Noura Mint Seymali – Yenbett (Glitterbeat Records, 2025)
Visionary Mauritanian vocalist and ardin player Noura Mint Seymali returns with Yenbett. The album opens with two versions of “Lehjibb”. The first variation is brief. It presents Mint Seymali’s ardin and spacious reverb, followed by a longer, fiery, trancy adaptation with psychedelic electric guitar, heavy drums, and bass. This exemplifies the band’s extraordinary combination of Moorish griot tradition with amplified Saharan rock forms.
Yenbett builds on the modern approach Seymali established on Tzenni (2014) and Arbina (2016), tightening the interplay between the ardin melodies and the overdriven electrifying guitar lines. Throughout the album, brief interludes link the tracks. Yenbett continues with a superb set of transfixing Mauritanian desert psychedelia conducted by Noura Mint Seymali’s commanding lead vocals, engaging in call and response interaction with the backing singers. At the same time, she treats the listener to dazzling ardin performances interweaved with inventive psychedelic electric guitar lines. This is all supported by irresistible, powerful drums, percussion, bass, and, at times, joyful handclapping. The overall result is a groundbreaking, magnetic album that situates Seymali at the forefront of contemporary Saharan and world music.
Seymali comes from a noted musical family. Her father, Seymali Ould Ahmed Vall, was a composer and scholar, and her stepmother, Dimi Mint Abba, was a widely loved singer.
A practicing griot, Seymali emphasizes the role’s social function: “The griot are highly respected lineages in our culture and are a source of social cohesion and social history that endures. We are still a kind of mirror for society, reflecting back the social bonds and history to the people. It’s still the griot who are the artist celebrants of traditional weddings and ceremonies. And it’s still griot representing the culture as artist ambassadors.”
The ardin, a harp-like instrument unique to Mauritania and played only by women, remains a foundation of her sound. Seymali learned from her grandmother, Mounina, who was celebrated for her ardin performances. Seymali explains: “It’s unique to our culture and has a special place in my heart. It is played only by women. My grandmother, Mounina, first taught me to play. She was known for her singing and ardin playing and at one time was even pictured on the Mauritanian currency playing the ardin. I started playing as a child, taking lessons from her whenever I could. The sound and melodies it produces for me are so evocative of the desert and my homeland.”
Meanwhile, the band’s explosive electric drive is led by guitarist Jeich Ould Chighaly, alongside bassist Ousmane Touré and drummer/co-producer Matthew Tinari, an American who has resided in Senegal for many years. “My husband Jeich is the true rocker of the house,” laughs Seymali. “Sure, we heard Western rock music growing up to some extent and were exposed to it then and now. But also it’s important to note that Mauritanian guitar just rocks, entirely in its own right. It’s intrinsically connected.”
Seymali’s songwriting draws on love, praise, and narrative pieces, combining original lines with quoted verse in performance. Regarding the song subjects, Seymali shared: “I have songs about a wide range of topics: love songs, praise songs, songs for dancing, narrative songs. In our tradition, poetry from different sources can be stitched together in a performance. I start with a core of my own, there are lines that I write, others I quote or reference in the way a jazz musician might riff on another song in the tradition, but the composite is always a new creation and the cleverness with which a singer can synthesize poetry in a kind of musical mosaic is indeed a part of the art form.”
Mikey Coltun, known for work with Mdou Moctar, co-produced Yenbett.
Buy Yenbet.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.