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. 

Muluk el Hwa postscript 1: Hassan Baska

Continuing from my series of posts about the group Muluk el Hwa from Marrakech (see here, etc.), this begins a series of posts that follows the careers of group members after their association with the group. 

Although several members of the group seem fluent in the Gnawa repertoire, Hassan Larfaoui Baska is the only one that I can verify has worked in Gnawa ritual ceremonies, with his brothers Abbas, Ahmed, and Abdelkader. 

I know of only two releases by Hassan under his name, both released on Safi Disque (a Marrakech imprint) around the year 2000. We shared Volume 2 here many years back (now reupped in FLAC here). Sharing Volume 1 today from a CD copy. This is a straight-up solid Gnawa album - guinbri, 2 or 3 qarqabas and choral responders, songs from the ritual repertoire. Like Volume 2, I think this may feature Ahmed Baska on lead vocals. 

As far as I know, Hassan continues to work in Gnawa music in Marrakech but has not worked in other folkloric or fusion projects since Muluk el Hwa. However, do check out his Volume 2 on Safi Disque, which includes a sweet Gnawa blues piece.  

Hassan Baska حسن باسكا
Festivale Marrakech فستفال مراكش
Volume 1
Safi Disque CD صافي ديسك

1) Tingouba - Berrma Berrma Soutanbi
2) Sala Nabina (Musawi) - Sidi Musa
3) Fofo Dinba - Rijal Lghaba
4) Bangoro Bangoro - Amara Musaye
5) Yobati - Kalkani Boulila
6) Fulani Hiriza - Ahayo 

320 | FLAC 

Moroccan Songs for Palestine from the Cassette and Vinyl Era

An article entitled “Odes of Solidarity”: Moroccan Artists Amplify Palestine was published in December 2024 in the recently resurrected journal Souffles. Written by Aomar Boum and Brahim El Guabli, it discusses the topic of Palestine in Moroccan popular song. The article is worth checking out, as is the entire issue, Morocco's Palestine, dedicated to the history of Moroccan people’s engagement with Palestine since the 1920s.

The article lists more than 30 songs, most of them from artists working in the Ghiwani style (the acoustic folk-based style pioneered by the group Nass el Ghiwane). I found a few additional songs mentioned in articles on Megazine and Al-Quds Al-Arabi, plus I knew that Nass el Ghiwane's "Sobhane Allah" contained a Palestine reference as well. And I went hunting on YouTube to find them. Here's the playlist I put together, limiting the list to songs/styles from the vinyl and cassette era:

Below is a list of the individual songs and links to each one on YouTube. The titles and images found in YouTube videos are wildly inconsistent, so I've searched for the "correct" spellings and names of songs as best as I could, linking to Discogs where possible for info on the original releases. Additionally Aomar has translated the lyrics to several songs into English at Souffles, so I've linked to those as well. I do urge you to have a look at the article - it's quite short but makes some important points that situate this era of Moroccan musicking within the larger context of postcolonial nationhood and identities. Props to the team at Souffles for their great work and to the artists who continue to bring attention to the injustices suffered by the Palestinian people.

	Artist: Jil Jilala جيل جيلالة Song: Palestine فلسطين Date: 1973 Notes: not sure if this is the 1973 Cléopatre album version or the 1974 Polydor album version ("Kouds")  Lyrics translation by Aoumar Boum Discogs link
	Artist: Nouas واس Song: Qods القدس Date: 1974 Discogs link
	Artist: Batma & Larfag باطمة و لرفاك Song: Palestine فلسطين Date: 1976 Discogs link
	Artist: El Farka Chaabia الفرقة الشعبية Song: El Koudsse القدس Date: 1976 Discogs link
	Artist: Nass el Ghiwane ناس الغيوان Song: Sobhane Allah سبحان الله Date: 1976 Discogs link
	Artist: Larsad لرصاد Song: Qudsi قدسي Date: late 70s? Lyrics translation by Aoumar Boum Discogs link
	Artist: Lemchaheb لمشاهب Song: Talit El Haramain ثالث الحرمين Date: 1980 Notes: aka "Palestine" Lyrics translation by Aoumar Boum Discogs link
	Artist: Essiham السهام Song: Al Quds القدس Date: 1981 Discogs link  Lyrics translation by Aoumar Boum
	Artist: Izenzaren إزنزارن Song: Touzzalt توزالت Date: 1981 Notes: aka "Sahiyoun" Discogs link  Lyrics video in Tachelhit with translation to Arabic
	Artist: Nass el Ghiwane ناس الغيوان Song: Alkassam القسم Date: 1981 Notes: aka "Palestine" Lyrics translation by Aoumar Boum Discogs link
	Artist: Larsad لرصاد Song: Kafr Kassem كفر قاسم Date: early 1980s? Lyrics translation by Aoumar Boum Discogs link
	Artist: Shuhub الشُّهُب Song: Abria' Filastin أبرياء فلسطين Date: early 1980s? Notes: interesting harmony vocals at start and end, bouzouki chords in final section Discogs link
	Artist: Nass el Ghiwane ناس الغيوان Song: Sabra et Chatila صبرا و شبيلا Date: 1983 Notes: aka "El Majzara" Discogs link
	Artist: El Jouda مجموعة الجودة Song: Ouraq Khrifek أوراق خديفك Date: 1984 (according to YouTube comments)
	Artist: Jil Jilala جيل جيلالة Song: Koun M'â Allah كون مع الله Date: 1985 Notes: aka "Ya Ârbi, Ya Muslim" Discogs link
	Artist: Muluk El Hwa ملوك الهوى Song: Sahiyoun الصهيون Date: mid 1980s? Discogs link
	Artist: Larsad لرصاد Song: Anti Lana انتي لنا Date: mid 1980s? Notes: sung in Fus'ha (Standard Arabic, not Moroccan dialect) Lyrics translation by Aoumar Boum
	Artist: Alouane مجموعة ألوان Song: Ân Insan عن إنسان Date: mid 1980s? Notes: This is a setting of a poem by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish
	Artist: Essiham السهام Song: Fine el Haqiqa فين الحقيقة Date: late 1980s? Discogs link
	Artist: Nass el Ghiwane ناس الغيوان Song: Intifada انتفاضة Date: 1992 Discogs link
	Artist: Mohamed Rouicha محمد رويشة Song: Ida Zzman Ighoudan إدا الزمان إغودان Date: 1990s? Notes: Wow - it's Rouicha! Discogs link
	Artist: Malak ملاك Song: Wa Hasratah واحسرتاه Date: early 1990s? Notes: Notes: Sung in Fus'ha. This sounded like it was gonna be boring, but when the beat drops in, wow - also some vocal harmonies! Discogs link
	Artist: Essiham السهام Song: Bi Kulli L-Asi ou Asaf بكل الأسى والاسف Date: 1998 Notes: aka "Al-qawmiya al-‘arabiya ayna hiya" Lyrics translation by Aoumar Boum Discogs link
	Artist: Bnat El Ghiwane بنات الغيوان Song: Ktir el Khouf كثر الخوف Date: 2000
	Artist: Chourouk شروق Song: Ana Filastin أنا فلسطيني Date: 2004
	Artist: Ikabaren مجموع إيكبارن Song: Sahiyoun صهيون Date: 20??
	Artist: Nass el Ghiwane ناس الغيوان Song: Ya Sellom يا سلام Date: 2007 Notes: aka "Ya Quds" Discogs link
	Artist: Jil Jilala جيل جيلالة Song: Kouds لاقدس Date: 1974 Notes: not sure if this is the 1974 Polydor album version or the 1973 Cleopatre album version ("Palestine") Discogs link

Sources consulted:

• Aoumar Boum and Brahim El Guabli, "'Odes of Solidarity': Moroccan Artists Amplify Palestine". Souffles Monde, Issue 3 (2024)
• Younes Ouali, "بين ناس الغيوان والألتراس.. فلسطين في وجدان الأغنية المغربية". Megazine, 20 November 2024.
• Marwa Salah Metawally. "فلسطينيات ناس الغيوان". Al-Quds Al-Arabi, 2 January 2023.

