Singer Noura Mint Seymali comes from a musical family of griots in Mauritania. From her grandmother Mounina she learned to play the ardine, a nine-string harp that is traditionally played by women. Noura's father Seymali Ould Ahmed Vall studied classical Arabic music in Iraq and designed a music notation system for Moorish melodies and arranged the music for the Mauritanian national anthem. He also
… composed music for his wife Dimi Mint Abba. Noura started her musical career as a backing singer with her stepmother, but is now a national celebrity herself. The album Tzenni is the first international release. Besides bassist Ousman Touré and Senegalese drummer / producer Matthew Tinari, Noura's husband Jeiche Ould Chighaly has an important accompaniment role. In addition to his strumming on the lute-like tidinet, his frequent sounding electric guitar playing evokes associations with Tuareg guitar rock. The singer with the flexible mesmerizing singing voice and her band therefore play penetrating “tradi-modern” music, music rooted in tradition, fused with afropop and funk. A spicy spiced potpourri! (SvdP)more
