Gnawa artists and groups

All About the Gnawa

Deborah Kapchan has spent years studying the music of the Gnawa and its relationship with the recording industry. Her book Traveling Spirit Master is an wide-ranging excursion into one of the most fascinating trance music genres in the globe.  As the subtitle, Moroccan Gnawa Trance and Music in the Global Market Place, implies, Kapchan goes beyond the study of Gnawa music. The book provides details about how Gnawa music has traveled beyond Morocco's borders, into Europe and North America and its economic implications.

France has received millions of Moroccans and, thus, Gnawa music traveled with them. There are numerous French acts that perform some sort of Gna...
Source : worldmusiccentral.org | 2008-02-01 07:45:34.0

The Global Sounds of South Asia, Middle East and North Africa Merge in New York City
On Friday, January 11th, GlobeSonic Entertainment and Dawn Elder Management will present an eclectic evening of Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian sounds featuring Lebanese Bassam Saba a world-renowned composer, Multi instrumentalist and his chamber music ensemble of all star musicians, Algerian Cheb i Sabbah, Moroccan Gnawa master Hassan Hakmoun, Pakistani folk vocalist Riffat Sultana, and Afghani Master tabla musician Salar Nader. With the showcase being held in the newly renovated Sullivan Hall (formerly the Lion's Den), New York’s East Village will be culturally and sonically transformed by some of the most extraordina...
Source : worldmusiccentral.org | 2008-01-10 13:18:52.0

Scorching Double Live CD by Global Jam Band Hamsa Lila

Hamsa Lila

Live in Santa Cruz (Avila Records Avila1969, 2007)

American Jam bands have been drifting towards world music in recent years. The United states is experiencing an explosion of exciting  collectives, most of which are afrobeat oriented. Hamsa Lila, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, prefers to go further north in Africa for its inspiration. The band frequently uses Moroccan Gnawa instrumentation and chanting in some its extensive world beat trance improvisations. In addition, there are elements of Indian, Australian and Caribbean music as well as dreamlike electronica and hip hop. Hamsa Lila's latest album is a fascinating double CD recorded live in S...
Source : worldmusiccentral.org | 2007-12-14 08:32:24.0

New Book Talks About Moroccan Gnawa Trance and Music in the Global Market Place
Middletown (Connecticut), USA - In the new book Traveling Spirit Masters, Deborah Kapchan explores how a group of Moroccan ritual musicians from the sub-Saharan Africa diaspora have come to participate in the world music market. These musicians are known as the Gnawa, and their traditional belief is that they can heal those afflicted with possession and other ills. It is thought that the Gnawa placate offending spirits with music, incense, colors, and animal sacrifice.
 
 The regular rhythms of the Gnawa's heavy metal castanets and the bass melodies provided by the hajhuj (a three-stringed instrument, which is also called sintir and guimbri) induce a...
Source : worldmusiccentral.org | 2007-10-25 08:29:19.0

Nuru Kane Tours Europe this Week

Nuru Kane (who was nominated as best newcomer in this years BBC Awards for World Music) will be playing several gigs in Europe this week with his band "Bayefall Gnawa".

The first gig is a headline show as part of London African Festival 2007 at Cargo in Shoreditch London on May 23rd. Nuru will take the stage straight after the final whistle of the European Cup Final) and play a long set.

On the 24th May the band play the Druga Godba Festival in Slovenia and on the 25th May they play Ethnoambient in Zagreb Croatia. The band then returns to the UK for 3 more gigs on 28th May they play The Hawth in Crawley, 30th may Quay Arts Centre ,Newport, Isle of Wight and on June 2nd they play The Fringe Festival in Bath. ...
Source : worldmusiccentral.org | 2007-05-23 07:00:25.0

Les Boukakes Prepare a Summer Tour

Paris, France - The multicultural band Les Boukakes put on their game faces as they get ready for their world tour to take place this summer.

Formed 7 years ago, Les Boukakess is made up of 7 musicians from different countries (France, Algeria, and Tunisia). It’s with this ethnic and cultural mixture that Les Boukakes shape their original sound: stirring rock, groove, electronic, raï, and gnawa all in one big melting pot.

They were nominated for the ‘BBC Radio 3 Music Awards’ in November 2006 and they have already performed hundreds of gigs in 45 different countries with artists such as Zebda, The Wailers, and ...
Source : worldmusiccentral.org | 2007-05-16 01:36:55.0

Exploring Jazz and Moroccan Roots

Malika Zarra

On the Ebony Road (independent, 2006)

North African music continues to venture into new forms. Morocan jazz singer Malika Zarra mixes Moroccan roots (Gnawa, Berber and shaabi) with contemporary jazz on her debut CD, On the Ebony Road. Her gentle vocal style is very similar to Flora Purim's. Zarra's gifted voice is able to combine vocal jazz techniques with Arabic phrasings.

Gnawa Beats from the North

Michy Mano

The Cool Side of the Pillow  (Justin Time/Enja, 2006)

Moroccan musician Michy Mano has been living in Oslo (Norway) for a few years. There, he has been researching his Moroccan roots and specifically Gnawa music. The Cool Side Of The Pillow presents Mano on vocals and sintir (the famous Gnawa bass lute, also known as guimbri).

Backed by Norwegian jazz musicians and fellow Moroccans, Michy Mano plays stimulating music that defies categories. At times, it sounds like what seems like Gnawa jazz, but other times, the world grooves take the listener on a trip through global electronica and funk, using synths, dance beats, worl...
Source : worldmusiccentral.org | 2007-05-11 09:13:00.0