Niger -- Tracks From Abroad Ep. 27

Tracks From Abroad's biggest interview happened this week with renowned Nigerien band Mdou Moctar. This is episode 27 on Niger.

First on the show TFA welcomed Djaouar, a U of T student who grew up in Niger. Djaouar is one of the nicest people I've met in Toronto, and with another CIUT host, Victor Kovaleski of The Third Face, all three of us went to see Mdou Moctar when they came to Toronto. Djaouar and I talk about assimilation, pick-up soccer, and Chick-fil-A in our interview.

Later TFA was blessed to speak with Mdou Moctar himself. Mdou was at the tail end of his North America tour, calling his family every three hours, but still selling out and crushing live shows across the map. With Mdou we talked about the Uranium trade, about Boko Haram, and about the fabulous Celine Dion. This is TFA's biggest interview so far, and it doesn't disappoint.

I hope you enjoy this week's show, and please send me a message telling me your thoughts on Tracks From Abroad. Frankly, I don't know if I've heard a single thing about Niger in my entire life up until this week, so just imagine what the rest of this world has to offer. Why don't we explore it together on TFA?

-Jesse