Note: Undoubtedly there are additional Moroccan songs from this era that touch on the theme of Palestine. Boum and El Guabli identify the following Nass el Ghiwane songs as mentioning the issue:

• M'zine M'dihek مزّين مديحك
• Ya Sah يا صاح
• Ghir Khoudouni غير خدوني

and Metwally identifies these as doing the same:

• Daïyne (aka "Ya Ahli Lhal") ضايعين
• Narjak Ana La M'Chite نرجاك انا لامشيت
• Echams Ettalâa الشمس الطالعة
• El Oumma الامّة

but I haven't scrutinized the lyrics deeply enough to find the references, and there's plenty of Nass el Ghiwane in the playlist already. 🎵 بَحْرَ الْغِيوَانْ مَا دْخْلْتُ بَلْعَانِي  🎵

Toward a Chronology of Muluk el Hwa

I've exhausted my supply of audio to share from the Marrakchi folk revival group Muluk el Hwa. I will link below to a couple additional albums of theirs that are streamable on YouTube. I would like to summarize here what I've been able to find out about the histories of the group itself and of the individual members. There's really not much information online. The three most useful sources I found are a 1988 article in El Pais, a 2005 resume on Afriblog, and a comment thread on this YouTube video clip.

ORIGINS

The group came together somewhere between 1973 and 1976 in Marrakech. According to YouTube commenter @IsmAil-qt2ig, writing in 2024, the original formation of the group

"included members such as the late Abderrahim Adili (عبدالرحيم عادلي), Abdeljalil Belkbir (عبدالجليل بلكير), Abdeljalil Alkodssi (عبدالجليل القادسي), Al-Balbaz (البلبز), Sharif Al-Hallaq (شريف الحلاق), Bakbash (بكباش), and Sharif Al-Azif (الشريف العازف) RIP. After that, a group of individuals joined, such as Hassan Baska (حسن باسكا), the late Abderrahman Turki (عبدالرحمان تركي), Al-Mahjoub (المحجوب), and Abdul Rahim Bish (عبدالرحيم بيش)"

YouTuber @essaidelaadili1390 comments that the above names may reflect the initial recordings made by the group but that other founding writers and composers in the group included 

the late brother Abderrahman bin Sheikh (عبد الرحمان بن الشيخ) and Fadel Sharif Mohamed Sidi (فضل الشريف محمد سدي)

1980 is cited as a breakthrough year in several sources: the group won an award from Moroccan Ministry of Youth and were "discovered" by Spanish writer Juan Goytisolo. The latter would facilitate the group's travel to Spain for musical performances, which in turn led to recordings and musical collaborations through at least the early 1990s. (See my earlier posts on the group's Spanish albums here and here.)

Meanwhile, they continued to record and release cassettes in Morocco. The earliest recording of the group I can find is this album shared on YouTube by user Ismael Abo Salma. which he dates to 1982. I believe these songs are all composed by the group.

The catalog number of this cassette (Sakhi Disque S.L. 246) indicates that it predates the Sakhi Disque cassettes I shared here, here, and here at Moroccan Tape Stash. The j-card pictures 6 group members. I can't tell for sure, but it appears to be the same 6 members credited on the 1986 Spanish album Cançons De Jmà-El-Fnà. I'm not sure if the first 2 are correctly identified, but the other 4 are certain. From left to right:

• Abderrahim Elaadili (musical director, lyricist)
• Abdellah Aloui Inbui (strings, vocals)
• Sidi Mohamed Sahal (percussion)
• Abdeljalil Kodssi (percussion, vocals, composition)
• Abderrahim Ben Bich (percussion, vocals, music composition)
• Hassan Larfaoui (sintir)
  

1992-2005

By the time they recorded 1992's Kasbah album, the lineup had lost Kodssi, Ben Bich, and Aloui Inbui and added:

• Abdeljalil Belkabir (banjo, oud, vocals, composition) - though it appears that Belkabir had been an original member of the group as well (see above)
• Abderrahman Ettargui (flute, vocals)
• Mohamed Aitbrahim (oud, violin, vocals)

Soon thereafter, another change of lineup occured, as well as a change of artistic direction. An album called Hna Khout dates to 1993 according to Ismael Abo Salma. The j-card pictures 5 members - I recognize (standing left to right) Abderrahman Ettargui, Hassan Larfaoui and Sidi Mohamed Sahal, and possibly also Mohamed Aitbrahim (seated right).

The most jarring change is the addition of an electronic keyboard on this album. Indeed, the keyboard's presence seems contrary to the group's aesthetic as articulated in the 1988 El Pais article:

Regarding the possibility of introducing non-native instruments into their line-up, the group is adamant: "Never. We don't want to do anything other than folk music. We want to make our music, the music of clapping and krakech, not that of drums and bass. The only thing we're thinking of introducing into the group is a flute and another voice."

Despite this significant change, the album is enjoyable - the vocal and song structures remind me of the Jil Jilala albums of the late '80s. I wonder who is doing the songwriting and arranging here since the group no longer contains Ben Bich, Koddsi, Belkabir, and possibly Elaadili. (The latter was not always pictured along with the group to begin with, ostensibly because his role was that of lyricist more than musician).

The 2005 Afriblog resume describes Muluk el Hwa as a cultural association as well as a musical ensemble. It lists 2 people as points of contact:

• Abderrahman Ettargui (flute player who joined the group before 1992's Kasbah album) as president of the association and member of the group, and
• Abderrazak Hadir (sintir player who was not listed as group member on any of the earlier releases) as artistic director and group member. 
  

Overall, the group seems to have made quite a few recordings. Per the El Pais article, they had released 5 cassettes in Morocco by 1988. Per the Afriblog resume, by 2005 they had released something like 19 albums, including the 3 Spanish LPs though that number seems very high to me. I hope to find more of them if they do exist.

ABDERRAHIM BEN BICH'S MULUK EL HWA

I have found no further internet trace of the group's 21st century activity until 2022. In that year, Abderrahim Ben Bich (who was not in the 1992-94 lineup of the group) launched YouTube and Facebook pages for a seemingly rebooted Muluk el Hwa. This video clip lists 4 members of the group:

• Abderrahim Ben Bich - leader of group
• Abderrazaq Hadir - sintir
• Mustapha Alqaqi - guitar
• Almahjoub Assaker - vocals

7 tracks on this channel are credited to Muluk el Hwa but were not originally recorded under that name. They are recordings made between 2001 and 2004 by Ben Bich with a French group called No Problemos for a planned double-CD album that was apparently never released. [1] The collaborative tracks available on YouTube feature quite nice Gnawa/world fusion arrangements. The No Problemos YouTube channel features a live clip of Ben Bich performing with the group in 2002.

There appear to be only 2 newly recorded studio tracks on the channel credited to Muluk el Hwa without No Problemos: Kati Bala and Wahyana - both are versions of Gnawa songs, featuring guinbri and qraqeb, drum set and keyboard - nice enough as pop-Gnawa, but not earth-shattering. The other studio tracks credited to Muluk el Hwa are vintage recordings: Assalamo Alaikom (a 90s-sounding remake of "Hadafna" from the Kasbah album), and Mahboubi, a lovely long track that sounds like the group's 1980s incarnation.

One final clip from this new Muluk el Hwa is a nice one - a casual acoustic session, likely recorded on a mobile phone, featuring Ben Bich (vocals), Abderrazak Hadir (guinbri, vocals and Arabic recitation), and a third individual (called Mustapha by one of the YouTube commenters) doing recitations in English:

It's an interesting take on the Gnawa ritual song that opens the Negcha suite, interspersing the traditional melody with new lyrics and recited lines in Arabic and English. This could be an auspicious opening for a rebooted Muluk el Hwa. However, there has been no activity on the Facebook page since 2022 and no new musical clips on the YouTube channel since 2023. It would be nice to hear more from them!

That's all I've got on Muluk el Hwa as such. I'll post again soon with some info about the group members' trajectories outside of Muluk el Hwa. Eid Mubarak this weekend to those observing Ramadan. And as always, Free Palestine.

---

[1] There was apparently an electronic release of 8 Ben Bich tracks from the album in 2017, now including the name Muluk el Hwa along with Ben Bich's name, but it seems to no longer be available: https://www.facebook.com/cdabdou

Muluk el Hwa - Kasbah (1992)

Kasbah is the third of the three albums released in Spain by Marrakchi folk ensemble Muluk el Hwa. Recorded in 1991 and released in 1992, the excellent album shows some personnel and stylistic changes from the previous album, but many continuities as well.

Remaining in the group for this album are guinbri player Hassan Larfaoui and percussionist Sidi Mohamed Sahal as well as the artistic director of the group, Abderrahim Elaadili. On the previous album Cançons De Jmà-El-Fnà, Elaadili is not credited with singing or playing an instrument, only with "Dirección", and as lyricist and arranger on some songs. On this album, Elaadili adds percussion, vocals, and the cover illustration to his credits.

The departure of Abderrahim Ben Bich and Abdeljalil Koddsi removed two of the group's composers and arrangers. Filling the gap in a big way on this album is Abdeljalil Belkabir. Belkabir was a member of the group Tagada from 1973 to 1977 [1], and he provides arrangement and musical composition on 5 of the album's 7 songs. He also provides banjo, oud, and vocals to the session. Other new members add flute, oud, and violin, broadening the group's musical textures while retaining its acoustic character.

The result is another excellent mix of traditional songs and original compositions. The fine original songs "Soubanak" and "Hadafna" would appear again later on Nass Marrakech's 2000 debut album Sabil 'A 'Salaam as "Allah" and "Salaam Aleikum" (with different composer credits as well 🤔). And the folk sources include Gnawa, Sahrawi (a remake/rearrangement of "Tafla Zina"), and Hawara of Agadir (the energetic "Sidi Hbibi"). The expanded instrumental palette allows for different pairings of melodic instruments on different songs - the version of the Gnawa song "Hammadi", for example, uses violin and flute, giving it an almost Irish flavor. I hope you enjoy the album!

 

Muluk el Hwa املوك لهوا
Kasbah قصبة
Di-fusió Mediterrània LP DMM-41
1992

A1 Banguey بانڭري
A2 Tafla Zina الطفلة زينة
A3 Essayeh السايح
B1 Hammadi حمادي
B2 Sidi Hbibi سيدي احبيبي
B3 Soubanak سبعانك
B4 Hadafna هدفنا

320 | FLAC

[1] according to a post on the Tagada Officiel Facebook page

Muluk el Hwa - Cançons de Jmà-el-Fnà

Marrakchi folk/Gnawa/Ghiwani ensemble Muluk el Hwa not only released a number of albums on cassette in Morocco, but also released 3 albums in Spain. According to a 1988 article in El País (1), the group came to Spain thanks to author Juan Goytisolo, "who met them by chance in the barbershop run by one of the members of the quintet."

Their first Spanish release was the 1985 album Xarq al-Andalus, a collaboration with Valencian folk revival group Al Tall. It is the only Muluk el Hwa album available on streaming platforms. 

Xarq al-Andalus is an interesting project - translations into Catalan of Arabic poetry from the region of Valencia from the 11th to 13th centuries, set to music by Al Tall with some musical support from Muluk el Hwa. Using Muluk el Hwa for the project is an unusual choice. The obvious or easy choice might have been to collaborate with an Arab-Andalusian group from North Africa, but Al Tall preferred a different trans-regional Mediterranean mix.

Muluk el Hwa's contribution to the album is rather limited. The track embedded above, "La Tirana", is the only one to feature prominent vocals from the group, and the only one to list Muluk el Hwa as a composer/arranger (at least on my CD copy).

Their other two Spanish albums, including 1986's Cançons de Jmà-el-Fnà present them doing what they do best: mixing up Gnawa tunes, Marrakchi and Sahraoui folk and popular pieces, and original compositions. As usual, they take the Ghiwani model of a folk ensemble: the guinbri, a plucked string instrument (here I belive it's some sort of mandol), and several drums, and augment it by adding qarqabas and sfiqa (interlocking clapping) to the mix, accenting that Marrakchi feeling. Cançons is a lovely album. Its varied musical textures engage the ears of listeners who may not understand the Arabic lyrics. 

Of note is track B1, "Ghziel Miel". Like "Tafla Zina" (featured in a post last week), this is another song that Muluk el Hwa credits to a Saharan folk origin. Led Zeppelin fans may recognize it as the basis for the tune "Wah Wah" that was featured on the Jimmy Page & Robert Plant album No Quarter and the related Unledded live video. It's one of two songs that Page & Plant recorded in Marrakech. Hassan Larfaoui "Baska" of Muluk el Hwa can be seen playing bendir in the video:

Cançons is out of print and unavailable via streaming platforms. Happy to share it here - hope you enjoy!

