Sunday, September 2, 2012

Non-Stop Full-Speed Kickin' Women's Grooves: More Houariyat


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.

Hope you've all been well - it's nice to be back!

01) 3jebtini A L-Bayda
02) Tlebt l-3ali 3tah 3liya
03) Wlidi ha weld errda
04) 3jbuha
05) N-Haousou L-Beldan
06) Diriha Aoudiha

Get it here.

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7 comments:

  1. HammerSeptember 3, 2012 at 12:18 AM

    Welcome back again, Tim. Good to see you around here after a Ramadan that went sweeping so fast, no-one really felt it passing from the get-go.

    Also, nice to read that you're including more Moroccan music in the CD-format. These aren't that bad after all.

    Much respect and well wishes.

    H.H.

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  2. Mr TearSeptember 3, 2012 at 12:47 PM

    Welcome back Tim. Thanks (as always) for the beautiful sounds.

    ReplyDelete
  3. GoofySeptember 5, 2012 at 12:55 PM

    So good to see new material here and welcome back Tim!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2012 at 3:07 PM

    Howdy Tim, and all your readers...just wanted to give you a heads up that Jon Ward (of Excavated Shellac) and I played a bunch of cool North African 78s on this here podcast, I think you will like!
    http://radiovalencia.fm/gramophoneybaloney/2012/09/12/haji-maji-excavated-shellac-on-gramophoney-baloney/

    cheers,
    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  5. alaaFebruary 16, 2013 at 6:56 AM

    Very nice tape!

    even if this is similar to the houariyat style, these women should be classified among the "aouniyat" or the "laabat", to be found more overs the plains around the atlantic plains from safi north to south of rabat through Casablanca and south east to Settat and over to beni mellal. they have also influenced the women druming of the western zayane and zemour and even zaer tamazight tribes

    They are less influenced by the african tempo and do have the particularity of using a Taarija trapped inside the elbow or when sat on the knee with a particular rythm to fill the tempo left empty by the main rythm

    ReplyDelete
  6. duggMay 9, 2013 at 6:45 PM

    wow... sites like this are what love best about the internet... the chance to expand one's horizons and hear new music that one would NEVER have heard without a passionate, informed and devoted guide.
    really looking forward to hearing this and more of the wonderful music you've made available.
    respect,
    d

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  7. tim abdellahJune 1, 2013 at 2:43 PM

    Thx for the comments everyone - @Alaa - yeah, you're right. This is definitely aouniyat/laabat stuff. Good call!

    ReplyDelete