIA (JANUARY 28, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NOURA MINT SEYMALI PERFORMING AT THE FRENCH CULTURAL CENTRE
  • Embargoed: 18th February 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mauritania
  • Country: Mauritania
  • Reuters ID: LVA6C2IDV9NIFVE0S3E358L4FC6I
  • Story Text: Mauritanian singer Noura Mint Seymali performed to an audience of music lovers at a concert in Nouakchott on Thursday (January 28th).
    The concert celebrated the release of her second album, El Hewl, meaning 'music' in local Mauritanian Arabic dialect.
    Mint Seymali comes from a long line of "griots," traditional West African musicians who pass on their skills from generation to generation, but also grew up with a range of musical influences.
    "I belong to a family of griots, they are the traditional griots (traditional West African musicians who pass on their skills from generation to generation). My father was an artist, his name was Seymane Mohammed Vall, and he was a music scholar. I remember from when I was a little girl, my father and my brothers would play a lot of modern music, using modern instruments. I enjoyed it a lot, and for a long time I wanted to perform this type of music too. That's why I started to mix traditional music with modern music, since around 2004" said Seymali.
    This has informed her music and has spurred her into bringing new blood into traditional music forms by mixing traditional Mauritanian music with elements from western music genres such as jazz and hip hop.
    The singer plays the Ardin, Mauritania's traditional harp, an instrument commonly only played by women. Her grandmother, Mounina Mint Eleia, was a famous singer and holds a particular position in the Arab world: she was one of the very first women to sing in Arabic on radio.
    Her father, Seymane Mohammed Vall, was a renowned musician and composer who also published works on Arab music theory.
    Some music experts consider Mint Seymane to have inherited much of her grandmother's talent. But the singer has her own unique style where she fuses old traditional genres with more modern styles of music like jazz and hip-hop.
    "I can't criticise Mauritanian music, it's our ancestors' music, but I would like to see it evolve. This is why I've left the traditional music aside. Now all I want to do is focus only on my type of music. If I don't like something, I start doing something else. I don't want to split my career between traditional music and what we call tradi-modern music anymore. I hope the youth will take the route of tradi-modern and leave the old music alone," Mint Seymali added.
    Mint Seymali often performs with her brothers and husband who are all also musicians and share her love of tingeing Mauritanian music with external influences.
    Her decision to fuse musical influences sets her apart from other Mauritanian singers who usually stick to purely traditional styles. Her unique fusions therefore appeal to both traditionalists who want to experience new music forms as well as youngsters who want to connect with their Mauritanian roots.
    "We, the young generation, are completely taken by tectonic, techno or hip hop, and this (Noura's music) gives us a chance to come back to our traditions, to the Mauritanian music" said one fan at the concert.
    "She talks about love and national unity, that's what I love. And in this concert hall today, we see the Pular, the Soninkes, the Moors, everybody together. And this is what Mauritania's about," added another music fan who watched Mint Seymali's performance at the French Cultural Centre in Nouakchott.
    Her new album consists of ten tracks using ideas related to love, unity, diversity and Islam's Prophet Mohammed. She is due to go on tour in West Africa and Europe as well as in her home country. The French Cultural Centre helped fund production of Mint Seymali's new album.
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