It's Oumguil Time

What time is it? Make no mistake - the watch on the left wrist, the drawing on the cassette shell, the festive star- and comet-shaped holes in the shell, all of them leave you no doubt that it's Oumguil time!

When is Oumguil time? When that Middle Atlas bendir-driven groove kicks it off, when Mustapha calls out the name of your town, be it Ouled Youssef, Fkih Ben Salah, Khouribga, Tangier, or even Milano, when he calls out "Aji nqessrou, rah ellil tawil / Wa khuya nnsaou fih lmachakil (Come on let's stay up, the night is long / Brother, we'll forget our troubles in it)" - yep, it's Oumguil o'clock!

Add this one to the previous Oumguil twofer we served up - You've got yourself a good night's worth of shimmying and derdeg-ing. Enjoy!

Mustapha Oumguil - Âmmer Daoud Ma Iâoud (Tassjilat El Hajeb cassette 28/10, 2010)
1) Elli Ma Jal Ma Âref Bhaqq Errjal
2) Khrejti Âliha ya Ellil
3) Awah Awah Ktab Âliya
4) Âmmer Daoud Ma Iâoud
5) Aji Nqessrou Rah Ellil Tawil

6) Zaêri

Get it all here.

Mustapha Oumguil Twofer - Amazigh Album and Darija Disque

Paris, Beirut, Syria, Iraq, et al. Wishing relief to those mourning, scared, suffering. Music blogging may not count for much in the big picture, but if it brings some smiles and spreads a little cross-cultural grooving, it's a positive activity.

Here's a pair of albums from violist Mustapha Oumguil. A prolific artist, Oumguil has recorded extensively, singing in both Moroccan Arabic (darija) and Central Atlas Tamazight. He hails from El Hajeb (between Meknes and Azrou), as reflected in the name of his cassette label, Tasjilat el Hajeb (El Hajeb Recordings).

This is music for shimmying and shaking in a Middle Atlas sort of way. Check the dancing ladies in the concert footage below - hips don't lie, and Oumghil keeps 'em gyrating all night long. Thousands of Moroccans agree, as evidenced by his appearance at the huge Mawazine festival in Rabat this year:



This is 21st century chaâbi, keyboard-heavy and auto-tuned, but with enough local flavor to keep it countrified. This can be heard in melodies themselves, especially those of the Tamazight language songs. The always-prominent bendir frame drums also keep that Middle Atlas feel prominent.

The Tamazight album comes from a CD that passed through my house earlier this week. It had no artwork, only the name of Oumguil and the title "Tarbat Ighoudan" (a song that is featured in the concert video above).  The Arabic tape is one that I picked up in Beni Mellal in 2012. If you want more Oumguil, there are loads of other Arabic albums at Yala and Amazigh albums at IzlanZik. There's even a $2 album over at Amazon! And check out this this post from last year featuring Abdelâziz Ahouzar, an artist working in a vein similar to Oumguil.

Mustapha Oumghil - Tarbat Ighoudan (CD, 2007)
Track 3 (of 4)

AND

Mustapha Oumghil - Lghaleb Allah ya Bent Ennass (Tasjilat el Hajeb cassette, 2012)
01 Lghaleb Allah ya Bent Ennass
02 Tekmi Garou ou Chicha
03 Talian Ghadrouni b S7ab
04 De7hki ou Tmedghi fel Meska
05 Siri Siri Ghir Nsay
06 Zaêri

Get 'em all here.