Muluk el Hwa
Cançons de Jmà-el-Fnà أغاني جامع الفناء
Di-fusió Mediterrània LP, 1986

A1 Ued الواد
A2 Taleb Hanaya طالب هنايا
A3 Aununa Rijal Elah عاويونا رجال الله
A4 Anti Arfa Elebia انت عارفة اللي بيا

B1 Ghziel Miel الغزيل ميل
B2 La Ilaha Ila Alah لا إلاه إلا الله
B3 Jhar Medlam جحر مظلام
B4 Mizem De Marraquech ميزان مراكشي

FLAC | 320

 

(1) Luis Hidalgo, "El grupo Muluk el Hwa cree que el éxito de la música africana se debe a su vitalismo". El País, February 16, 1988. Accessed at https://web.archive.org/web/20160604000234/https://elpais.com/diario/1988/02/16/cultura/571964407_850215.html

 

Muluk el Hwa - All Gnawa Album (upgrade)

A friend and neighbor of the Stash has shared with us an undistorted version of this Muluk el Hwa album. Many years ago I shared here a copy whose head and tail end are marred (or enhanced) by an amazing bit of distortion that provides a unique sci-fi cyborg-Gnawa vibe. Despite the charm of that copy, I expect many of you will be pleased to have a distortion-free upgrade.

Unlike the tape I shared earlier this week, this Mluk el Hwa album consists purely of songs from the Gnawa ritual repertoire, primarily from the opening Fraja sections of the lila ceremony. Group member Hassan Larfaoui ("Baska" ) grew up in a family of Gnawa musicians in the ritual tradition, so he brings that tagnawit feeling to the session. The rest of the group add qaraba and clapping and on some tracks add the banjo and hand drums, giving that Ghiwani edge to the proceedings.

Discographic note: My copy of this album was published on Sakhi Disque. Today's copy was released on an imprint called Sawt el Hassania (not to be confused with the Edition Hassania that released the classic early albums of Najat Aatabou). The tracks on side 1 of my tape appear on side 2 of this copy, and vice versa. Track titles below are taken from the j-card of the Sakhi Disque cassette.

Muluk Lahwa ملوك لهوى
Sawt Hassania cassette صوت حسنية

A1 Allah Allah Moulana الله الله مولانا
A2 Ahayo آه أيو
A3 Baniya بنيا
B1 Âli علي
B2 Laghmami لغمامي
B3 Zid el Mal زيد المال

256

More from Mluk el Hwa

Here's another cassette from the Marrakchi folk group Muluk el Hwa. I've sung their praises previously here and shared a compellingly corrupted tape of theirs here. Today's tape I digitized a long time ago but never shared it. I think it was because this j-card doesn't belong to the cassette with which it came. None of the listed song titles match what's heard on the tape, and somebody used a ballpoint pen to scribble out the catalog number 299.

The cassette certainly contains music by Muluk el Hwa, and it was issued by Sakhi Disque, the Casablanca-based label that released the other two tapes of theirs that I own. Unlike those two tapes, which contain almost exclusively Gnawa songs, this cassette contains no Gnawa songs (unless you count instrumental track that ends each side of the tape).

The songs on side 1 are traditional tunes. The opening track "Tafla Zina" has been widely recorded by Gnawa-affiliated folks, usually under the name of "Hasna ya Laila" or something similar. It has a feeling similar to the Soussiya songs that Gnawa perform at the end of lila ceremonies - the same melodic and rhythmic feel, lyrics of a popular nature, simple and catchy catchy catchy. I first remember hearing the song on a Mahmoud Guinia tape in a lovely solo vocal and guinbri version. Muluk el Hwa's recording is roughly as old as Mahmoud's, so the song has been circulating in Gnawa circles since at least the 1980s. Muluk el Hwa attributed the song to a Saharan origin. Their version seems to have different lyrics than what you hear in the many many versions of this song that you can find online.

Tracks 2 and 3 sound like traditional pilgrimage songs, though I'm not sure which saint is the destination of the pilgrimages in question. The Bahr el Ghiwane YouTube channel has shared a lyric video for these tracks. The songs on side 2 sound like original compositions, in the vein of classic Nass el Ghiwane and fellow Marrakchis Jil Jilala.

