Maâlem Abdallah Guinéa is descended from an acclaimed family of artists. His father, Boubker Guinéa, is considered as one of Morocco’s greatest of all maâlems. Guinéa began playing the guimbri at age 12, and became a full maâlem and master musician at age 16.
Together with with his band, Nasse Ejadba, he quickly developed his own musical style, somewhere between traditional and modern Gnawa, which he calls “Fusion Trance.” As well as guimbri, Guinéa plays guitar, banjo and mandolin and has continued the progression of his music by introducing Western sounds into the mix, building a musical bridge between different musical styles.
In 2012, Maâlem Abdallah Guinéa released Fangnawa, a collaboration with French Afrobeat group Fanga. The collaboration had its roots in 2011, when the Détours du Monde festival in Montpelier (France) presented Fanga and maâlem Abdallah Guinéa.
Discography
Fangnawa (Strut Records STRUT096, 2012)
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.