from Sahel Sounds Label Sampler 2, released April 30, 2020
Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla plays instrumental electronic keyboard in a style known in Mauritania as WZN, or in Arabic simply “music.” Born into a musical family tradition (his father is a renowned tidnit player from Traza), today Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla is one of Mauritania’s most premiere keyboard performers. Soundtracking lavish weddings in the countries capital, Ahmedou has earned a reputation for his evocative theatrics, accentuating notes with by playing with his elbows, or tapping the keyboard with his head.

Terrouzi presents a future vision of Mauritania WZN. Indulging the digital keyboard for all its plastic sounds, accompanied with the thump and clash of programmed electronic drums, Ahmedou’s style is difficult to place. Ancient classics are transformed into baroque freakouts, with a flurry of shredding over microtonal pitch bending notes in the signature WZN style. Not content to rest solely in tradition, Ahmedou leans heavily into outernational pop music, creating anachronistic pieces that veer from 90s slow jam R&B, to bass heavy boom bap and minimal trap. A standout entry in synth music from the Sahara.