Majmouat roughly translates as “band.” Abde ElHakim is the name of the band leader; he is the one-eyed man with the handlebar mustache that graces the CD cover. The group includes four other regular members, who play banjo, tarija (small hourglass drum), bendir (frame skin drum with snare), and darbuka (larger hourglass drum from Egypt).
The songs are mostly in the style of Dekka El Marrakshia (or Dak al Marrakshia) which is a very popular style of music in Morocco right now, but nearly unheard of outside that nation’s borders. The songs are mostly constructed of a loping 6/8 drum pattern with cascades of call response vocals which, towards the end of a song or section, accelerate into ecstatic yells. Abde ElHakim’s gravely voice was destroyed by a lifetime of performing outside.
The majority of the tracks are from a professional multitrack session conducted in a courtyard deep in the medina of Marrakesh. In between each of these session tracks are excerpts from the groups live performances in the Djema al Fna, including the dialogue from their aggressive money collections.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
