El Houssaine Kili grew up in Morocco with Arab folk music, Berber songs and American Pop songs, which he became familiar with over the radio. As a bass guitarist, Kili played with his first band all over Morocco. In 1977 a very coincidental, but nevertheless momentous, encounter between two men took place in one of the streets of Agadir: Kili met Christian Burchard of the German Jazz-Rock band Embryo. Three years later, Embryo and Kili’s band toured together in Morocco.
Invited by German word music band Dissidenten, Kili traveled Germany in 1984 and toured with them in the USA and Europe. After having worked on the release of three Dissidenten LPs as musician, composer, writer, singer and arranger, Kili left the group in 1988 and started working on a solo project.
It could be said that Kili lives with one leg in Morocco and one in Germany. The roots of Kili’s music are to be found in the Gnawa culture of southern Morocco. The Gnawas, descendants of black slaves from Guinea and Mali, play their music to ceremonies, in which appear ghosts and demons with healing powers. In respect to sequential order, musical content and many other details they appear much akin to many Afro-American syncretic religions like candomble, santeria or vodou.
Kili’s music is based on traditional Gnawa rhythms combined with new lyrics and modern Pop arrangements. The guimbri (also known as sintir) is the main instrument of the Gnawas and forms a central part of Kili’s musical work.
Discography:
Embryo Feat. Yoruba Dun Dun Orchestra* & El Hussaine Kili – Jazzbühne Berlin ’89 (Amiga, 1989)
Safran (Tropical, 1999)
Mountain To Mohamed (Tropical Music, 2001)
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.
