Noura Mint Seymali
Noura Mint Seymali’s powerful voice and hypnotic stage presence have made her a leading figure in contemporary African music. Her sound is driven by the experimental, soulful psychedelic guitar lines of her husband Jeich Ould Chighaly, who transfers the intricate phrasing of the tidinit—the traditional plucked Mauritanian lute—onto a modified electric guitar.
Together with bassist Ousmane Touré and drummer Matthew Tinari, the four musicians form a tight-knit quartet that bridges the deep modal sound worlds of Mauritanian griot tradition with psychedelic guitar textures and driving rhythms. In 2025, Noura Mint Seymali received the WOMEX Artist Award for her outstanding lifetime contribution to music.
Artist
Noura Mint Seymali (MRT)
Noura Mint Seymali was born into a renowned family of Mauritanian griots and grew up deeply rooted in the poetic tradition of these West African praise singers, poets, and musicians. At the age of thirteen, she began performing alongside her stepmother, a celebrated Mauritanian singer known as the “Diva of the Desert.”
Raised within this rich and multifaceted musical culture, where sounds from across the Sahara, the Maghreb, and West Africa converge, Noura Mint Seymali continues this legacy today as one of Mauritania’s most daring young artists and one of the country’s most important musical ambassadors.
Location
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Anton-Neumayr-Platz 2
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