Tuesday, March 10, 2026

A Whole Jil Jilala Feature Film?

Well I just stumbled across a whole dramatic film starring Jil Jilala as a band called Jil Jilala! The film "Le Paradis des Pauvres جنة الفقراء", directed by Imane Mesbahi, was released in 2001 or 2002, but it appears to have been filmed much earlier. Mustapha Baqbou is in the film and looks very young (and thin), but the songs featured are studio recordings from before Baqbou's tenure, including two from the Daouiwah album (1984). Baqbou joined the group around 1985, so I'm guessing this may have been filmed around that time.

The leading role is played by group member Moulay Tahar Al Asbahani, and Mohamed Derham is featured prominently in several scenes, in which he acquits himself quite well as an actor. The film also features the well-known Moroccan actress Touria Jabrane. You can watch the whole film on YouTube. It is in French and Moroccan darija, but there are no subtitles.

The film includes lip-synced performances of Jil Jilala's songs "Dak Bya Amrak", "Ah Ya Jilala", "Al Âar A Bouya", and "Daouiwah". It also features incidental music composed and performed by chaâbi/rai star Hamid Bouchenak, and a solo performance by Baqbou of the Gnawa song "Berrma Nana Soutanbi" that appears to have been recorded live for the film (though the synchronization in the YouTube version of the film is a little bit off). If you go to the YouTube page where the film has been uploaded, you can find my comment which contains time code links to the various musical pieces in the film.

Centre Cinématographique Marocain describes the film as:

"the story of five young Moroccans who leave their village in northern Morocco to go work somewhere in Europe. Despite their good intentions, they are confronted daily with racial hatred and xenophobia."

The Wikipedia page for the film claims (without attribution) that it was unsuccessful when released due to poor distribution and an ill-chosen release date. I'm no film expert, but it definitely feels to me like a 1980s film rather than a 2000s film, so that can't have helped its fate in 2001. It's not what I'd call a brilliant film, but it's fun to see these legendary musicians in a different setting (and in swell leather jackets)!

Friday, February 27, 2026

Thirty-Six Minutes of Rouicha Jamming


No words needed. Just Rouicha on the lotar and one or two bendir players. Thirty-six minutes of jammy Zayane goodness!

Rouicha Mohamed رويشة محمد
Ajmal at-Taqasim âla Aalat al Hajhouj أجمل التقاسيم على آلة الهجهوج
[The most beautiful improvisations on the hajhouj instrument]

Tichkaphone cassette TCK 763 تشكفون 

FLAC | 320

Friday, February 20, 2026

Nass el Ghiwane - Live 1972 on Vinyl

Here's a Nass el Ghiwane live single from 1972 (or maybe early 1973). These songs appear on the group's first LP in studio versions, but I think this 7" single may have been issued before the LP. It is their first single to not feature the alternate English language name for the group: New Dervich.

As I wrote in my recent post about Nass el Ghiwane's first LP, these two songs pose questions: Fin Ghadi Bya Khouya (Where are you taking me, brother?) and Wach Hna Houma Hna (Are we still us?). Whether Nass el Ghiwane had revolutionary answers to these questions or not, the act of posing such questions in popular song in 1972 Morocco was a radical artistic act. By leaving the questions unanswered, the group invited their audience to not only ponder their own answers but also to dance in the gap from which the questions emerged - the gap between an ideal envisioned life and lived reality in the postcolony.

These live versions are shorter, faster, and louder than the studio versions found on the LP. Please enjoy this remastered version of the single. I don't believe these sides have ever been reissued on cassette or CD.

Nass el Ghiwane ناس الغيوان
Fi Sahra Ûmumiya (In a Public Concert) في سهرة عمومية

Polydor 7" 2225014

1972 (possibly 1973)

A) Fin Ghadi Bya (live) فين غادي بي خويا
B) Wach Hna Houma Hna (live) واش احنا هما حنا 

FLAC | 320