Abderrahmane Paco in Jil Jilala, 1972

Jil Jilala 1972 
L-R Abderrahmane Kirouche "Paco", Moulay Tahar Al Asbahani, Mohamed Derhem, Mahmoud Saadi, Sakina Safadi

I've obtained copies of the two Atlassiphone singles of Jil Jilala that feature Abderrahmane Paco on sintir, before he joined Nass el Ghiwane. I wrote about Paco's early career in this post a few months ago. At that time, I thought that the Atlassiphone and Casaphone singles represented separate recordings of the same songs. I'm now convinced that they are the same recordings in different pressings. 

DISCOGRAPHIC CLARIFICATION: Ismael Abo Salma (of the excellent YouTube channel of the same name) dates these two singles to 1972, and includes them as the group's first 2 singles on his massive Jil Jilala chronological playlist. When I checked his playlist back in March, I noted that he thought the Atlassiphone and Casaphone singles represented different recordings. Either I misread his posts or he has since edited his playlist and no longer views them as different recordings. His YouTube clips of the Casaphone versions of Leklam Lemrassa3 and Ha L3ar A Bouya are the same recordings heard on my rips of the Atlassiphone edition shared below. And his rip of the Atlassiphone version of Jilala is missing Paco's opening vocal and sintir solo - I previously thought this represented a different version, but it's the same version, just missing the intro.

I've done my best to clean up the sound - they aren't the most dynamic of recordings, but they sound alright here.

 Jil Jilala - 1972 singles

	Song: Jilala جيلالة Atlassiphone 555 A/B اطلسيفون Discogs link
	Song: Leklam Lmrassa3 الكلام المرصع Atlassiphone 556A اطلسيفون Discogs link
	Song: Ha L3ar A Bouya ها العار أبويا Atlassiphone 556B اطلسيفون Discogs link

Some thoughts on these early sides:

• If the Atlassiphone 555 single of "Jilala" is in fact the first singe from Jil Jilala, it's amazing to me that it opens with a solo vocal and sintir passage from Paco - a sound and voice we would come to associate so heavily with Nass el Ghiwane in the future.
• After Paco's arresting 40-second intro, the sintir repeats a single 4-beat riff over the remaining 10-1/2 minutes of the track. The simple riff is not particularly Gnawi in feel or melodic content. This initially bored me, but I've grown to appreciate the minimalism of the riff and the slow burning development of the various vocal sections of the song.
• "Leklam Lmrassa3" features no sintir, but does feature an introductory vocal from Sakina Safadi, who was part of the group for its first few years of existence. Later recordings of this song feature a bouzouk through the entire song, but in this initial version, the bouzouk is heard only during Sakina's vocal intro, and the main body of the song is accompanied by drums alone.
• "Ha L3ar A Bouya" is probably the most interesting track with respect to the sintir. The song features two different sintir riffs, one before the tempo change, another after the change. They are more interesting rhythmically than the riff in "Jilala" - a bit closer to a Gnawi way of playing, especially in the second half of the song, where Paco varies up the rhythmic accents and phrase repetitions in interesting ways.
• "Ha L3ar A Bouya" includes the most interesting vocal and instrumental arrangements of the 3 songs. Wordless backing vocals change registers, Sakina's voice joins the male group vocals, and the initial verse returns at the song's end, superimposing itself on different backing vocals and rhythms. Unusual and innovative stuff!

After these two singles, Jil Jilala recordings would feature no sintir for a few years, until Moulay Abdelaziz Tahiri joined the group. The group's records begin to feature Tahiri's photo in 1976 (e.g. here and here). However, the lovely 1974 single "Lighrara" features Tahiri's unmistakable guinbri-playing. 

Jil Jilala جيل جيلالة
Atlassiphone 555 & 556 اطلسيفون
1972  

555 A/B    Jilala جيلالة
556 A        Leklam Lmrassa3 الكلام المرصع
556 B        Ha L3ar A Bouya ها العار أبويا

FLAC | 320 

Sahara 1974

Here's a 1974 LP of "folkloric" music from the then Spanish Sahara. The LP's notes do not specify where this recording was made. The tracks feature various configurations of male and female voices, always with clapping and the tbal (kettle drum), sometimes also with a guitar or flute. Songs range from praises of the Prophet to songs of love, dance, and celebration. 

Within a few years of this recording (that is to say, after Spain relinquished the Sahara and the war between Morocco and the Polisario began), this album's artistic director Mohammed Tammy would be involved in the formation of the group Martir Luali, an explicitly political group that placed musical composition and performance in the service of raising awareness of the political situation of the Sahrawi refugees. I wonder whether any of the musicians on this album became part of the Martir Luali group.

