Noura Mint Seymali – ‘Yenbett’ album review: Mauritanian Griot experimentation for the masses
Building upon the centuries-old Griot traditions of West Africa, Mauritanian artist Noura Mint Seymali beautifully marries hundreds of years of tradition with a defiant modern sense of experimentation, and her newly unveiled record, Yenbett, is a timeless triumph.
The Skinny: It has been nearly 20 years since Seymali unveiled her very first widespread releases, in the form of 2006’s Tarabe, and in the intervening years, she has never ceased her quest to blend the traditional sounds of her native Mauritania and surrounding West Africa with a much more modern, widely accessible sound. In that sense, Yenbett is among her most ambitious and accomplished efforts thus far.
There once was a time in which the sounds of Griot song and desert blues wasn’t widely known outside the African continent, and it is only thanks to artists like Seymali – along with the contributions of various other current artists, with Mdou Moctar (the bassist for whom carried out production work on this record) and Tinariwen being key examples – that those days are thankfully over. Throughout this masterful new album, the songwriter pays faithful homage to her roots, with the aid of her ardent harp, but there is also something undeniable, cutting-edge about the album, too.
Seymali’s infectious vocals and learned lyrics often give way to captivating guitar solos and unrelenting beats that seem to flow throughout the entire track listing. There is an energy to that record which is utterly compelling and largely unmatched by any of Seymali’s contemporaries, particularly evident on tracks like ‘Knou’, and the instrumental masterpiece ‘Moughadim Karr’.
The Verdict: With Yenbett, Noura Mint Seymali has achieved the impossible in creating an album that manages to ride the way between age-old tradition and modern appeal; between infectious energy and profound self-reflection. In doing so, the songwriter has perfectly encapsulated the timeless beauty of Griot music and has likely introduced many audiences to its grasp for the very first time.
Defining song: ‘Guéreh’
Release date: November 7th, 2025 | Producer: Matthew Tinari and Mikey Coltun | Label: Glitterbeat
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