In the two decades since he made his first guitar out of handmade bicycle wires and discarded wood, Mdou Moctar’s music has spread like a psychedelic force across the Sahara. Despite his humble origins, Moctar – a self-taught musician born in Abalak, a town in the southwest of Niger – is regarded as one of the most respected guitarists working today, with last year’s album Afrique Victime propelling his band to international success.

His latest release Niger EP Vol. 1 is a compilation of six tracks recorded between 2017-2020, documenting the band at weddings, picnics, rehearsals, and even impromptu house concerts. Fusing traditional songwriting from his native Tuareg culture (a nomadic group who inhabit a vast southern stretch of the Sahara) with soulful vocals and shredding guitar solos, the EP is psychoactive and heartfelt; Moctar’s guitar work is a searing and spellbinding thing, always the star of the show.

Elsewhere, Animalistic Beliefs share a frenetic debut, Dylan Fraser drops a heartfelt release, and Stella Explorer’s EP is mesmerising and expansive.

STELLA EXPLORER

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS, MERDEKA

DIAMANDA GALÁS, BROKEN GARGOYLES

DYLAN FRASER, 2030 REVOLUTION

KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH, LET’S TURN IT INTO SOUND

MDOU MOCTAR, NIGER EP VOL 1

STELLA EXPLORER, DORKAY HOUSE