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…
From Trance to Transcendence: Gnaoua Festival Goes Global Again
Tag: Morocco
Morocco’s Visa For Music Showcase Deadline Extended for 2025
The application deadline for Visa For Music 2025, the leading showcase and professional market for music from Africa and the Middle East, has been extended…
Karkabas: the Trance-Inducing Metal Castanets
(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.…
Hind Ennaira: A Rising Star in Gnawa Music
Born in 1997 in Essawira, Morocco, Hind Ennaira has emerged as a new icon in the Gnawa music scene. Despite lacking Gnawa roots in her…
Artist Profiles: Moroccan Singer Abir el Abed
Abir el Abed, a renowned singer born in Tangier, Morocco in 1992, hails from a family with a deep appreciation for the arts. At the…
Artist Profiles: Maghreb Jazz Pioneer Malika Zarra
Malika Zarra, a jazz vocalist, composer, and band leader from the Maghreb, embarked on her musical journey from her native town of Ouled Teima in…
Artist Profiles: Bnat el Houariyat
Bnat el Houariyat (“the girls of Houara”) is a multigenerational ensemble that follows Moroccan laâbat tradition. These are women’s percussion groups that perform stinging, often…
The Entrancing Grooves of Maalem Moktar Gania
Moktar Gania & Gnawa Soul – Gnawa Soul (MusjoMusic/Nuits d’Afrique, 2022) “Gnawa Soul” brings together the spellbinding Moroccan rhythms of the Gnawa, West African influences…
Artist Profiles: Mazagan
Moroccan band Groupe Mazagan, or simply Mazagan, was formed in the summer of 1998 by three teenage friends from El Jadida in western Morocco: Issam…
Artist Profiles: Mehdi Qamoum
Mehdi Qamoum was born in Agadir, Morocco. He was raised in a family immersed in a Ganawa traditional music. He stood out in this field…