Guéreh on the Dancefloor: Noura Mint Seymali Revives a Forgotten Classic

After a nine-year recording hiatus, Mauritanian musician and storyteller Noura Mint Seymali returns with “Guéreh”, the first single from her upcoming album Yenbett, due in November 2025. The track reinterprets a traditional wedding dance from the town of Atar in Mauritania’s Adrar region, originally popularized in the 1970s by blind tindit (Moorish lute) player Jeich Ould Abba.

Now, Seymali and her band, led by electric guitarist Jeich Ould Chighaly and co-produced by longtime drummer Matthew Tinari and Mdou Moctar bassist Mikey Coltun, breathe new life into the song with a contemporary, electric arrangement that remains rooted in Mauritanian heritage. Joining the recording is tindit player Jeich Ould Baddu, a relative of Ould Abba.

The music video for “Guéreh” captures a live community celebration in Atar, featuring locals invited via word-of-mouth and loudspeaker. Tinari recounts how they aimed to create a “relived community interpretation” by involving elders and families with ties to the original tune. The video moves between oasis landscapes and nighttime wedding festivities.

Watch the “Guéreh” video:

Lyrically, the track references the storyteller tradition of real-time praise poetry. Seymali riffs on a line addressed to a dancer named Souleyman, immortalizing his moves in a call-and-response chant:
“Souleyman is dancing now, go, Souleyman!”

Yenbett (which means “it grows” in Hassaniya Arabic) was recorded largely at home in Nuakchott. It marks a significant evolution in Seymali’s sound. The new album features contributions from local musicians, friends, and family. Notably, it fuses traditional musician-storyteller forms with spontaneous, home-studio experimentation.

The core band, Chighaly (guitar), Ousmane Toure (bass), and Tinari (drums), returns alongside guest appearances that reflect the project’s deep community ties. In addition to “Guéreh”, the album includes a rare recorded performance of “El Vaïs” by Chighaly, as well as fan favorites like “Ch’tib (Naha)” and “Hagala Geyeul.”

Seymali also demonstrates her mastery of the ardin (Moorish harp) on “Tassirit,” a technically demanding song traditionally used to test the skill of aspiring musician storytellers. Interludes drawn from late-night jam sessions further link the tracks with modal reflections and improvisations.