Aziza El Menkassia - Special Gnawa II emoluV

I had asked the tape seller if he had any Gnawa tapes. He pulled down this one, popped it in the deck for me, and pushed play. I thought to myself this seems to me like anti-Gnawa. I wanted the warm, woody, resonant rumble of the sintir and call & response vocals of full-throated baritones. What I got was some crazy electro-drum-and-synth driving home the perpetual Moroccan chaabi 6/8 beat, and a young lady leading the call and response vocals. And yet the j-card read "Special Gnawa" and had pictures of Gnawa musicians on it, so I grabbed it, figuring it would at least be interesting to figure out what about this music signified "Gnawa".

 

Now after many years of thinking and inking about Gnawa music, I return to this tape. What does my Gnawacized (mguennoui) ear tell me about this tape with the benefit of hindsight (hind-hearing? hind-audition?) Well, one of these songs would be heard during the trance part of the Gnawa lila ceremony, namely "Jilali Dawi Hali". (Type that title into the search bar on this blog and you'll find at least 4 Gnawa tapes that feature the song.) Many of the other songs can be heard at the end of lila ceremonies when Gnawa musicians play the fun popular songs they call chaabi or more specifically Soussia. Despite the Gnawi connotations of this album's songs, the musical arrangements aren't particularly Gnawa-inflected. They are, however, unusual. 

 

There's not much information about Aziza El Meknassia online, but the good folks over at Moroccan Tapes have shared another tape from this artist. Their description of the unusual rhythmic texture heard in Aziza's recordings is worth quoting here:

"One of her signatures that one can hear across most of her records is a unique way of arranging the typical Chaabi rhythm... [The] driving hi-hat and tam-tam give us a double-time 12/8 feel, while the kick and snare create a half-time 4/4 feel, almost like a rock backbeat (if you hear it the wrong way)."

Hope you enjoy it!

Aziza El Meknassia عزيزة المكناسية
Special Gnawa - Volume II
Voix Bab Mansour cassette 38 صوت باب منصور

01 Al Mwima Lhbiba الميمة لحبيبة
02 Ribou Ya Douk Lejbal ريبو يا دوك لجبال
     Ana Lli Dert Khairi Ou Ma Ouella Liya انا لي درت خيري وما ولا ليا
 
03 Chailah شايلاه
     Qalbi Derni
     Ana Zayra Moulay Ibrahim
     Lalla Chafia
04 Marrakech مراكش
     Laman Wahia Laman
     Jilali Dawi Hali
     Touria Laghzal

320 | FLAC

Najat Tazi - Ya Saqi

 

Here's a swell rai album from singer Najat Tazi. This dates to 1992 or '93. Najat hails from the region of Taza in northeastern Morocco. The internet boasts dozens of her albums on international streaming platforms like YouTube, Spotify, etc. On some she sings in Riffian Tamazight (Tarrifit), and on others she sings in Moroccan Arabic. Despite this prolific output, I can find almost no details of her life or career online.

The one short article I found relates that she was born in the town of Aknoul, north of Taza, began her career singing backup for many artists, gained initial notoriety singing cover versions of songs by rai singers Cheb Khaled and Mimoun al Oujdi, and has subsequently recorded more than 50 albums. The article also links to a 2020 video interview, so if you know Tarrifit and find that she said something noteworthy, please let me know! [1] 

She performed at the big Mawazine festival in Rabat in 2016.

This album has some great early rai grooves and some unusual keyboard sounds. And Najat's voice is powerful. Dig this opening track:

Najat Tazi نجاة التازي
Fassiphone cassette 07/4 فاسيفون
c. 1992-93

A1 Ya Saqi يا ساقي
A2 Tkherrejti Âla Ouladi تخرجتي علی ولادي
A3 Démarrez ديماري
B1 Kounti Ghalia Kifache Rkhesti كنتي غاليا كيفاش رخصتي
B2 Zine Âlah Iseddou Âlia Lbibane الزين علاه يسدو عليه البيبان
B3 Ouelli Lia Ya Lâziz ولي ليا يالعزيز

320 | FLAC

[1] Najim Al-Sabaa (نجيم السبع). "Gzennaya stars around the world: The capable artist Najat Al-Tazi (نجوم اكزناية عبر العالم | الفنانة المقتدرة نجاة التازي)". https://gzennayamedia.blogspot.com/2020/11/blog-post_11.html

Interview excerpt on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdBGdYdcAUc

Full interview on RADAS TV program "Thawra n Rif": https://www.facebook.com/RADASTV1/videos/486435888975880/

Capstan Keep a-Spinning - End The Occupation

I'll have some new old music to share in a few days. For the moment, here's an update to some old music I shared before.

When I first visited Morocco in 1992, Nass el Ghiwane had just released an album whose opening track "Intifada" commemorated the uprising in Palestine. The following year, the Oslo Accords seemed to indicate movement toward justice and reconciliation, but it was not to be. Now here we are thirty years later, seemingly further than ever from justice. 

I shared this album back in 2011. I've added a FLAC link in the original post. And here's the album as a YouTube playlist:

Keep your capstans a-spinning, thanks for visiting, and be well.  ❤️✊❤️🎵❤️