[5] In 2019, Mdou Moctar turned into an official band, adding the bassist Mike Coltun, the drummer Mazawadje Aboubacar Ibrahim, and the guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane.

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".

[9] Ilana (The Creator) has a total of nine songs,[10] including: The lead single Kamane Tarhanin was described by music website Stereogum as "hypnotic, [and] plung[es] forward with a spontaneous urgency".

[1] 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".

[12] 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".