While the Gnaoua Festival and World Music criss-cross Morocco in June, we receive Maâlem Moktar Gania in Paris for the release of the album Gnawa Soul.
At the recording studio Planet Essaouira1er studio in Essaouira created under the impetus of Pascal Amel (co-founder of the gnawa festival in 1994), the meeting between the master of guembri and singer Moktar Gania (younger brother of the late Maâlem Mahmoud Gania), composer and guitarist Anoir Ben Brahim (Trio Ben) and the percussionist-arranger Yacine Ben Ali, has made it possible to create innovative music that combines the African groove of the Gnawas with the oriental melodies of the Maghreb and global World Music. The recording lasted more than 2 years, with the artistic director Jacques Sanjuan which gave a different sound to this album. “The idea was to start from 15-minute pieces and make songs out of them, it was a real challenge”.
the Maalem Moktar Gania is the heir of one of the great families in Morocco, with more than 150 years of oral tradition. The idea was to surround yourself with different musicians and to try to find another direction for these works, while remaining faithful and credible in the process.
Saxophonist Géraldine Laurent, guitarist Jean-Marie Ecay, and Israeli singer of Moroccan origin Neta El Kayam joined the adventure and found themselves on this album. Album mixed in the United States by Chris Shaw the man with 4 grammys, including 2 with Bob Dylan. In addition, Gnaoua music has been listed as a UNESCO intangible heritage since 2019.
Pieces performed at the Grand studio
– Kouyou Kouyou Live RFI see clip
– Laada excerpt from the album Gnawa Soul
– Mossoyou Live RFI
– Rabi Laafou Live RFI.
Line-up: Maalem Moktar Gania to guembri & singing, Anoir Ben Brahim on acoustic guitar, Hakim Rouaia (kouyou) to krakebs & vocals and Yacine Ben Ali to percussion.
► Scrapbook Gnawa Soul (Planet Essaouira 2020).
Sound: Benoît Letirant, Mathias Taylor.
For further
Actu Cd (and soon in the live session)
– Magic Malik Fle Kulevfrom the album Ka-Frobeat (Eleven Hours Eleven 2022)
– Alune Wade Sultan Feat Mounir Troudi, extract from the album Sultan (Enja / Yellow Bird Rd 2022).