Noura Mint Seymali is a nationally beloved star in Mauritania and one of its most innovative artists. She started her musical career at age 13, as a supporting vocalist to her stepmother, acclaimed artist Dimi Mint Abba.
Noura’s grandmother was one of her mentors. She taught Noura the art of playing the ardin, a nine-string harp reserved only for women. Noura’s father, distinguished composer Seymali Ould Ahmed Vall also sparked Noura’s skill as a composer.
For years, Noura and her band experimented with adapting Moorish music to various pop formations, although the band returned to actively exposing Mauritanian roots music to the world by using traditional sounds and instruments.
Her international debut album was “Tzenni” (2014), described as a mix of Mauritanian roots and psychedelic desert blues.
In 2016, Noura released “Arbina”, recorded and mixed in New York City by Tony Maimone and produced by Matthew Tinari, Noura’s drummer who also produced her international debut album “Tzenni”.
“Arbina” delved deeper into Moorish roots, reinterpreted in a contemporary context. The band featured her husband, Jeiche Ould Chighaly, on guitar, bassist Ousmane Touré and drummer Matthew Tinari.
Many of the songs on “Arbina” call out to the divine, asking for grace and protection.
(headline image: Noura Mint Seymali- Photo by Bechir Malum)
Discography:
Tarabe (2006)
El Howl (2010)
Azawan, EP (2012)
Azawan II, EP (2013)
Tzenni (Glitterbeat Records, 2014)
Arbina (Glitterbeat Records, 2016)