Here's some killer Houariyat sounds from Marrakech. This women's vocal and percussion tradition is some of the most joyful, raucous music I know. Sadly, the tape met an unfriendly player at some point over the last 20 years. But this half of a Houariyat tape will rock you better than most full albums.
For more Moroccan women's percussion group sounds, check the Stash's offerings from Houariyat and Âouniyat groups.
Al Houariyat الهواريات Led by Jmiâ Al Marrakchia برئاسة جميعة المراكشية Sawt Al Menara cassette MN.32 صوت المنارة c. 2000
A1 Sir Âlia Aymanek (snippet) سير عليى ايمانك A2 Al Âyyadi العيادي A3 Nouri Ya L-Ghaba B1 Ghir Jini Nichan غير جيني نيشان B2 Khurji ya Najat (snippet) خورجي يا نجاة
Wow, 2017 comes to a close. Some of this year was pretty awful, at least here in the US. And our current leadership won't be doing anything to address mass gun violence, climate change, and numerous other ills.
Yet hope and light continue to shine forth here and there. The #metoo movement is bringing some long overdue attention to pernicious, pervasive male behavior. I hope that some positive culture change comes out of it.
So in honor of #metoo, here's a tape of some badass Houariyat from Marrakech. This style of music just delights me. Raucous drumming and hearty, bawdy call/response singing. This joyful music is made by women, for women, to enjoy primarily among themselves.
Wishing goodness, blessings, and fulfilling grooves to you all in the new year!
Fatima el Houaria, Vol. 2 Safi Disque cassette, ca. 2001
1) Diggu Li L3youn Digga Roumiya
2) Douwaya Nhakoum Llah 3liya Rjaya f-Llah
3) Wa Mwaliya Ya Mwaliya
4) Farha f-Salatu 3a n-Nbi 5) Ma Khellali Ma Gal Fiya Klam L3ar
Here also are some great 2017 posts from the music blogosphere, sharing recordings of North African women's music:
Wallahi le Zein! - Unreleased DIMI mint ABBA from the late 1990s : Rissala
Fantastic, ecstatic, electric recording of a private concert of the late, great Mauritanian singer. And excellent notes about concerts and contexts from Matthew Lavoie, formerly of the Music Time in Africa blog.
Gharamophone: Reinette l’Oranaise – Ya biadi ya nas – Polyphon, c. 1934
History of the song "Ya biadi ya nas", which became well known in Morocco and Algeria, as well as its first recording, by the great Reinette l'Oranaise. Gharamophone is Chris Silver's continuation of his earlier, fine blog Jewish Maghrib Jukebox.
KILLER! Most of the folk song styles I've heard from northwest Algeria/northeast Morocco features the raspy gasba flutes, like you would hear on recordings by Cheikha Remitti. This tape features the Algerian singer Cheikha Rahma, performing with an awesome double-horned, double-reed instrument that I believe is called a zamar. If you visit the blogpost, you'll find a great YouTube video showing Cheikha Rahma performing with one of these groups.
Bodega Pop: Spice Ray
Bodega Pop has returned with a great stash of cassettes recently obtained in Queens. This unusual cassette appears to be a Moroccan rai album credited to "Spice Ray" (the Moroccan rai Spice Girls?), and contains several songs that address social issues, including an opening track lamenting the death of children under bombs in Iraq.
Ya know 'em, ya love 'em! Here's another vintage cassette of houariyat songs. These are all in the standard 6/8 chaâbi rhythm. None of the mind-warping songs in 7/4 -> 10/8 rhythms, which Alaa Sagid identified as "houari tqil" and "houari khfif" in an earlier houariyat post. Still, the groove is undeniable, and these Marrakchiyat pour some crazy energy into it. And when they shift melodic gears mid-song and soar off in a completely unrelated key (see embedded track at 4:27)... Yeah!!
