Jamal Eddine Said Elhouate

Here's a tape by a young Jamal Eddine Said Elhouate, known commonly these days as Said Ould El Houate. The singer and viola player was born in 1968 in Casablanca. His real name is Jamal Eddine Said, and he was nicknamed ould el houate (son of the fishmonger) because his father worked at the port [1]. He rose to fame in the 2000s and 2010s with a chaabi style rooted in aita.

This album dates from the mid 1990s, and it benefits from the simple production values of the time. This is the simple and satisfying combination of a scratchy viola, a couple of tightly strung bendirs, Said's lead vocal, and some shikhate singing response vocals. Most recordings you find of Said Ould El Houate date from the 2000s and later, when it becomes hard to find chaabi recordings without a keyboard bass. This older style is refreshing, sort of in the vein of Abdelaziz Stati. Like Stati, Said appears to be an aficionado of aita. He has spent time in Safi learning and reviving old songs from the Abda variety of aita [1].

I was surprised to see the song title "Koubaily Baba" on this cassette. The name is reminiscent of Gnawa songs "Koubaily Bala" and "Koubaily Mama". Said's song does not sound like either of those songs, but the lyrics explicitly reference possession, Gnawa and Baba Mimoun. The music evokes Jilala trance music, with the bendirs playing a very syncopated pattern where drum strokes rarely coincide with the beat. So this track is a chaâbi evocation of a Jilala approach to Gnawa spirits.

Said Ould El Houate remains active and popular today. You can stream many of his albums at Ournia and a few on Spotify. And you can find lots of content on his Youtube channel.

Jamal Eddine Said Elhouate جمال الدين سعيد الحوات   
Sawt Ennachat cassette صوط النشاط   
mid 1990s

1) Essamra Qilini - السمرة قيليني
2) Mal Ezzine Tghayer - مال الزين اتغير
3) Ma Bin Lila ou Nhar Lhubb Tghayer - ما بين ليلة و  نهار الحب اتغير
4) Daq Alhal - داق الحال
     Koubaili Baba - كبيلي بابا
5) Moulay Abdellah Ben Lhoucine - مولاي عبد الله بن لحسين

320 | FLAC

[1] Interview with Said Ould El Houate at Doukali Bouhali blog.

Some Deep Stati Trax Before Ramadan

Here's a fantastic Stati tape that Lalla Hafida brought me in 2016. Down deep in the âita groove, this is some great stuff. I wish I knew the identity of the shikha singer featured here along with Stati - she's fabulous.


The music and the photo are clearly much older than 2016. The cassette number 20/2000 indicates that it was released in the year 2000, but I suspect it's a reissue of an earlier album. (He looks very young in the photo.)

For those of you observing Ramadan (starting at the end of this week), here's wishing you a month of peace, blessing, and remembrance.

Stati (Al Fannan Abdelaziz Stati) - الفنان عبد العزيز الستاتي
Sawt Chaouia cassette 20/2000
1) La Tghib 3lia - لله لا تغيب علي
2) Lawah Ya Lebnia - لواه يا لبنية
3) Raqsa - رقصة
4) Jayeb Rou7i Lik Hdia - جايب روحي ليك هدية
5) Za3eri - زعري / Raqsa 3la Lqa3da - رقصة على القعدة

Get it all here.
More Stati in the Stash here.

Stati Abdelaziz - Fine Rahma Yal Gloub

Ah! This is a great album by "The Pioneer of Popular Song", Stati Abdelaziz. Always keeping it rootsy and acoustic, Stati rocks harder than many an auto-tuned viola wielding chaâbi singer half his age. (We've featured Stati in the stash previously, here.)

This album has been a favorite of mine since it came out in 2001. Memorable melodies and undeniable grooves. Somehow the cassette disappeared a few years back, and I was left with only the j-card. Then a few weeks ago, I found this cassette in the trunk of my car:

Not sure how it got there - it's not my copy. Mine was on the Moroccan label Aarbaouiphone, while this one is a French edition on SACEM. But hey, I'll take it, and I'm happy to share it here. It ain't perfect (there are a number of dropouts on Side 2), but it's great to hear it again. Hope you enjoy it.



Stati Abdelaziz - Fine Rahma Yal Gloub (Aarbaouiphone 004/01 or SACEM EV01/179 cassette)
01) Derni Hali
02) Âzibou Fel Milha
03) Fine Rahma Yal Gloub
04) Ouassalni Klamek
05) Ktir Alik Ya Galbi

Get it here.

I'm All About That Zaêriya

I noticed recently that an old post of mine on Shikh El Houcine el Khouribgui was getting a lot of hits recently. I also noticed that Moroccan TV (الاولى) had broadcast a documentary on Shikh el Houcine. (I wandered into the living room one evening and found his scratchy viola and distinctive face coming thru the TV!) I wonder if the broadcast led to web searches that led to the stash!

I was able to find the documentary on YouTube. It's all in Moroccan Arabic, including interviews with musicians that worked with Shikh El Houcine, but there are some nice performance clips as well that non-Arabic speakers may enjoy. No live clips of Shikh El Houcine, but clips of other artists performing songs associated with him, including Ould Mbarek Khribgui, Abderrahim Meskini (heard in the stash here), and Stati Abdelaziz.



I thought I had another tape of Shikh El Houcine in the stash, but alas, there were no more to be found. I did, however, find a fine tape by Shikh Mohammed al Khirani Khribgui, who was featured in a post about a year back. This tape, again from the fabulous Production Hicham El Atlas, is a great recording featuring a side-long zaêri performance, couplets following couplets, with slow, groovy riffing alternating with ta'rija-punctuated rhythmic rave-ups for shimmying. I never get tired of this stuff. Hope you enjoy it too!

PS - thanks to those who have taken the time to leave comments. I apologize for not responding recently. I'm hoping to sit down soon and write back - I do appreciate the encouragement, feedback, and conversation!

El Khirani Mohamed - Production Hicham El Atlas cassette 2001
Track 2 (excerpt) of 4

Get it all here.

Abdelaziz Stati - The Heavyweight Champion of the World of the Jarrrrrrrrrra Style

The viola-slinging singer Âbdelaziz Stati has been a big star in Morocco since the mid 1980's. According to Yala's bio, he hails from El Jadida, just south of Casablanca on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. I picked up this tape in 2012, but it looks pretty vintage - I'm guessing late '80s or early '90s.

Stati's brand of chaâbi has always remained close to traditional âita and folk forms and textures, even in times days when rai and synth sounds pervade chaabi-ville. Here's Stati ca. 2009, working it at the humongous Mawazine festival in Rabat:



The name "Stati" apparently comes from the number 6, referring to Stati's left hand, which sports 6 fingers.

The "heavyweight" title of this post comes from the song "Wakel Chareb Na3ess" by Morocco's #1 rock band Hoba Hoba Spirit, which features Stati. Jarra comes from the word jarr (to pull), and refers to the way the viola is played - upright, with the bow pulled percussively.

Stati Âbdelaziz - Sawt Chaouia cassette
01) Wahda fat'ha lik
02) Al-wasiya ma darti-hash
03) Sidi Âllal ben Âbdellah
04) Gherrebouk
05) Hebb Shaâbi


Get it all here.
Lots of Stati available at Amazon or at Yala.