MOROCCO: MUSIC AND DANCE

There’s no doubt that Morocco is a multi-ethnic country, from both a historical stance and a cultural stance. Their traditional music is multi-faceted, and the different ethnic groups have their own varieties and variations of their music. 

Andalusian music (music of Andalusia, or Muslim Iberia [Spain and Portugal]) is a mix of the music of the Maghreb with the music of Iberia. Other popular styles of traditional music include Berber music, Sufi music, mystical Gnawa music, Chaabi music, and classical Malhun music. Some of the differences between these different styles include whether it’s for a religious or spiritual purpose or who performs it or what function the music is for.

While there are certainly differences between the various styles of music, some instruments are used throughout the region. Vocal music is still at the heart of their music. Instruments such as the rabab (like a fiddle), oud (lute), qanun (zither), tambourine, kamenjah (like a fiddle that is played upright held by the knees), darbuka (type of goblet drum, usually made of metal or pottery), handwa (small, brass cymbals), swisen (small folk-lute that is typically pitched higher; there’s also a bass version called a hadjouj), and the garagb (metal castinets) among others.

And like the diversity you find in their music, each ethnic group has their own dance as well. A few of the more common dances from Morocco include the shikat (belly dancing), ahwash (danced in the High Atlas Mountains, where women dance to a circle of male drummers), guedra (a type of Tuareg Berber dance performed by women), and the gnaoua (performed by men to drive out spirits, typically danced with acrobatic moves). 

And certainly as they moved forward into independence and the latter half of the 20^th century, their music was influenced by European and American music along with other areas of Africa and the Middle East.  The first one I sampled was the music of Cheb Mimoun. There are several Moroccan musicians who perform their own version of rai music, a style of music far more popular in neighboring Algeria. The music uses some traditional instruments mixed with some modern ones. I think the rhythms drive the music—not just in the percussion lines but in the instrumentals as well.

Hanino is another musician who falls into this rai music genre as well, but to me, it’s a little more modernized. There are times when I swear he’s using autotune. There’s something I like about this, though. 

There is also a huge hip-hop scene in Morocco. For the most part, they base their style off of American-style hip-hop. I first listened to Dizzy Dros. The music is catchy and the change ups are spaced well. I liked his rhythm and flow; his voice reminded me a little of Cypress Hill in a way at times, except that he was rapping in Arabic with some phrases in English mixed in. I listened to the album 3azzy 3ando Stylo, and what impressed me was that the album was long—it had 21 songs!

Another big name in Moroccan hip-hop is Muslim. His style wasn’t too much different than that of Dizzy Dros, although, I think sometimes he integrated traditional melodies into his music. The way he raps was a little more dark, maybe more gangsta? I don't know. I liked what I heard, though; I saw he collaborates with quite a few other artists. 

I also came across a Moroccan rock band called Lazywall. Most of their songs are sung in English, and I think they’re great. Their style is an early-to-mid 2000s-style alternative rock, kind of similar to Audioslave. Ok, I am actually pretty damn impressed with them. In fact, I followed them on Spotify just so I can listen to them later in the car. They might be my new favorite band of the day. 

There are other genres represented in Morocco as well. One Moroccan DJ and singer, who goes by the name Dub Afrika, has a few songs that are pretty catchy in the dance/club category. There’s also a small metal scene; I listened to a song by the band Sakadoya called “Back to the Age of Slaves.” It’s pretty metal in every sense. While everyone knows by now that I’m not such a fan of screaming in music (I do have my moods and moments where I don’t mind it), their instrumental playing is on point.

Up next: the food

ALGERIA: MUSIC, ARTS, LITERATURE

When it comes to music, Algeria is probably most well-known for raï music. Starting in the 1930s, it borrowed the styles and forms of Spanish, French and Arab music.  Raï singers are called “cheb” which means “young” in Arabic. I think of it like how some hip-hop artists and rappers use “lil” in front of their names.   

It has its origins in the city of Oran.  And as it became easier to access information and recordings from across the world, raï musicians became influenced by many forms of music: from pop, reggae, funk, and jazz to the sounds of electronic instrumentation.  The lyrics have always been about secular topics, and more specifically, often about social topics. Poverty, war, and racism were among topics that were addressed by the Algerian musicians who sang these messages. However, you can imagine, like in the US, the conservatives didn’t like these liberal messages. There were several raï musicians and producers in the 1990s that were killed because of this by Islamic fundamentalists; the first and most noted was Cheb Hasni. Others in the industry have relocated to France to continue with their music, where it’s created a large raï following overseas.

I see the fact that raï music and its movement in Algeria has, in its form and function, pulled ideas and musical styles from many different styles.  It’s this fusion of instrumentation and musical forms that has created a whole new representation of what the Algerian voice sounds like. Likewise, I see this as a representation of their social and political ideas as well, not staying stagnant with the ideas of the old and what’s-always-been attitudes but branching out and being open to the views of those around them. It’s the idea that change and the incorporation of new ideas is not necessarily a bad thing.

One raï musician that I came across who impressed me is Biyouna.  She's got a mix of jazz and some blues, and I can definitely tell some French influence in her works. This album is amazing.  I found her album Blonde dans la Casbah on iTunes for $10.89.  It’s also available on Spotify, and I’ve put it in my Algeria playlist.

The artist Sting hooked up with Cheb Mami to perform the song “Desert Rose." This obviously shows the influence of raï musicians on the rest of the world. I think it's a great example of how seemlessly they blend the two musical styles together. 

Many Algerian musicians have relocated to other countries and perform there. One R&B singer I came across based out of Canada is Zaho. I’m definitely going to buy the album Dima. It’s available on iTunes for $9.99.  Of course, it’s also in my Spotify playlist for Algeria.

Belly dancing is popular in Algeria.  There is a certain style of belly dancing from the Ouled Nail, one of the Berber tribes. Traditionally, their costumes included a lot of jewelry, coins sewn on the costumes, and heavy make-up.

The Tuareg and Kabyle Berber tribes have some of the most beautiful jewelry I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely my style, using a lot of silver and stones such as red coral, brown agate, tiger’s eye, turquoise, blue agate, black onyx, and green agate.  I found a wonderful site from Australia that sells a lot of Algerian and Moroccan Berber jewelry and textiles. The Berber rugs and clothing are beautiful as well! 

Probably one of the most famous writers to come from Algeria is Albert Camus.  Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957 at the age of 43, he was the second-youngest recipient of the illustrious accolade. I’ve read two of his novels, The Stranger (available for $0.99 for Kindle) and The Plague (available for FREE on Kindle), both of which are on my Master Reading List (containing 859 books, of which I’ve read 267). His style is philosophic, and he excelled in absurdism.  I would highly recommend both of these books looking if you’re looking for something new to read. The main languages of Algerian literature are written in either French or Arabic (Camus wrote in French), although Arabs, French, Spanish, Berber and even the ancient Romans have influenced Algerian literature and brought it to what it is today.

Next up: The Food!

Resources:

Belly dancing: http://www.worldbellydance.com/Top-10/10-Places-to-visit2.html

Wikipedia articles: “Albert Camus,” “Literature of Algeria,” “Raï (music)”

Berber jewelry: http://www.berberosaharan.com/en/