Muluk el Hwa Postscript 2: Nass Marrakech and other Muluk el Hwa outside of Muluk el Hwa

This is the second of three posts following the careers of members of the group Muluk el Hwa after their association with the group. Last week we shared an album by Gnawa musician Hassan Baska. This week, I'll share info and links that I was able to find online about several other group members' trajectories. 

Mohamed Ait Brahim - The violinist who joined the group for the 1992 album "Kasba" is later credited on a recording of Melhun music by the Marrakech-based Ensemble Amenzou. 

Abderrahim Ben Bich - As mentioned in a previous post, Ben Bich established an internet presence for a rebooted Muluk el Hwa in 2022 and included there his earlier collaborative recordings withe the French group No Problemos under that umbrella. 

Prior to this, and after his 1980s tenure with Muluk el Hwa, Ben Bich worked with the group Nass el Hal, which released at least one cassette in the 1990s. It's a nice album, if you don't find the keyboards too jarring. (This Nass el Hal should not be confused with the 2010s/2020s group Nass el Hal, which includes Allal Yaala and Redouane Raifak, formerly of Nass el Ghiwane). 

 

Abderrahim Elaadili - the ostensible musical director of Muluk el Hwa in its late 80s/early 90s form, I cannot find any record of his musical activities outside of the group. I did get a hit on his name at IMDB where an Abderrahim El Aadili is listed as appearing in 3 films in the 1990s. Is this the same person who found success with Muluk el Hwa? I can't tell, but it seems within the realm of possibility. Here is his performance as "Rude Passerby" in the first installment of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, filmed in what appears to be Marrakech:

 

According to YouTube commenter @IsmAil-qt2ig, Elaadili is no longer among the living.

Abdeljalil Kodssi in Nass Marrakech

Of all group members, Abdeljalil Kodssi has the most distinguished career outside of Muluk el Hwa. He appears to have left Muluk el Hwa and formed Nass Marrakech in 1990 or 1991 with oud/mandol player Sherif (Moulay Mohamed Ennaji) and guinbri player Abdelkbir Benselloum (aka Maâlem Kbiber). I will dedicate a subsequent post to Kodssi's work post-Nass Marrakech. For now, I will spiel about Nass Marrakech, because there are strong continuities between Muluk el Hwa and Nass Marrakech.

Nass Marrakech take the approach that Muluk el Hwa abandoned in the mid-1990s, namely infusing Moroccan folk songs and styles (primarily Gnawa) with instruments from other folk traditions, at least on Sabil 'a Salam (2000) and an excellent live album Dal Vivo A "Suoni Migranti" (2005). Their 2002 album Bouderbala moved in the direction of fusion with the participation of jazz pianist Omar Sosa and Spanish guest artists. 

Like Muluk el Hwa, Nass Marrakech recorded arrangements of Gnawa songs as well as original compositions. Interestingly, the original compositions on their albums are primarily pieces that were originally recorded by Muluk el Hwa. As far as I can tell, Nass Marrakech, while rooted in Marrakech, maintained a career primarily in Spain, in particular Barcelona. I am not aware of any recordings they made for the Moroccan market - their 3 albums were released in Europe.

A great half-hour live video from 2002 is available to watch on RTVE if you create an account (or just x out the popup box). Unless some other videos surface, this is about as close as we'll get to seeing what Muluk el Hwa was like live onstage. Abdeljalil Kodssi is a charismatic presence on stage. 

SONG TRAJECTORIES

In addition to the trajectories of musicians, we can also trace the trajectories of several songs from Muluk el Hwa's repertoire that lived on outside of the group. Here is a playlist containing Muluk el Hwa recordings and remakes/interpolations of those songs by others. Details are below the playlist:

• Hadafna from Muluk el Hwa's "Kasbah" album (1992)
• Remade as the second half of Nass el Hal's As-Salaam (1998)
• Remade by Nass Marrakech as Salaam Aleikum on the "Sabil 'A 'Salaam" album (2000)
• Interpolated in Aisha Kandisha's Jarring Effects' Nenzak on Shabeesation (1993) and El Haoua - Live (1995)
• Shama - I am guessing there is a Muluk el Hwa version of this take on the Gnawa song Bouchama because it is later recorded by:
• Nass el Hal (1998) 
• Nass Marrakech on the "Sabil 'A 'Salaam" album (2000) 
•  Soubanak from Muluk el Hwa's "Kasbah" album
• Remade by Nass Marrakech as Allah on the "Sabil 'A 'Salaam" album (2000)
•  Ghziel Miel from Muluk el Hwa's "Cançons de Jmà-el-Fnà" album (1986). This is a popular song recorded by other artists, but some of the lyrical turns from Muluk el Hwa's version are retained by:
• Nass Marrakech on the Bouderbala album (2001)

"Hadafna" and "Soubanak" are beautiful songs and hold a special place in my heart - they were sung informally by Gnawa musicians I hung out with in Marrakech in 1992 and after. Muluk el Hwa's part in the history of these songs is one of the reasons I like them so much.