more from
Sahel Sounds
We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

La Musique Electronique du Niger

by Mamman Sani

/
  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Mamman Sani's debut LP restored and remastered from the original tape material by Jessica Thompson.

    Orders ship from the Sahel Sounds office in Portland, OR every Tuesday.

    Includes unlimited streaming of La Musique Electronique du Niger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $20 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Mamman Sani's debut album available on compact disc for the first time ever.

    Orders ship from the Sahel Sounds office in Portland, OR every Tuesday.

    Includes unlimited streaming of La Musique Electronique du Niger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8 USD  or more

     

1.
Lamru 08:09
2.
Salamatu 04:46
3.
Kobon Lerai 05:12
4.
Lidda 05:27
5.
Bodo 04:16
6.
Tunan 03:15

about

Mamman Sani Abdullaye is a legendary name amongst Niger's avant garde. A pioneer of early West African electronic music, for over 30 years his instrumentals have filled the airwaves. The instrumental background drones of radio broadcasts and instrumental segue ways of TV intermissions borrow heavily from his repertoire. The dreamy organ instrumentals drift by sans comment, yet are known to all.
Mamman first found the organ in 1974.

Mamman's composes in technique that can only be called minimal, relying on the simplicity and space. It is a remarkable manipulation of sound that uses the silence to invoke the emptiness - a metaphoric desert soundscape. Unsurprisingly, his source material is folkloric Nigerien music, and many of the compositions on this record are reproductions of ancient songs brought into the modern age. Interpreting this rich and varied history of Niger's dance and song for the first time in contemporary musics, Mamman electrifies the nomadic drum of the tende, the polyphonic ballads of the Woddaabe, and the pastoral hymns of the Sahelian herders. Accompany this repertoire are a few compositions, such as Salamatu, the deeply personal love letter to an unrequited romance.

His first and only album was recorded in 1978. Mamman stepped into the studio of the National Radio with his organ, where it was transposed and overdubbed in two takes. In coordination with the Minister of Culture, the album was released in a limited series of cassettes showcasing modern Niger music. The cassette project, unfortunately, did not progress as planned, and merely a handful were released. Today his cassettes are rare objects, highly sought by fine art connoisseurs and experimental music collectors in Niamey.

credits

released April 5, 2013

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Mamman Sani Niamey, Niger

Mamman Sani Abdullaye is a legendary name amongst Niger's avant garde. A pioneer of early West African electronic music, for over 30 years his instrumentals have filled the airwaves.

contact / help

Contact Mamman Sani

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Mamman Sani recommends:

If you like Mamman Sani, you may also like: