With fluid and funky rhythms, hypnotic chanting, and psych experiments, Noura Mint Seymali interprets Mauritania’s long musical tradition. She has played unforgettable concerts at both Global and Roskilde Festival, and after several years of many major festival shows, we are delighted to present her on ALICE’s intimate stage.

Mauritania, the large country on the West African coast, has a long and fascinating musical history, and Noura Mint Seymali is one of the country’s major musical stars. Born into a family of griots, who have traveled the region telling stories through song, music, and poetry for centuries, Noura Mint Seymali toured her homeland at the age of 13 with her amazing voice. At the same time, she surprised with her rare talent on the ardine – the 9-stringed harp instrument traditionally played only by women, a skill she had learned early on from her grandmother. With solid roots in the rich music culture where sounds from the Sahara, Maghreb, and West Africa blend, Noura Mint Seymali has since carried on the legacy as one of Mauritania’s most innovative and adventurous young artists.

After several years of playing traditional music together as a duo, Noura Mint Seymali started a fusion band with her husband, Jeiche Ould Chighaly. He is a true master of the ngoni-like string instrument tidinit, bringing its techniques and phrasing into a modern context on electric psych-guitar. With a well-established, funky rhythm section and Chighaly’s unique sound mirroring Noura’s vocal lines, the band respectfully modernizes the ancient music traditions into a form of Moorish psychedelic rock and Saharan funk. It’s music that is impossible to stand still to, and over the years, the band has released a series of critically acclaimed albums and toured the world extensively.

Noura Mint Seymali played unforgettable concerts at Roskilde Festival and Global in 2015 and helped open the Orange Scene with The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians the following year. After several years of major festival shows, we are excited to present Noura Mint Seymali on our intimate stage. Come and surrender to fluid and funky rhythms, hypnotic chanting, and psych experiments when one of Mauritania’s greatest musical personalities visits ALICE in March.

ALICE at Stairway
While the concert hall at Nørre Allé 7 is undergoing renovation, ALICE is located at the music venue Stairway in Vanløse.