Najat Aâtabou - Bnate Alhouma

Yes! Here's another vintage Najat Aâtabou tape! 

Judging from Edition Hassania catalog numbers, and unless there are some additional Najat releases from this period that I haven't found, I believe this is her final album to feature only plucked strings and percussion. This album expands her standard previous ensemble to include a second plucked-string instrument (perhaps a lotar or a low-pitched oud, also heard on Koun Mâaya - now upgraded to FLAC). Also heard here is a mixed male and female group of response singers, anticipating the large choral ensemble heard on her orchestral album EH 1410, also now upgraded to FLAC).

Enjoy! 

Najat Aâtabou نجاة اعتابو
Bnate Alhouma بنات الحومة
Edition Hassania cassette EH88 1380
1988

A1 Bnate Alhouma بنات الحومة
A2-B1 Elli Tedwiyou Fiya اللي تدويو فيا
B2 A Ya Men Jralha أيا من جرائها
B3 Wellah Ma Achkite والله ما اشكيت 

FLAC | 320 

Brahim El Alami

Here's a tape of songs by composer, oud player, singer, and conductor Brahim El Alami (1930-2000). I believe they date from the 1960s and were released originally on 7" singles. I picked up this Tichkaphone compilation in the 1990s.

A native of Casablanca, El Alami is praised for incorporating elements of Moroccan folk music into his chanson moderne / musiqa âsriya compositions. I can't identify those specifically, but I do get the sense that his lyrics and melodies feel natural to the rhythmic flow of Moroccan Arabic. (Âsriya can sometimes feel overly Middle Eastern.)

Apologies - this isn't an ideal copy of the tape. I've edited out the 70 seconds where the kids got ahold of the tape player and pressed the wrong button (beginning of side B); the tape snapped at some point and got repaired (early side A / late side B), and the levels fluctuate here and there (I've tried to adjust that). And the final track "Ait Ourir" sounds like it fades out early. Still, this is an enjoyable, old-school set of songs!

You can find these songs and many others of Brahim el Alami on YouTube. More of his music is available at Ournia as well as on global platforms like Spotify, etc.

Brahim El Alami ابراهيم العلمي
Tichkaphone cassette TCK 546 تشكافون

A1 Khellini Bâid خليني بعيد

A2 Ya Lli Sourtek Bin Âinay ياللي صورتك بين عيني
B1 Allah Isamhek الله يسامحك
B2 Ait Ourir آيت أورير

320 | FLAC

Said Oueld El Houate Volume 3

If you read my blogposts, you know I'm not always a fan of the keyboard bass that became prevalent in the mid 1990s in Moroccan chaâbi music. Full disclosure - I am a bass player, so my personal preference is for the sound of the bass guitar, operated by a specialist in that instrument, rather than the sound of a keyboard bass, operated by the left pinky finger of a keyboard player who is concentrating on various chord pads and synthetic voice timbres.

That being said, a good keyboardist knows how to excel in all areas, and I often set myself up to eat my own words, so here's a really great chaâbi tape from Said Ould El Houate that uses the trappings of early 21st century chaâbi production to good effect. Yes, it has keyboard bass, but it's in the pocket, funky, and not monotonous. Yes, it has autotuned vocals, but the female backup vocals sound awesome that way. Yes, it has applause from a fake audience connecting each track to the next, but it actually makes for nice segues. Above all, the musical textures remain rich, between Said's grainy vocals and scratchy viola, and the occasional percussive oud or qarqaba to kick the energy up to the next level.

We featured an early, fully acoustic tape of Said Ould El Houate a few weeks ago, but he really made his name with recordings that sound like this one. Enjoy!

Said Ould El Houate سعيد ولد الحوات
Volume 3
Production Said El Houate Vision cassette
late 2000s/early 2010s

1) Bnat El Koliya
بنات الكلية
2) Waleft Chrab والفت الشراب
3) Ktab Liya Nerâak كتاب ليا نرعاك  

4) Al Âita Al Âmaala العيطة العمالة
5) Wahda Tlouhek Lwahda وحدة تلوحك لوحدة
6) Kob Sek Alach Nwasek كب السيك
7) Dawaqni Lhoub Aâdabou دوقني الحب اعذابو
8) Al Saken Al Ârbi Al Bouhali  الساكن العربي البوهالي

320 | FLAC

Cheb Khaled sings Najat Aatabou?

Over the last couple weeks, the K7MATIC blog has presented several tapes of the incomparable raï singer Cheb Khaled from the 1980s. I've been enjoying in particular the tapes from 1983-84. These albums are fascinating - existing on the cusp between the old full-orchestra style (with violins, accordion, electric guitar, etc.) and the newer electronic style that would come to prominence in the mid-late 1980s. 

I was delighted to hear the oud on a couple tracks from the album Salou Ala Nabi, which blogmaster Reda dates to 1984. 

As the album's final track progressed from a long oud solo into a mawwal and then into the song itself, I giggled gleefully as I recognized the song as "Samhi Liya Lwalida", which appears on Najat Aatabou's first album on Edition Hassania (which I believe dates to 1983 or 1984).

I'm pretty sure all the songs on Najat's album are of her own composition, so this appears to be Cheb Khaled covering Najat Aatabou. Far out!! (If somebody has different information about the song, please share it as a comment below.)