I must admit that Mluk el Hwa are more complex than I'd first characterized them. I'd originally thought of them as doing primarily Gnawa songs with a Ghiwane-type ensemble. But really they drew on a broader range of traditional material and they composed more original material than I'd realized.

Hope you enjoy - I'll have some more Muluk el Hwa posts soon!

Muluk el Hwa ملوك الهوى
SAKHI DISQUES cassette S.L. ??? الساخ ديستك

A1 Tafla Zina
A2 Ghir Joudouni Berdakoum
A3 Dar Nnbi A Dar Aljoud
A4 instrumental (ouled bambara)
B1 Ayayay Lemluk Lahwa
B2 Chi Rwa Min Safi, Chi Rwa Min Leghdira
B3 instrumental (ouled bambara)

FLAC | 320

Daleks vs Gnawa in the Time Vortex (apologies to Muluk el Hwa)

Daleks battle Gnawa folk revivalists Muluk el Hawa for galactic domination on the battlefield of audio tape in the late '80s or early '90s. Although Daleks get the final word in the fade-out of side 2, Gnawa, by expressing their devotion to the Prophet and calling on the saints, avoid extermination and ultimately win out. Gnawa go on to get their own festival in Essaouira in 1998. Daleks must wait until 2005 to re-invade world consciousness with the return of Doctor Who to the BBC airwaves. Yes, Gnawa and Daleks both live to battle another day.

Which is to say, this is a very nice tape of traditional Gnawa songs by the band Muluk el Hwa, but it happens to be marred (or enhanced, depending on your taste) by the dissolving out of and into 1:35 of strange, beautiful and menacing audio distortion at the beginning of side 1 and the end of side 2.



Enjoy.  Enjoy.  E...  Ex..  EXTERMINATE!!

Muluk el Hwa (SL384)
01 Âli (=Yomala)
02 Laghmami (=Baba Lghmami -> Siyaf)
03 Zid el Mal
04 Allah Allah Moulana (=Khali Mbara Meskin)
05 Ahayo (excerpt below)

06 Baniya (=Ouled Bambara -> Baniya)


Get it all here.

And if you need more Dalek sounds:

Muluk el Hwa - 80s folk revival, Gnawa front and center

Muluk el Hwa (the "Demons" of Love) formed in the late '70s in Marrakech, riding the folk revival wave of groups like Nass el Ghiwane, Jil Jilala and Lemchaheb. Unlike these groups, Muluk el Hwa performed primarily traditional songs rather than original material. Forefront in their particular mix of traditional forms was Gnawa music.

According to a 2005 resume, the group was "discovered by Spanish author Juan Goytisolo" in 1980 and went on to produce 7 cassettes of traditional Gnawa song, 4 cassettes of Gnawa popular music and 3 cassettes of love songs. The group also collaborated with the Spanish group Al Tall on the album Xarq al Andalus, which focused on medieval Valencian-Andalusian traditions.

One of the members, Abdeljalil Kodssi, has gone on to a number of interesting projects over the years, recording albums with Nass Marrakech and under his own name.

Another member, Hassan Baska, is one of several brothers very active in Marrakech Gnawa life. The maalem of the family is Abbas, who is featured on the 3 hours of YouTube audio I linked to in my last post. Abbas, who was one of my primary interlocutors during my dissertation research on Gnawa music, is also featured on several CDs of Gnawa music - World of Gnawa on Rounder, and Kamar Music's fantastic 3-CD Black Album (2 discs of Gnawa and one of Gnawa-inspired electronic dance music). The latter album is available at CD Baby, where you can also purchase the 2 Gnawa discs seaprarately as mp3 downloads. A third brother, Ahmed, is one of the most recognizable faces in Moroccan Gnawa music. A fabulous dancer-singer and a charismatic presence, he's performed with many Marrakchi maalems on television and CD, including Mahjoub Khalmous, Mustapha Baqbou, and Hmida Boussou. A beautiful album, if you can track it down is Rhabaouine by Gnawa Halwa, featuring Abbas and Ahmed Baska in an atypically pianissimo Gnawa recording.

1) Sa'di bil wali jani
2) Sahiyoun
3) Salah el Bahja (=Chalaba Titara)

4) La ilaha illa Llah
5) An-Negsha

Get it here.