By the way, the lovely j-card graphic shows two ladies clapping on the ramparts at Essaouira. I don't think this music is typically found as far west as Essaouira - I always understood it to be centered around Marrakech and the surrounding countryside. The tape itself is produced in Marrakech.
Oh, and if the clapping ladies were actually standing on the ramparts as pictured here, they would be at least 35 feet tall.
Greetings everyone, and thanks for the comments and greetings during Ramadan! I hope to catch up on correspondence soon.
Morocco was HOT HOT HOT during my entire trip. I did a bit of cassette shopping, mainly around Beni Mellal, but not much in Marrakech, where I spent only a couple of days. I managed to pick up one tape there - at a second hand shop near Sidi Abdelaziz - I saw the Aâtiphone logo peeking out of a pile of tapes with no labels or jewel boxes. Everything I have on Aâtiphone is gold, so I grabbed it. Didn't have the stamina to continue poking through the pile in 120 degree heat in the middle of the day, fasting...
Indeed, it's a good tape - 40 minutes of raucous call-response, full-throated Houariyat songs (all in 6/8 - none of the loopy quintuple stuff). Zahia's name is written on the tape, and she certainly put some mileage on this tape - there are some dropouts here and there. Patina...
I'll drop some more ladies' percussion grooves soon - an interesting CD I picked up, which I'm still trying to decode.
Last weekend the 15th Gnawa Festival in Essaouira was held. The festival usually features a number of ad-hoc collaborations between Gnawa groups and European or American musicians, usually jazz musicians. Sometimes these collaborations produced interesting textures (Mustapha Baqbou at the 2000 festival proved that Gnawa rock could pump up arena-sized crowds). Sometimes they produced train wrecks - Gnawa musicians don't necessarily understand jazz, and jazz musicians don't necessarily understand Gnawa music, so there is often much stepping on one another's musical toes.
I have a few tapes and CDs labeled "Festival d'Essaouira" from prior to 2003, but they are merely pirate mixtapes of tracks from Orchestre National de Barbes, Gnawa Diffusion and other artists. This CD is the earliest one I've seen that appears to be an official compilation of performances recorded on the festival stage. I've seen 2 editions of this disc, one with a 2003 date and one (pictured here) with a 2004 date.
This CD culls some pretty good performances from the festival stage. I believe the performances took place in either 2002 or 2003. It was around this time that drummer Karim Ziad began his artistic involvement with the festival, and his group Ifrikiya plays on several of these tracks. If you like the way fusion jazz and Gnawa sound together, this is a pretty good set. Also includes Amadou & Maryam on a couple tracks, some Houariyat fusion (!?) and a nice trad piece by an Algerian group, Ouled Sidna Bilal.
1) Sadati Manayo - Maâlem Mahmoud Guinéa & Band
2) La Illaha Illa Allah - Maâlem Mustapha Bakbou & Band + Louis Bertignac
3) Samaoui - Maâlem Hamid El Kasri & Band
4) Laribi - Maâlem Abdelkebir Merchane & Band
5) Dawi - Ouled Sidna Bilal
6) Hamdouchia - Maâlem Hamid El Kasri & Band
7) Baba El Arabi - Maâlem Mahmoud Guinéa & Band
8) Hamouda - Ifrikya, Maâlem Abdelkébir Merchane, Maâlem Abdeslam Alikane
9) Moul Hkaim - Bnet Houariyat & Ifrikya
10) Dek Illalane - Amadou & Maryam & Hamid El Kasri
11) Bayerma - Maâlem Hamida Boussou & Band
12) Ouled Bambara - Maâlem Mustapha Bakbou & Band
13) Al Adda - Maâlem Mustapha Bakbou & Band
Marrakchi old-school women's party music - rollicking call-and-response singing with funky stratified rhythms on a variety of buzzy drums plus a brake drum or tea tray for some metal clang. This sort of group typically has some songs that roll from start to finish in the typical Moroccan 6/8. They have another type that begins in 7/8 and moves to 5/4, with the same melody stretched to fit into the new meter! Here's a whole tape of those, c.1990.
