AmmA

One of the highlights of our recent trip to Marrakech was the evening we spent in the desert- we were driven to the edge of the Sahara and watched the sun go down from a cliff edge and then went to a camp where along with several other parties of tourists we were treated to some traditional musicians and a meal. The first band were a local band playing traditional Berber music, five men who became my new favourite band quite quickly. 

The four front men all played qraqebs (a large Moroccan castanet) and sang, call and response vocals, their voices going to and fro while they danced in a row or in a circle. Behind them was a seated guitarist playing a gimbri, who played a series of desert blues riffs. They played five or six songs one of which was about being spiritually cleansed. As they finished their set more voices echoed in from behind where we were sitting and five women took to the stage, a group we later learned were called Four Sisters. The five women played hand drums and sang, again lots of call and response, one taking the lead and the four replying.

After Four Sisters finished the first group came back an outfit change and now with a man playing the pipe while the four percussionist/ singers played drums and sang. 

The evening finished with fire eaters and sparks, some spectacular moments and a DJ who began playing some thumping, very much non- traditional music including a cover of I Will Survive. 

It was quite an experience, the bands especially. Later on the five men were standing watching the fire eating and dancing in their track suit bottoms and baseball caps, all quite young but also clearly devoted to keeping the music of their people alive (and making some money from tourists too). The drive back from the desert to Marrakech at midnight was an experience too, down ravines, past broken bridges and at one point chased by wild dogs. 

Ernie over 27 Leggies is a far greater authority on African music than I am. I've been having a poke around in his back pages where I found this...

AmmA

AmmA came out a year ago and is by Bab L'Bluz, a Marrakech group led by singer Yousra Mansour who in this song sings the story of mothers awakened by the reality of a society filled with injustices. 'Awaken women/ Rise women/ I am not half a man/ That time is over', she sings. Powerful stuff, the music of North Africa made contemporary. There's an album too, Swaken, which you can find at Bandcamp.