Ilana (The Creator)

Ilana (The Creator) is a 2019 studio album by Nigerien desert blues band Mdou Moctar. This was the first album where the Mdou Moctar turned into a full band, the album has received positive reviews by critics.

Background
Mdou Moctar released his debut album in 2008, titled Anar, he then re-released Anar before creating the soundtrack of Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai. The album is Moctar's third album. In 2019, Mdou Moctar turned into an official band, adding the bassist Mike Coltun, the drummer Mazawadje Aboubacar Ibrahim, and the guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane. The album was the first studio-recorded album by Mdou Moctar.

Recording process
The album was recorded in Detroit with studio producer Chris Koltay. According to the record label Sahel Sounds, they "lived in the studio for a week, [and] play[ed] into the early hours". After recording the songs, the band returned to Niger to add additional guitar solos, overdubs of percussion, and a "general ambiance of Agadez wedding vibes".

Tracks
Ilana (The Creator) has a total of nine songs, including:

"Kamane Tarhanin"
The lead single Kamane Tarhanin was described by music website Stereogum as "hypnotic, [and] plung[es] forward with a spontaneous urgency". The song has various chanting sounds, with "sounds of Saharan tradition". Moctar said, "I’m just an ambassador, like a messenger of music, telling what is happening in my world".

"Tarhatezed"
The single starts with a guitar solo, later including drums and bass, another guitar solo is also spotted halfway and in the end of the song.

Release and touring
Mdou Moctar included a tour for the album, the tour starts in the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 2019, and ends in Hotel Vegas, Austin, Texas on April 25, 2019.

Reception
J. D. of The Economist wrote that this album was a "mastery of Moctar's craft" as a guitarist, as this album "makes use of brilliant and dense fingerpicking as well as the power chords favoured in hard rock". Reef Younis of Loud and Quiet scored this album a 7 out of 10, summing up his review "few have stories as compelling as Mdou Moctar but, as ‘Ilana (The Creator)’ testifies, he also has the Saharan sounds to back it up". NPR's Bob Boilen called this "the most insane psychedelic guitar album of the 21st century" and recommended that listeners come at it "with the volume cranked". Editors at Pitchfork Media scored this release an 8 out of 10, and critic Andy Beta praised this release as "an incandescent set of guitar music with a spontaneous, celebratory air—and a latent urgency reflecting the region’s very real difficulties". At PopMatters, Adriane Pontecorvo rated this album a 9 out of 10, writing that the album builds on the desert blues tradition and yet "still sounds fresh and different from anything Moctar’s contemporaries do". She also stated that "Moctar goes all in on energy, lets loose tidal waves of melody, and shreds on electric guitar as only he can."

Track listing
All songs written by Mahamadou "Mdou Moctar" Souleymane.
 * 1) "Kamane Tarhanin" – 5:08
 * 2) "Asshet Akal" – 4:51
 * 3) "Inizgam" – 1:24
 * 4) "Anna" – 4:33
 * 5) "Takamba" – 2:50
 * 6) "Tarhatazed" – 7:27
 * 7) "Wiwasharnine" – 3:38
 * 8) "Ilana" – 4:46
 * 9) "Tumastin" – 4:21

Personnel
Mdou Moctar
 * Mikey Coltun – bass guitar, recording, production
 * Mazawadje Aboubacar Ibrahim – drums
 * Ahmoudou Madassane – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
 * Mdou Moctar – lead guitar, vocals

Additional personnel
 * Robert Beatty – artwork
 * Aroudaini Daniel – djembe
 * Heba Kadry – audio mastering
 * Christopher Kirkley – production
 * Chris Koltay – recording
 * Rigo Luis – photography
 * Seth Manchester – mixing
 * Cem Mısırlıoğlu – drum programming
 * Anna Viotti – photography