Around The Interwebs: Aïssaoua (Brian Jones-ey Remix) and Music of Northern Morocco

 

Sharing links to a couple of Moroccan recordings that recently surfaced on the interwebs.

Friend of the Stash Mr. Tear dropped a compilation of Aïssaoua tracks over at Hive Mind Records. Sourced from cassettes, he

fed the tape rips into vocal removal software to produce some rudimentary stems and then... processed these in Audacity adding some selective reverb, delay, distortion with the intention of accentuating the overwhelming, heady aspects of this music.

The result is a set of tracks that gives a mildly psychedelic aura to this already powerful music, while preserving its structure and flow. That is, it brings the vibe of "Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka" without completely uprooting and overwhelming the source material. Nice job, Marc!

Available only until the end of November 2025, the album is available as "Pay What You Like", and all proceeds collected will go to the UK advocacy group Hope not Hate. Follow links in the embedded Bandcamp player below to pick up your copy.

Meanwhile over at Fuji Puzzle Box, blog curator (and Firesign Theatre archivist) Taylor Jessen has shared an obscure 1965 LP Music of Northern Morocco, Vol. 1. Recorded in cafes in Chefchaouen and Tetouan during Ramadan 1963 by one Binx Shelby of Arizona, the album is the sole record released on the "Band Box Ethnological Series" label. 

While the recordings were certainly made in northern Morocco, they are not particularly representative of the regional traditions of that area. They consist mainly of songs that were popular at the time, including both Middle Eastern and North African pieces - whatever these musicians in cafes felt like playing. It's a bit like someone recording an open mic at a neighborhood bar in Oakland where people are singing Eagles covers and releasing it as "Music of Northern California". Still, it's cool to hear what types of songs were played by guys in cafes in the mid-60s in Chefchaouen and Tetouan. And the graphic design is quite lovely! 

The liner notes state that side 2 consists of ancient religious songs, but it's actually just more popular songs of the day. The first song on side 2 is a questionably executed version of Ismail Ahmed's smash hit 'Khiffat Rajl' (better known by its refrain lyric 'Ash Dani') 

Visit Fuji Puzzle Box to check out the album and to read Tyler's EXTENSIVE research on Binx Shelby!

And congratulations to Morocco's U20 team for winning the FIFA U-20 World Cup today in Chile!! 

More Abdessadek Chekkara & Props to Some Blogs of Yore

Here's some more music from Abdessadek Chekkara, the Tetouani violinist, singer, and composer we featured in a post a few weeks ago. The album contrasts nicely with the previously shared album. That album featured a large orchestra and songs in a Tetouani folk style, ostensibly composed by Chekkara. This album features a much smaller ensemble - a sextet. The first 2/3 of the album features material from the Arab Andalusian tradition. Side B concludes with 3 pieces credited to Chekara with a number of collaborators.

This album was shared in 2018 by Tawfic at the blog Oriental Traditional Music from LPs & Cassettes, which ran from 2011 to 2019 and featured music from across the MENASA region (Middle East - North Africa - South Asia). The pages remain, but the links are dead. Somehow I managed to grab this in FLAC and mp3. This album remains out of print, so I'm happy to reshare it here.

I was going to share another Chekkara album that Abdel shared at The Silence Has A Voice, And The Real Music Teach You The Silence (2007-2014), but it turns out that the album is available on digital platforms. Abdel shared loads of amazing music over the years, primarily from the Arab world. This album is another good listen, showing off the religious/devotional side of Chekkara's artistry:

There is more Chekkara available on the streaming platforms if you care to explore more of his work. Also I found out some additional information about his song "Bint Bladi", which I will share in a future post. Wishing you all an autumn where justice reigns, sieges are broken, sufferers are relieved, and oligarchs and their enablers are exposed.

Chekara Con La Orquesta Tetuán
Ariola LP I-205.831, 1984 

A1 Nuba L'Estehelal (Tuichia)
A2 Nuba L'Estehelal (Tuichia)
A3 Nuba L'Estehelal (Tuichia)
A4 Nuba L'Estehelal
A5 Solo De Laúd
B1 Nuba L'Estehelal (Tuichia)
B2 Nuba L'Estehelal
B3 Fuego En El Corazón
B4 Flor De Andalucía
B5 En El Patio

FLAC | 320 

Goodbye Mustapha Baqbou

I was very sad to hear this week that the Gnawa master Mustapha Baqbou passed away on September 8. I've sung his praises over the years here at Moroccan Tape Stash both for his sublime guinbri playing within the Gnawa tradition and for his work with the group Jil Jilala from around 1985 to 1994.

Sharing here a very nice cassette of his. Two long tracks. Baqbou on guinbri and vocals, accompanied by two musicians singing choral responses and playing what sounds like a tambourine (jingly cymbals) and a cassette tape (being tapped like a pair of qarqabas - this is what we used to do late at night in Marrakech when we wanted to play some music without being too loud). The songs are from the Black suites that come toward the end of the Gnawa lila ceremony. 

I particularly love the second track (which starts with "Boussou") - these songs are from the very end of the Black suites, and I've always found them to be particularly moving. Mustapha's playing here is just fantastic: check the guinbri intro and outro to "Allal ya Allal". What he can do when strumming just the same note over the course of 4 beats is earth-shattering (dynamics, syncopation, rhythmic variation, GROOVE).

RIP Mâalem - إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

Bakbou
منوعات أݣناوية
Editions Hassania cassette EH 2025 حسنية

01 Mnuât Gnawiya (this track takes up all of side A and the first 4-1/2 minutes of side B). contains the songs: Berkiliya - Allah Yarki Mabana - Sidi Bouganga - Allah ya Rebbi ya Moulay - Belaiji - Shaba Kouriya - Kubaily Mama - Mamaryo
02 Mnuât Gnawiya. contains the songs: Boussou - Salaam Âla Mohamed Sidi - Allal ya Allal - Fulani 

FLAC | 320