Check out all of K7MATIC's Cheb Khaled posts HERE. I'm particularly digging Atouni Waldi (1983) and Salou Ala Nabi (1984).

And of course you can still find my post/share of the Najat album HERE. Wow, this blog celebrates its 10th anniversary this coming spring!

Najat in the 90s

After the success of Nouveau 92, Najat Aâtabou did not return to the oud and bendir format of her earlier hits. Rather, she adopted various other instrumental combinations, moving eventually toward a more mainstream chaâbi sound.

I own copies of some of these cassettes (without j-cards), and have lost a few along the way. Also, some of these are available to stream or purchase online. So I'll mainly post here links to existing web resources and try to piece together her discography between Nouveau 92 and Attention Monsieur (2000).

Souaret (1993)

This album came out as a cassette on Edition Hassania in 1993. My copy went missing long ago, but I believe the j-card may have had this photo, which accompanies Amazon's version:

The production sounds similar to that of Nouveau 92, using the same funky synth bass on many tracks. I remember at the time being a bit disappointed with the album, feeling it was less hard-hitting than Nouveau 92, and contained no super-catchy single. Listening to it again now, though, it sounds like a breath of fresh air! It augments the unusual synth and viola texture of Nouveau 92 and fills it out with a more organic early-90s chaâbi orchestra: live strings, bendirs, full drum kit, and an occasional electric guitar. It's a more organic, orchestral overall sound. (Admittedly, I'm a sucker for the chaâbi sound of that era.)

And Najat's singing is spectacular. Those folks over at Edition Hassania really knew how to record her - whether accompanied by a simple oud-and-bendir ensemble or a full orchestra, her voice remains powerful and startling.

Here's a YouTube playlist of the entire album:



The mp3 album is available to purchase and download (or stream) at Amazon for a reasonable $3.99!: https://www.amazon.com/Souaret-Najat-Aatabou/dp/B00ERIW0MW/

Taqi Fia Allah (1995)

This is, I believe, the last album that Najat released on Edition Hassania. I used to have a copy of the cassette. Like the previous albums, this one is also driven by the viola. But the style is different here. Rather than a chanson moderne style of viola playing, hearkening to the smooth sounds of the modern Arab orchestra, here we have a straight-up dance-inducing chaâbi fiddle! The overall ensemble is more simple - bendirs, some oud and melodic keyboard here and there, and what sounds like a drum machine (hi-hat and some fills). Though a return to oud and bendir-s is nice, the chaâbi viola really dominates the mix and doesn't quite work for me. That being said, the tune "Baadou Lhih" is awesome and became part of her live repertoire.

The album's 6 tracks were remastered and released in the US as part of the Rounder compilation CD "Country Girls and City Women", which is out of print. It's worth finding a used copy of the CD - the booklet includes a nice essay, translations of all the song lyrics into English, and an interview with Najat. I can't find any streaming or download options for the album. Here's a YouTube playlist of the album's songs:

Sabara (1996)

I had a dub of this album, and I remember it being on label called something like "Safa Disque". (It wasn't the well-established Sonia Disque, with whom she would later record.) The leadoff track "Aatani Bedhar", also known as "Mali Ana Ma 3andi Zhar" was a smash hit - smooth chaâbi groups were covering it, and with its singalong chorus of "Wa-a-a-a-ayli", it was an instant classic, and one of Najat's biggest ever hits. I love it!

It was around this time that studio-produced chaabi in Morocco started to sound a bit too perfect and precise for my ears. Though rhythms were still driving and percussive, drum sets had given way to drum machines and programming, which could feel mechanical. Electric guitars for rhyhmic and chordal accompaniment were rarely found anymore, replaced by more versatile synthesizers, which could also add a variety of melodic textures. Even oud-s and violas began to sound more processed and perfect. I tend to like my chaâbi (and most music) a little on the sloppy side - I appreciate being able to hear the human interactions and imperfections.

That said, when all the elements come together in a studio production, it can be great, and that's the case throughout this album. The oud remains prominent in the mix, the real or synth strings (I can't always tell which) support without being overbearing, the rhythm section pops and crackles, the synth bass keeps things funky and in the pocket, and Najat and the backup choir sound great! A mega-post on the ARAB TUNES blog has this album, and many others by Najat!

Also, here'a YouTube playlist of the whole album:

Souvenir (1998)

According to this interview, Souvenir, like its predecessor Sabara, was produced by Najat's former husband Hassan Dikouk. It has a similar overall sound to Sabara, and Najat seems to have comfortably settled into a mainstream chaâbi setting. To my ears the sound is a little less punchy - a bit more emphasis on the viola and less on the oud, and the vocals seem more subdued. But when it works, like in "El Aati Houwa Allah" and "Daba Ytem El Nachat", it still kicks.

ARAB TUNES has this one as well, and here's the whole album on YouTube:

Et Oui Mon Ami, Parle Je T'écoute (1999)

My cassette copy of this (get it HERE) contains a track not available on streaming platforms - a spoken message from Najat to her public, presenting her new cassette, on which, she says, she has tried as always to move chaabi song forward, and that the most important measure of its success is "your entertainment, clapping, and pleasure".

I don't know what prompted the inclusion of this rather apologetic message. Perhaps her moves into mainstream chaabi were criticized by some sectors of the public. Or perhaps she was nervous about the leadoff track, which has a distinct Latin feel and a light programmed percussion track, straying further away from her roots than usual. (This was the era of Amr Diab's smash Egyptian hit "Habibi ya Nour el Ain". Unlike that track, though, Najat's does not include the soon-to-be-ubiquitous-in-Arabic-pop flamenco guitar.) On streaming versions of the album (like the YouTube playlist embedded below, or Amazon's version), there is a bonus track - a chill lounge remix of the title song, with light funk electric guitar and Middle Eastern strings replacing the punchy synth horns of the original.



Outside of the title track (which was not a big hit), the rest of the album features a pretty standard chaâbi texture, though a bit more sparse than the previous two albums. I couldn't quite put my ear on what was different at first. I heard a viola and a synth banjo, some restrained programmed rhythm with a live darbuka. There is a funky synth bass again, though it's very low in the mix as compared to the previous albums. The really key difference here, though is that there is NO BENDIR! Throughout all of her albums, whether based around the oud, the viola, or a full orchestra, the one constant is the presence of the buzzy bendir! On this one, though, the only buzzy timbre you can hear is the occasional taarija. The low percussive tones, are not buzzy booms, but clean synth bass drums. Which is a weird idea, but it sort of works for me.

The viola-centered sound of this album hearkens to 1995's Taqi Fia Allah, but with punchier rhythm and overall sound. Again, the chaabi viola isn't my favorite instrument to hear with Najat Aâtabou's voice, but this ain't bad.

---

I saw Najat Aâtabou do a concert in Casablanca in 1999, and the only songs she did from any of these 5 albums were "Mali Ana Ma 3andi Zhar", from Sabara and "Baadou Lhih" from Taqi Fia Allah. But although these albums may not be packed with hits, there's worthwhile material on all of them. My ear for Moroccan lyrics isn't developed enough to critically assess Najat's 1990s songs in comparison to the earlier hits that brought her to fame. A lot of the same themes seem to pop up - complaints about romantic relationships, trying to keep things cool with mom, patience, acceptance, and calling out hypocrites. Her turn toward a mainstream chaâbi sound strikes me as a way for her songs of support and solidarity to resonate with a broader community of Moroccan sisters. At any rate that's my interpretation for now. Am happy to hear other opinions.

Wishing a blessed Ramadan to you all. Thank you for continuing to visit, even though I seem to only post about Najat Aâtabou these days! I promise I'll get some other stuff cued up soon...

 

---

 

UPDATE: Here is another Najat album from the 90s that I didn't know about:

 

Ouejdi Atay (1997)

 

Najat Aâtabou - Lillah Ya S'haba (1986)

Here's one more old Najat Aâtabou tape for ya. This is the last one I own with her old line-up of oud and bendir-s. I wish I knew the name of the left-handed oud player who appears in the early Najat video clips I see online. I assume he's the same one who plays on these early-mid 1980's albums of hers. He always sounds great. Can anyone identify him?

I don't have a j-card for this tape, but the cassette shell is from Edition Hassania. "Ditih" and "Wardat Lejnane" appear on the out-of-print CD "The Voice of the Atlas", whose notes indicate that the songs date from 1986 or 1987. The song "Lillah ya S'haba" also appears on Najat's orchestral album, but I prefer this stripped-down version, which builds and builds 'til it bursts out into a joyous ululation-filled climax.

The version in this video is similar. Not quite as raucous as on the album. But it does feature a boat onstage, (at around 9:45 and forward) which is pretty awesome:



Side 2 of my tape is of sub-par audio quality, but Najat shines through nonetheless.

Najat Aâtabou - Lillah Ya S'haba (1986)
1) Lillah Ya S'haba
2) Ditih
3) Ana Mzawga Fik A Hnaya
4) Wardate Lejnane

Get it here.

PS - I've been working on a Lemchaheb post, but got caught up in a forest of metaphors, from which I'm still trying to extricate myself. Soon, incha'Llah.

Najat Aâtabou - Live in Paris and in Tamazight

Here's a live album from Najat Aâtabou released around 1985, not long after she first burst onto the Moroccan music scene. She's in fine form here, performing in Paris at The Olympia with oud, bendir-s, a darbuka and the backup singing of the male band members.

The album opens with an evocative (orientalist?) intro featuring audio snippets of a Middle Atlas ahaidous communal dance (one wonders if there was video at the concert as well) with a spoken narration extolling the bounties of Moroccan traditional music, before introducing Najat herself.

Tracks 3 and 4 are sung in her native Central Atlas Tamazight dialect, while the others are sung in darija (Moroccan Arabic). I've become obsessed in particular with Track 4, "Nikkine Admough" or "Ad 3mough Izri". Here's a different live performance, longer than the one on the album. The moment where the band stops and Najat continues singing a capella breaks my heart:



According to this interview and performance from Moroccan TV, the lyrics are about a woman who was separated from her lover because of travel. Upon her return she finds that he has died, and she cries at his grave. (A kind soul has also translated some of the lyrics from Tamazight to French in the comments.)

Another native speaker of Central Atlas Tamazight who found success using Arabic lyrics with Berber musical forms was Mohamed Rouicha. However, Rouicha recorded some entire albums in Tamazight, whereas I don't think Najat ever released an album in Tamazight. I have found only a few live performance clips on YouTube from her early days where she performs songs in Tamazight. Conveniently, they are all linked from this page at izlanzik.org. I'd love to be proved wrong, though - does anyone know if she ever made studio recordings in Tamazight?

Najat Aâtabou at L'Olympia (EH1280)
1) intro
2) La Tbkich (= El Mektab)
3) Mani Lâhad
4) Nikkine Admongh
5) J'en ai Marre
6) 1, 2, 3

Get it here.

Najat Aâtabou - Koun Mâaya (1985)

It's been a while since I posted any Najat - long overdue, now that I think about it.

Here's an oldie, circa 1985, when she was still using the basic ensemble of oud and bendir-s. The song "Koun Mâaya" (Be With Me) was the title track, and lyrics were featured on the j-card. The song features some sort of bass oud, or someone playing an octave down.

My fave tune, though, is the rocking "Tikka Ghalia" (Trust is Expensive), Here's a fab live version:



Najat Aâtabou - Koun Mâaya (EH 1300, 1985)
1) Koun Mâaya
2) Tikka Ghalia
3) Ach Ngoul Lih
4) Ha Nta Chouf

FLAC | 320.

PS - it appears that Divshare has been down for several weeks, so all my embedded audio tracks are dead. Hopefully they'll come back online eventually, but who knows.

L'Hajja L'Hamdaouya and her Âita Big Band

Here's another vintage album from âita pioneer L'Hajja L'Hamdaouya. These are some classic âita marsawiya and chaâbi tunes here, the sort you would hear typically with a small ensemble (oud, viola, derbuka, bendir) such as that of Bouchaib el Bidaoui. Hamdaouya performs them here with a larger ensemble including several violas, flute, and tar (tambourine). Interesting to hear the âita-style viola riffing with multiple violas, and the nice looooooose heterophony and prominent tambourine give these recordings an almost Arab-Andalusian âla vibe in places. And on top of that, it also manages to rock!

Some of these songs can be heard by other performers elsewhere in the Stash. "Ma Cheftou Leghzal" appears by Bouchaib el Bidaoui here. And "Elghaba" appears (in a version about 7 times faster) by Hamid Zahir and Alfarqat Almarrakchiya here. Enjoy!

L'Hajja L'Hamdaouya - TCK647
01 Errabta 1

02 Errabta 2
03 Essa'diya
04 Elghaba
05 Ma Cheftou Leghzal

Get it all here.

Taktouka Jbaliya with Abdelhak Lâaroussi

The last of my Jbala offerings is some relatively trad taktouka jbaliya from Abdelhak Lâaroussi. I say "relatively" because the ensemble does feature a light keyboard bass in addition to the traditional bendir, darbuka, tar, oud, viola and guinbri.

About the genre, Ahmed Aydoun writes that the name taktouka jbaliya, while commonly used, is contested and that purists still prefer the name âita jbaliya. He continues:

"This rather particular âita is placed by its practitioners under the spiritual guidance of the patron saint of the Beni Âros and the Jabal al-Âlam, the [spiritual] pole Mulay Abdessalam Ben Mshish. There is no âita in which he is not cited." (1)

I love the little guinbri. You can see it held by the gentleman at the far left in the photo above. I own one and play it when I have a chance. A violin-playing colleague dubbed it the "plinkophone" because of its distinctive "plink plink plink" timbre.

I also love the loopy 9/8 (3+2+2+2) rhythm (also heard in my previous Jbala posts). In a full performance of taktouka, the 9/8 gives way to a 5/8 section and ultimately ends up in 6/8. You can hear this progression on the Musique du Monde album "Maroc: Taktoka Jabalia", in particular on the track "Aita Jabalia". On my tape, you don't get that progression, but you do get 40 glorious minutes of non-stop 9/8

More love - the Jbala rock the brown jellaba, wearing one sleeve on and one sleeve out. What a great look! 

This tape again comes from my 2001 visit to Tangier. All the Jbala tapes I picked up were issued by companies based in Fes, which is not part of the Jbala region, but is apparently far enough north to be a center for the recording and production of Jbala music. Interestingly, I also picked up a few Riffi tapes on the same trip (coming soon to the blog), and those were all issued by companies based in Nador.

This particular tape was issued by "Disque Les Fêtes de Fes". Can anybody tell me what this logo signifies? It looks like a craftsman's hammer of some kind. I will update this post if I figure it out.

Regarding the artist Abdelhak Lâaroussi, most examples of his music that I find online are in a chaâbi mode, though with a Jbala flavor. Yala has several recent albums of his. I'm happy to be able to show a different side of his work.


Abdelhak Lâaroussi - Taktouka Jbaliya - Moulay Abdeslam (Disque Les Fêtes de Fes AF11)
excerpt from Track 1 (of 4)

Get it all here.

(1) Aydoun, Ahmed. Musiques du Maroc, Casablanca: Editions EDDIF, 1992, pp. 111,  my translation.

Northern Soul - Hajji Srifi

My stash is stocked mainly with tapes from central Morocco - Marrakech, Beni Mellal and Rabat being the primary triangle points of my Moroccan travels. However, I do have a handful of tapes from northern Morocco. The last time I was there was in 2001, and I tried to pick up things that were unavailable further south. I know much less about the northern artists and traditions than I do about the central and southern ones, so I relied on friendly tape vendors to steer me toward what the north has to offer. I'll do what I can to provide some context for these tapes.

I'll start with a nice tape from the artist Hajji Srifi. According to Yala.fm, he was born in the 1940s, has been recording since as early as the 1970s, and is based in the area of Al Hoceima, on the Mediterranean coast.

The music on this tape sounds to me like chaâbi with a northern, specifically Jbala flair. The term "Jbala" can refer to either the mountainous region of northwest Morocco or to people of the Arabic-speaking tribes of that region.

Most tracks on this tape (except track 6) fit into the basic 6/8 groove structure found across Morocco. And the prominence in the mix of keyboard, violin and percussion set it within a typical chaâbi soundscape. However, a Jbala tinge can be heard through a few sonic markers drawn from a couple of Jbala musical genres: Taqtouqa Jbaliya and Ghaita Jbaliya (more on these in the next few posts).

In the title track (embedded toward the bottom of this post), for example, the opening keyboard timbre mimics that of a ghaita (oboe), such as one would hear in the ghaita jbaliya genre (made famous outside of Morocco by the Master Musicians of Jajouka). The vocal melody of this track reminds me of the mode and contour of taqtouqa jbaliya melodies (see YouTube video below, starting around 2:04).


Elsewhere on the tape, other Jbala signifiers can be heard. The oud and small guinbri (or gnibri) used in taqtouqa jbaliya can be heard here and there. (Listen to the very very beginning of track 4 to hear the high-pitched little guinbri.) And something about Hajji's style of vocal vibrato seems typically Jbala to me. See especially the intro to track 6 to hear this vocal quality. Track 6 finishes out the album in the loopy 9/8 taqtuqa rhythm.

As you can see from the video above, Hajji Srifi performs not only in chaâbi-style but also in more traditional modes (and costumes) than this tape and his suit-and-tie photo alone might suggest. Yala.fm has a large number of his more recent albums streaming and downloadable here. Some are more traditional sounding, others incorporate the trappings of modern chaâbi, But all of them are rooted in that Jbala sound. Moroccan Tape Stash gives a big thumbs to this great sound, and thanks those tape vendors in Tangier for doing me right!

Hajji Srifi - Ghab L-Hbib Âliya (Fassiphone 216)
01) Ghab L-Hbib Âliya

02) Allah Allah Lefki
03) L-Hbib Lli Âsherna
04) Ma Bqat Tiqa
05) Anta Bghiti N'tfarqou
06) Toubou Lillah Toubou

Get it here.

Best Ever Najat Aâtabou Tape!

 
This is my favorite album by one of my favorite artists. If you're new to Najat, check here for my intro to her and her work. If you know her already, you know about her stunning voice, her groundbreaking songwriting, and the killer Middle Atlas grooves she rides.

This is, I believe, her second album, and it's a classic. The four great songs are performed in long versions, with no-nonsense arrangements, allowing singer and oud player to stretch out, ride the groove, and build intensity. The big hit was "Shoufi Ghirou", and fantastic it is. My fave track, though is the lead-off "Ach Dart Ana" ("What Did I Do?") - Mother, what did I do? By God, I haven't grown tired of you. This separation was brought upon us by the Lord.

I would have posted this earlier, but I've managed to lose the j-card somewhere in the stash, and it's a beautiful one. I kept hoping it would turn up, but to no avail. The only image I could find of it was on a rip of the cassette posted on Daily Motion:



The  inside of the j-card features a lovely photo of a heartbroken Najat (with modern coif and dress) embracing a woman in a traditional jellaba. The embraced woman is shown from behind, so we don't see her face. It always seemed to me that the photo was meant to go with the song "Ach Dart Ana", posing a hope for reconciliation that isn't found in the song itself. If I ever find that j-card, I'll be sure to scan it for ya. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy these tunes as much as I do!

01) Ash Dart Ana
02) Shoufi Ghirou
03) Lin Hroubi
04) Ezzaida Melami

Get 'em all here.
More Najat in the stash here.

Hi Y'all - Back with More Marrakchi Party Tunes - Si Mohamed Aguir

Happy 2013 to all. Sorry for the long absence - tape deck needed a little maintenance, and I guess I needed a little break too. Thanks for the comments and well wishes in the interim!

Still have a bunch of tapes from my summer trip to get digitized and out to ya. For now, though, here's a couple of oldies from deep in the stash. These both feature my fave oud man out of Marrakech, Hamid Zahir, but also highlight a particular member of his group, Si Mohamed Aguir.

The first tape, pictured above, is credited to Alfarqat Almarrakchiya (The Marrakchi Ensemble). It's basically the Hamid Zahir group, but featuring some different lead singers. I'm pretty sure that the singer on some of these tracks is Si Mohamed Aguir, and I think he's the one pictured on the cassette j-card. The only picture I could find online is from the sleeve of the 45 seen in the YouTube clip below. Does it look like the same guy to you? It sure sounds like him:



The cassette contains some tracks that appear on other cassettes credited to Hamid Zahir (#2 and #3 specifically). You'll still want to hear this album, though, if only for the insanely catchy singalong "Lebniya Llah Ihdik" (preview below).

The second cassette, pictured below, features tracks recorded live by Hamid Zahir and troupe (somewhere outside of Morocco, if I'm hearing the introductory comments to track 5 correctly).

This set features Si Mohamed Aguir singing on track 5. Zahir introduces Si Mohamed as the singer (and, at the end of the song, dancer). You'll hear Aguir's prominent rhythmic footstamping on several tracks. I believe Si Mohamed is the heavy set gentleman clapping, dancing and singing back-up in the following YouTube clip.


Even when he's not singing lead, he's a huge part of the atmosphere of Zahir's performances - adding the percussive clapping, cadential call-outs, and syncopated footwork. The songs he sings are more ironic and comedic than than those sung by Zahir. I don't know if he's still with us, but his good-time vibe is still in effect when the Marrakchi groove hits!

Any corrections or additional info about Si Mohamed Aguir would be greatly appreciated!!

Audio transfer notes: I did a time-pitch correction on track 4 of "Alfarqat Almarrakchi". It always seemed to run too fast to me - now the oud is in tune with that of the other tracks on the tape, though this track was certainly recorded at a different session. The Koutoubiaphone tape seems to me to run on the slow side, but I didn't adjust anything on it.

Discographic note: The Zahir live tape says "Koutoubiaphone" on the j-card, but the cassette shell bears the Tichkaphone imprint. They are one and the same company.

Tagnawit note: Track 2 of the Koutoubiaphone tape contains 2 Gnawa-related songs. "Hada Wa'du Meskin" takes lyrics from a Gnawa song but gives them a different (but still pentatonic) melody. "Lagnawi" refers to the Gnawa melk Sidi Mimoun. However I believe this song has its origins in the Aissawa repertoire - I've heard the melody played at an Aissawa ceremony, but it's not typically played at Gnawa ceremonies.

Alfarqat Almarrakchia - Editions Hassania EH1097
1) Lebniya Llah Ihdik

2) A Bgha Itjewwej
3) Kulshi Msha Ghafel
4) Farkh Lehmam (or so it says on the j-card - the only refrain I hear sung refers to "Al-ghaba")

Hamid Zahir - H. Azzahir (live) Koutoubiaphone/Tichkaphone CKTP5006
1) Lalla Souad
2) Hada Wa'du Meskin - Lagnawi
3) Lil Lil Ya Sidi Âamara
4) Lghorba
5) Ma Bghit Zuwwej 


And of course there's more Hamid Zahir stashed away here and here.

The contemplative side of Hamid Zahir

 

Most of Hamid Zahir's oeuvre is pretty formulaic, and it's a formula I love: uptempo, singalong Marrakchi party tunes with light, catchy, often humorous lyrics, an insistent percussive drive from darbuka and tar (tambourine), interlocking syncopated handclapping, call-response vocal punctuations, and Zahir's funky oud. This album, at least to my ear, deviates just slightly from that formula - most of the familiar ingredients are the same, but tempos are just a tad slower, the melodic modes tend toward the minor (track 3) or rast (tracks 1 & 4) rather than the major, and the lyrics seem somehow a little more world-weary than usual. Not as obsessive and bluesy as Rouicha's work, but more contemplative than the typical Hamid Zahir tape.

Speaking of tapes (and ignore this if you're not interested in how I edited the album), I own 2 cassette copies of this album, both of which have incorrect pitch - one too high and the other too low. (I wonder if I perceive this album as contemplative because for years I listened to a tape that ran lugubriously slowly.) I found what appears to be a CD rip online. I planned to use that to find the correct pitch. But the CD also contained "extended" or full versions of a couple of songs which faded out early on the cassettes. Conversely, one of my cassettes contained several extra phrases of Zahir's fantastic oud soloing at the beginning of two different songs, where the CD cuts into the solos late.

So here is my edit of the CD rip (which had better audio quality overall than my tape) with the missing opening phrases appended to the beginning of tracks 1 and 3 from my cassette, with pitch correction. Whew...

1) Tiqi Biya Rak Âziz
2) Haram Âlik ya Dunya
3) Mali ou Mal Ennas

4) Daba Iferrej Allah

Get it here.

Najat Aatabou (and the Jordanaires)

Here's another oldie from Najat Aatabou. I was always curious about this tape - All of her other albums from her debut in 1984(-ish) up to the mid-'90s were released on the Editions Hassania label. I'm guessing this tape, on the Nabilophone imprint, is an early one. It features the simple ensemble of her early Hassania cassettes - oud, bendir, darbuka, Najat's voice, and a male backing vocal section. This a great album with some classic tunes. I saw her in concert in 1999, and she included a couple of these in her set: "Halfa 'Alih" and "Sh'hal Suwwelt 'Alih".

** WARNING: SILLY MUSICOLOGICAL TANGENT AHEAD **

I've always found it unusual when a backing vocal group doesn't merely repeat lyrics sung by a lead singer but instead transposes those lines to the third person. I'm thinking of Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear", where he sings "Oh let ME be...", and the backing vocal group, the Jordanaires, echo with "Oh let HIM be...". I wonder what factors into a composer/arranger's decision to use this technique rather than a straight repeat of the lyrics.

Off the top of my head, I'd think that the technique could be used for any of several reasons, among these:

• a) dramatic reasons - to highlight the subject position of the lead singer's persona in the song; 
• b) gender reasons - when the lead singer is of a different gender than that of the choral group (i.e., when it might sound silly for a man to be singing the words just sung by a woman)
• c) rhythmic reasons - e.g., in "Teddy Bear", Elvis sings "Oh let me be" to 4 straight quarter notes (not including the hiccups) - that is, all syllables are of equal duration. In the Jordanaires' echo, the rhythm changes to a syncopated one - the syllable "let" becomes a short one (an eighth note), followed by a longer "him" (quarter note). It would sound awkward to sing "let me" to this rhythm - "let him" sounds much more natural. (If you want to hear this, the phrase comes at about 0:15 in the clip below.)

 
Najat has a few songs that use this technique. On this album, the refrain of "Sh'hal Suwwelt 'Alih" features different lyrics when sung by Najat than when it is sung by the male response vocalists:

Najat	The Boys
Sh'hal suwwelt 'alih 'Ajbu-ni 'aynih Jibu-li dak elloun Jibu-li k'hel laayoun Ana ken-bghih Aha ken-mout 'alih	Sh'hal SUWWLAT 'alih 'Ajbu-HA 'aynih Jibu-L'HA dak elloun Jibu-L'HA k'hel laayoun RAHA KET-bghih RAHA KET-mout 'alih
For so long I've asked about him  His eyes please me Bring me that kind Bring me the black-eyed one I want him I'm crazy about him	For so long SHE's asked about him  His eyes please HER Bring HER that kind Bring HER the black-eyed one SHE wants him SHE's crazy about him

Since none of the changed lyrics come at the end of the line, the rhyme scheme remains intact.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of songs by other Moroccan artists that use this technique. But in Najat's repertoire, you can hear it in "Sh'hal Suwwelt 'Alih" (listen below) and in "Mali Ana Ma 'Andi Zhar".

On another silly tangent, I always liked the outfit Najat is wearing on the right panel of the j-card. I recently found a video from a live performance where she wears it. In fact, I think the photo comes from this performace:


 
1) Halfa 'Alih
2) Mchite ou Jite
3) Ach Blani Bik, Ach Dani Lik
4) Sh'hal Suwwelt 'Alih


Get it here.

Najat Aatabou - The Orchestral Album

Here's another goodie from Najat Aatabou, the siren of Khemisset, whose first album I posted here some time ago. As I mentioned then, my favorite recordings of hers keep the texture simple. In the early days, this was an oud and some percussion (bendir-s & maybe darbuka). This album, from around 1987, was, I believe, the first time she broke out of that style.

And what a way to go. You can tell this tape is something special because it has an extra fold-out panel at the right side of the j-card. The only Moroccan cassettes that get this sort of treatment are of the chanson moderne genre, where it is customary to list the lyricist, composer, and singer, in that order. (See, for example, the tape of Latifa Raafat I posted a few months back.)

Indeed, this is Najat Aatabou singing chanson moderne with a large, modern orchestra. Sort of like Hank Williams singing with the Nelson Riddle orchestra. Improbable, but it sort of works! The sharp, country edge of Najat's voice makes a nice contrast with the lush arrangements and melodies of Ahmed el Alaoui (who's written some nice stuff for other singers, including the song "Nasyak" on the aforementioned Latifa Raafat album.) It's an interesting combination, and I wonder what was the backstory to this cassette - Whose idea was it? How did it come to fruition?

Oddly, the j-card omits track 3, "Lillah Ya S'haba". It's listed on the cassette shell, so why isn't it on the j-card? It's the only track not written by lyricist Ali el Haddani and composer Ahmed el Alaoui. The out-of-print Globestyle album "The Voice of the Atlas" credits this song to Najat herself. She tends to compose her own material most of the time, but most chaâbi cassettes do not list composer credits.

"Lillah Ya S'haba" is an interesting song of Najat's. Unlike most of her compositions, which follow a simple verse/refrain form, this one is an extended long-form composition with several discrete sections. Yep, it's basically a chanson moderne form. Well done, Najat! The version on this album appears to be a live performance (dig the feedback at about 4:35). Here's a performance of the song with a more typical Najat backing group:



If you have the "Voice of the Atlas" album, then you already have all 4 of these tracks. Perhaps it's understandable that a western release included these orchestral tracks - its target audience might get bored with a whole album of just oud and bendir-s. Or perhaps the folks over at Editions Hassania, when approached for international licensing, chose to pitch these more "serious" tracks of Najat's. But these orchestral tracks are not what made Najat Aatabou famous - it was the stripped-down stuff like this. Don't get me wrong - I love this album, it's just not the most "representative" of her work. If you like the tape, you should seek out a copy of the Globestyle album - much nicer digital transfers from the master tapes than my garage transfer from an old well-loved cassette... (but you can hear the love, can't you?)

Discographic note. The first song, Baghi Nertahuh, appears on both the Globestyle album (where it is listed as "Baghi Nerjah") and the Rounder CD "Country Girls and City Women" (where it is listed as "Ar-Rih").

01) Zourouni Lillah
02) Baghi Nertahuh
03) Lillah ya S'haba

04) Feen Triqi

 

FLAC | 320

El Bhiri - Chaâbi from Casa, yeah!

Instead of poring through the Lomax collection yesterday, I decided to pore through a stash of about 75 cassettes I inherited from a friend recently. Separated out the Maghrebi music tapes from the Middle Eastern ones and the Islamic lectures. I was still jonesing for some chaâbi, and scored with a swell tape of El Bhiri. Yala.fm describes him as a chaâbi artist from Casablanca. The tracks here stay mostly to the aita side of the chaâbi field, with the exception of track 5, which is more of a call-response percussion band-style rave-up.

The tape is missing the first couple minutes of track 3, where someone inadvertently (or advertently?) taped some interesting but completely non-sequitur Middle Atlas tamazight song on top.

Here's El Bhiri on TV:


Get it here.

Najat Aatabou - Moroccan Modern Soul Sister - 1st album (c.1984)

One of the most individual female voices in Moroccan music, both sonically and artistically. Even when complaining about typical women's problems (sneaky men, jealous women, family estrangement..) from an underdog position, the strength of her voice makes her seem to be the one in charge of the situation.

Snippets of her biography can be found around the web, e.g. here, here and here. Before starting her professional career, she would sing informally at parties in her hometown of Khemmiset. Bootleg tapes of her performances began to appear in local tape shops, and her unapproving family eventually found out she'd been singing. To escape their wrath, she fled to Casablanca, where she began her career in earnest.

Najat Aatabou made an immediate impression on the Moroccan scene in the early '80s with a sound and songwriting style that hadn't been heard before. Like Roucha, crossover success by singing Middle Atlas Berber izlan-styled songs in Arabic (rather than Tamazight - though she occasionally records in her native Tamazight too). Her early recordings used a fairly traditional musical texture (though with the Arab oud rather than the typical Berber lotar). But the songs were anything but traditional. Women singing from a woman's perspective was nothing new - but Najat Aatabou's clever wordplay was something new, and she approached the issues not from the ambiguous, seductive position of the shikha, but as a modern soul sister, singing out to her contemporaries.



She remains popular today, though mainly among oldsters from my era. I think the last big hit she had was the great "Mali Ana Ma 3andi Zhar" in around '96. Over the years, she's achieved some international attention with CD releases on Globestyle and Rounder (both out of print). On the latter you can hear "Hadi Kedba Bayna" - the hit of the summer of '92, at least among the folks I was hanging with in Marrakech. This song was later sampled by the Chemical Brothers for "Galvanize".

Najat Aatabou has always maintained strong creative control of image, career. Instrumentation has changed over the years, but tends to be best when she sticks to a simple format where her vocals can shine with a basic Moroccan rhythmic and melodic accompaniment, which she uses most of the time.
(Though her orchestral tape from the late '80s is pretty awesome - I may post that at some point.)

This tape is, I believe, her first album, featuring the hit "J'en ai marre" (I'm sick of it). It's a shame most of her work is unavailable. Hope you enjoy this - I've got plenty more!

1) J'en ai Marre
2) Shahama
3) Ras el Ain

4) Sam7i Liya Lwalida
5) El Mektab
6) Hak Shmata

Get it here.

Charli Elmaghribi and other goodies at the Jewish Morocco blog

 

Chris over at the Jewish Morocco blog recently uploaded a couple nice tracks from this cassette here. There are some other audio goodies in his stash - mainly vinyl - from Morocco (Koutoubiaphone) and Israel (Koliphone), as well as great info about some overlooked artists. Check it out!

Hamid Zahir - Doin' it to Death, Marrakchi Style

Sorry for the long time between posts these days. It's getting interesting here around Oakland!

Continuing with more Moroccan oud, but in very different style from my last post. Hamid Zahir is far and away my fave Moroccan oud player. This is not the oud of spacious, thoughtful taqasim or subtleties of touch. This is jamming, percussive, rhythmic, driving oud, and nobody does it to death like Hamid Zahir!

Hamid Zahir, as I understand it, got his start playing on the Djemaa el Fna plaza in Marrakech. If you subtract the oud from the mix here, you're left with your basic Marrakchi dkitikat percussion band: darbuka, ta'rija, bendir, and to turn up the heat, some qarqaba-s. Zahir's oud playing fits right in with the non-stop call-response propulsion of this type of music.

Zahir wasn't the first to mix "classical" instruments like oud or qanun with street music. The celebrated Houcine Slaoui (the father of Moroccan chaabi music, IMHO) was doing this in the 1940's. However, Hamid Zahir's recordings kick out the jams a bit more - perhaps because Slaoui was recording on 78rpm discs, while Zahir, who rose to fame in the 1960s, made recordings on 45s and LPs.

When I first visited Morocco, Abdenbi (my late musical interlocutor, Llah irhamu) recommended that I listen to Hamid Zahir to learn Moroccan oud playing. For non-Moroccan musicians trying to "get" the Moroccan groove, Hamid Zahir would be my top recommendation. You can't really play Moroccan if you don't feel the rhythmic underpinning. Hamid Zahir serves it up, bare-bones and non-stop: rhythmically driven tracks, poignantly punctuated with interlocking clapping or with vocal call-response phrases that indicate points of emphasis within the rhythmic cycle; simple sung melodies that sit unambiguously on that loopy rhythm; long passages of the funkiest oud riffing on the planet; and bringing it all home with a climactic full-group cadence (see end of track 4).

It's even better when you can see the Marrakchi outfits and footwork!:



1) Sheftha Ghir b-Nedhra
2) Lil Lil Ya Sidi Aamara

3) Kulshi Msha Ghafel
4) Lawah Asi Lawah

Get it here.

BTW - not much of his stuff in print outside of Morocco. You can still find this excellent CD once in a while. Of course, there's scads of his stuff over at yala.fm.

BTW2 - A former member of Hamid Zahir's troupe is the Gnawi m'allem Abdelkbir Marchane (a.k.a. Abdelkbri Lechheb).