Koltun / Abdoulaye & Ahmoudou - Sol / Akaline

KOLTUN: SOL

My last name, Coltun, comes from the old Slavic KOLTUN
1. slang someone with crazy, knotty or weird hair 2. someone of the dark town 3. a person who doesn’t fit into society.

I wanted a project that explores a KOLTUN take on folkloric Jewish themes and melodies - catchy melancholic melodies reflecting the environment I imagine existed with my ancestors living in Eastern Europe who were balancing their hardships with their senses of humor.

The world I grew up in was playing in bands, eventually touring, and then creating records that captured that live energy. With KOLTUN I wanted a project that didn’t reflect the tradition of writing, touring, and then recording - I wanted the records to sit in their own world, to have the music just exist.
KOLTUN mixes my love of Ennio Morricone, sonic noise and textures I find to be an important part of my musical identity, and the legacy of KOLTUN - equal parts dark and sonically interesting. SOL is my first installment of the KOLTUN universe and is named after my grandfather Sol Leonard Coltun.
-Mikey Coltun

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Abdoulaye & Ahmoudou : Akaline

Brothers Abdoulaye and Ahmoudou Madassane are integral artists in the Agadez, Niger underground scene. They are the go-to rhythm guitarists for the local wedding bands and the first accompanists Tuareg superstar guitarists call when they come to town from Algeria, Mali, Libya or other parts of Niger.

Abdoulaye and Ahmoudou are ambassadors to the community, gathering guitars, strings, cables, amps, tuners, and other hard to find necessaries to give out to others. They teach guitar to the younger generation, hoping to keep their beloved Tuareg tradition alive.

Ahmoudou is a songwriter, guitarist, visual artist, and actor. He is a long time member of Mdou Moctar and was key to the woman fronted Tuareg guitar band Les Filles De Illighadad coming together, lead guitarist and singer Fatou Seidi Ghali is Ahmoudou’s cousin. Additionally, he co-wrote, acted in, and composed the score to Zerzura, the first Tuareg acid spaghetti western, spoken entirely in Tamasheq, and shot in Agadez. He runs the most popular backline company in Agadez, supplying equipment to weddings and employing young Tuaregs.

Abdoulaye, the oldest of five, is a songwriter, guitarist, and composer. He wrote all the songs on Abdoulaye and Ahmoudou’s first album Akaline. Abdoulaye recently joined Les Filles De Illighadad as a full-time member playing guitar and co-writing songs.