Biography

Aflak: when “Marock’n’roll” revolutionized Moroccan music

In Rabat, in 1989, Aziz Aflak took the stage with his electric guitar and synthesizers. The audience was expecting conventional raï; instead, they heard an unprecedented sound made of haâbi and gnaoui rhythms blended with electronic tones. “I was six years old when I started playing the piano and the oud, the oriental lute,” he said. “I wanted to make computer-assisted music, but with the rhythms and lyrics of traditional Morocco.” This group of three brothers from Marrakech had just been born.

In brief


Group name	Aflak (أفلاك)
Founders’ names	Aziz, Lucien and Jamal Fayet
Origin	Marrakech (Morocco), then Mourenx (France)
Genre	Marock’n’roll — fusion of traditional Moroccan music, rock, funk, reggae and electronic
Active period	1986 – today
Emblematic works	Taala Ngoulik, Marocain moderne, Dini Mak
Estimated sales	More than 2.5 million albums

Key dates

Year	Event
1980	The Fayet brothers move from Marrakech to Mourenx (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France)
1986	Aziz composes “Marrakesh”, first track
1988	Release of Taala Ngoulik, first album
1994	Marocain moderne; international breakthrough
1998	Dini Mak; tours in Europe and Morocco
2005	Album Enti; last album by the brothers together
2008	Departure of brothers Lucien and Jamal; Aziz continues alone
2011	Invitation to the Mawazine festival in Rabat
2016	Album Tawassol with Gabacho Maroc, number one on the Transglobal World Music Chart

From the conservatory of Meknès to the stages of the Bataclan: Aflak’s journey

Aziz Fayet was born in Marrakech in the 1960s, in a bicultural family — his father French, his mother from Marrakech. From the age of six, he studied piano and oud. At nine, he obtained his oriental lute diploma from the conservatory of Meknès. This classic Moroccan path contrasted with his attraction to Jean-Michel Jarre and Depeche Mode.

In 1980, the family settled in Mourenx. Aziz, accompanied by his brothers Lucien and Jamal, forged an unprecedented approach: importing Western electronic textures into Moroccan music. “Taala Ngoulik” (Come tell me), released in 1988, was the fruit of this alchemy. The title blends haâbi and gnaoui colors — traditional Moroccan styles rooted in the popular repertoire — with funk, rock and reggae rhythms, accompanied by synthesizers and electric guitars.

The term “Marock’n’roll”, invented by the group, was not just a slogan: it was a promise. Aflak was the first Moroccan and Arab group to play with electric instruments in the 1980s and 1990s. Their sound, neither rock nor raï but borrowing from both, quickly won over a broad audience, particularly the Moroccan immigrant community in Europe.

The breakthrough came at the beginning of the 1990s. With Marocain moderne (1994) and Dini Mak (1998), Aflak conquered the international scene. The group performed at the Bataclan in Paris, the Palais des congrès and the Cirque Royal in Brussels, and embarked on a tour of Germany. In Morocco, they played at the Mohammed V Theatre in Casablanca, as well as in Agadir and Rabat. “My concerts were even broadcast during halftime of football championships,” Aziz recounted. “Thanks to Moroccan television, many spectators discovered my music.”

Aflak was invited to the royal palace: King Hassan II invited the group to host evenings, a strong symbolic recognition for artists who dared to modernize a heritage considered classical.

The turning point came at the beginning of the 2000s. One of the brothers passed away, and in 2008, Lucien and Jamal left the group. Aziz Fayet, the only founder still present, reconfigured Aflak with a dozen Moroccan, French and Spanish musicians. The group became a collective platform. In 2011, it was invited to the Mawazine festival in Rabat. In 2014, it toured with a rock formation. In 2016, it joined the Gabacho Maroc collective and co-produced Tawassol, which reached number one on the Transglobal World Music Chart and led to a four-year tour with more than two hundred concerts. In 2021, it announced the afro dance remix of its hit “Wa Tâala Ngoullik”, in collaboration with DJ Jabato, so that the younger generation could discover Aflak. Aziz continues his path as a musician, producer and director.

Major works

Work	Year	Why it’s essential
Taala Ngoulik	1988	First album; laid the foundations of Marock’n’roll
Marocain moderne	1994	International breakthrough; tours at the Bataclan and Brussels
Dini Mak	1998	Success and massive diffusion on Arab radio waves
Enti	2005	Last album by the Fayet brothers together
Tawassol	2016	Number one on the Transglobal World Music Chart (with Gabacho Maroc)

Legacy

Aflak paved the way for an entire generation of Moroccan and Arab musicians who dared to blend modern instruments with tradition. “Marock’n’roll” is today a benchmark for artists working on world music in the digital age. The haâbi and gnaoui colors, traditional rhythms, are no longer seen as mere relics — thanks to Aflak, they are living elements that dialogue with the synthesizer and electric guitar. Aziz Aflak remains one of the most prolific Franco-Moroccan musicians, with nearly forty years of career. His journey, from the conservatory of Meknès to the stages of the Bataclan, is a story of blending and borderless music.