Samifati – Transe Gnawa Express (Passeport Production, 2026) French-Moroccan duo SAMIFATI’s debut full-length album, Transe Gnawa Express, emerged from a 2023 Institut Français residency in…
The 2026 Sonic Pluriverse Festival will place Gnawa music at the center of a five-week program at the rooftop terrace of Haus der Kulturen der…
From June 25 to 27, 2026, the 27th edition of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival will bring 460 artists from Morocco and abroad to…
Abdel Benaddi — A Dream In Essaouira (Worlds Within Worlds, 2024) Abdel Benaddi is a hereditary Gnawa musician from Essawira, Morocco, a coastal city known…
Moroccan desert blues band Tarwa N-Tiniri has released “Nbina,” a new single and video from its upcoming third album, Zaman (release date: April 17, 2026).…
Sonic Pluriverse Festival has set its 2026 edition at Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt, with a program dedicated to Gnawa music culture. The festival…
The 26th Gnaoua and World Music Festival returns to Essaouira, Morocco, from June 19 to 21, 2025. Since its founding in 1998, the festival has…
(A pair of karkabas, fair trade. Gnawa metal castanets.) The karkabas, a musical instrument intricately tied to Gnawa music, a traditional genre originating from Morocco.…
(headline image: Hssan Hakmoun in Lanzarote, Spain, in 2000 playing guimbri – Photo by Angel Romero) The guimbri is a traditional musical instrument intrinsically linked…
Bab L’ Bluz – Swaken (Real World Records, 2024) Bab L’ Bluz, the French-Moroccan power quartet, has unveiled their latest album, Swaken. The new project…