Meanwhile, "traditional" music continues in the Sahara under Moroccan rule. The 30-disc Anthologie de la Musique Marocaine devoted 3 CDs to Chants du Sahara, featuring the artists Banat Aichata, Abba Ould Badou, and Batoul Marouani.

Grupo Chabab فرقة الشباب
Folklore Saharaui الفلكلور الصحراوي
Alhambra LP CPS 9351
1974

A1 Rachel Uld Abd El Mutaleb رجل ولد عبد المطلب
A2 Sreyba Hah اسريبا هاه
A3 Lebleida Y Chamra En Lekhal البليدة و الشمرة
B1 Trem Rem ترمرم
B2 Yalali Maglaklia يالال ماغلاك اعلي
B3 Treyetima التريتيمة
B4 Cutti Cutti كوتي كوتيكوتي كوتي  

FLAC | 320 

Sources consulted:

Mohammed Tuhami - Tami محمد التهامي - التامي . [A Journey of Contribution] مسيرة عطاء, Episode 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZI_is4Wmm8

Violeta Ruano. "Shaheed El Uali Band and Beyond: 40 Years of Resistance Music in Western Sahara". Ethnomusicology Review, February 26, 2016. https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/content/shaheed-el-uali-band-and-beyond-40-years-resistance-music-western-sahara

 

Raïs Lhaj Mohamed Demsiri

Another "finally!" moment for Moroccan Tape Stash. Sharing today some tracks from the legendary artist Raïs Lhaj Mohamed Demsiri (1936-1989). Born Mohamed Ajahud, known professionally as al-Demsiri or Albensir, Demsiri is generally held to be the most important figure in amarg souss in the 2nd half of the 20th century.  

Journalist and researcher Abdellah Bouchtart writes of the uniqueness of Demsiri's art:

"his poetry departed from the prescribed framework within which the rwais used to compose their poetry, and he went beyond the familiar in the meanings, themes, and issues that he addressed and dealt with. He was also distinguished by his method of treatment and performance, as he chose to be bold in presentation, harsh in criticism, generous in love poetry, profound in mysticism, precise in description, and a courageous fighter for burning social issues. However, what distinguishes Albensir most is his possession of the Amazigh consciousness, that cultural consciousness which made him dare to break the complex of fear that dominated the Amazigh, creators, poets, writers and politicians, and to speak about the “racial discrimination” that the Amazigh and the Amazigh language and culture suffered from before and after independence." [1]

Demsiri's career stretches back to at least 1963. His professional travels took him to various European countries and to Algeria [2]. Discogs currently lists around 20 albums on cassette, mostly on the Tichkaphone/Koutoubiaphone label. I would guess that some of these albums are collections of tracks originally published as 7" vinyl singles. Stroomer [2] estimated as of 1994 that between 80 and 100 cassettes of Demsiri could be found in the Moroccan markets, including both official releases and bootleg recordings. 

Among the bootleg recordings, I would think, are the songs that got Demsiri in trouble with the Moroccan authorities. These would include the song "Agourn" (Flour), which criticized the government's response to the 1981 bread riots, and "Timzgida" (The Mosque) criticizing the collection of mandatory contributions for the construction of the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca [3]. The former song got Demsiri arrested in 1981.

This out of print album is the only one I've found of Demisiri on CD. But you can find lots of his music on the various streaming platforms. 

Raïs Haj Mohamed Damciri الرايس الحاج محمد الدمسيري
Tichkhaphone TCK CD 07 تشكافون

1 Irabbi Lward إربي الورد
2 Awzanakh Yen Tebrat أورنخ يان تبرات
3 Awi Essalam أوي السلام
4 Bou Taxi بو الطاكسي
5 Our Nsamah Ibariz أور نسامح إلريز 

FLAC | 320 

Sources consulted:

[1] Abdellah Bouchtart عبدالله بوشطارت. [Amazigh culture in the songs of Rais Mohamed Albensir "Al-Damsiri"... A struggle in a time of fear] الأمازيغية في أغاني الرايس محمد ألبنسير "الدمسيري" .. نضال في زمن الخوف. Hespress, January 20, 2024. 

[2] H. Stroomer. "Damsīrī (ad-Damsiri)". in Encyclopédie berbère, 14. Aix-en-Provence: Edisud. pp. 2203–2204. 1994.

[3]  Noureddine Ekjan نورالدين إكجان. ["Raïs Albensir": The Amazigh Singing Legend Who Criticized Hassan II] الرايس ألبنسير".. أسطورة الغناء الأمازيغي الذي انتقد الحسن الثاني". Hespress, November 11, 2018.