Mdou Moctar shared “Ibitilan,” a song set for the second installment in their Niger EP series. The Niger EP Vol. 2 is set to arrive on streaming services via Matador on October 25.
The Niger EP series contains live and alternate takes of songs from across Mahamadou “Mdou Moctar” Souleymane’s catalog. The Tuareg guitarist and his band — rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, drummer Souleymane Ibrahim and bassist Mikey Coltun — released the Niger Ep Vol. 1 digitally in August. Both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 are set for a physical release on March 10, 2023 (pre-order).
Mdou Moctar previews Vol. 2 with “Ibitilan.” Bassist and producer Mikey Coltun detailed the song:
“’Ibitlan’ is a love song. Mdou sings about his love for a woman, comparing her to a beautiful valley with a stream running through it, how her skin is a yellow flower and her smile is like lightning. This particular recording was done in Agadez in 2017 at a wedding. Mdou and I had played three weddings a day for about a month and a half on that trip. It was like bootcamp. I loved it. Ibitlan is one of Mdou’s oldest songs and is covered by pretty much every Tuareg guitarist. We’ve played versions of this song lasting over 20 minutes. It’s definitely one of my favorites to play!”
Stream “Ibitilan” below:
