Malika Ayoub - Milano Is Not My Homeland

This Moroccan rai tape is blowing up in my house right now. Specifically the leadoff track "Milano Machi Bladi (Milan is not my homeland)". It seems to date from the late 1990s. Great ghorba stuff.

The tape comes to us from the inimitable Gary of Bodega Pop, who generously donated a cache of tapes to the Moroccan Tape Stash stash recently!

I asked an AI chatbot where Malika Ayoub was from. It answered that she is from Agadir, but when I asked for its source for this assertion, first it crashed and asked me to try again later, then it admitted it made up the answer based on its algorithm. YouTube commenters suggest that she is either Riffiya or Berkaniya, so from somewhere in the northeast of Morocco. This would make sense from the rai stylings of this cassette. The final track "Haoul Ayourinou" is sung in one of the Amazigh languages. I thought it might be Middle Atlas Tamazight, but perhaps it is Tariffit. 

She appears to have been active as late as 2012 according to a post at the Last Night in Orient blog. The post is worth a click to view some vintage K7 j-cards and VHS inserts from her catalogue.

Several of her albums are streaming on the usual platforms. There's also this one uploaded by the YouTube channel K7 MAROC 90'S:

She also released some VHS tapes on Boussiphone, some of which can be seen in this playlist

Hope you enjoy!

Malika Ayoub مليكة أيوب
Casa Vision cassette CV 01 كازا ڨيزيون

A1 Milano Machi Bladi ميلانو مشي بلادي
A2 Ila Hchemti Tgouliha إلى حشمتي تڭوليها
A3 Lwaqt Ifout الوقت يفوت
B1 Akhir Houb Fhayati اخر حب في حياتي
B2 Noud Tkellem Llqadi نوض تكلم للقاضي
B3 Haoul Ayourinou حاول أيورينو

FLAC | 320

Abdelkader Ariaf - Mlih Mlih

Here's a nice album of Riffi pop tracks from singer/songwriter Abdelkader Ariaf. I picked this up in Tangier in 2001. 

Ariaf was born in Nador and lives in Rotterdam [1]. His Facebook page indicates that he performs often in Europe, but I could find little biographical information about him online. There are a couple of video interviews with him on YouTube ([1], [2]), but they were in Tarriffit (which I don't speak) and did not appear to address the beginnings of his career or its trajectory. He first traveled to Europe in the year 2000, but I don't know how long he's been living there. 

Ariaf is active on social media (Facebook, YouTube, TikTok), and continues to release new music. In addition to YouTube, much of his music can be found on the international streaming platforms (Apple, Spotify, Amazon), including albums that date back to 1996. This particular album doesn't seem to be available anywhere.

Enjoy!

Abdelkader Ariaf
Mlih - Mlih
Disco Melilia cassette

A1 Wazzay Adhzouigh وزي أذزويغ
A2 Amsrqigh أمسرقيغ
A3 Adhqsagh Idoudan أذقسغ إضوضان
B1 Thite Inou ثيط إينو
B2 Allah Ihennik الليهنيك
B3 Mlih Mlih مليح مليح

320 | FLAC

[1] "Welcome Thamazight  ويكلوم تمازيغت" Episode 8 الحلقة الثامنة, Directed by Said Azar إخراج سعيد أزار, SNRT 8 Tamazight 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nJ6pItwLjk

[2]  "Abdelkader Ariaf عبد القادر أرياف", Episode of "Rqehwa Akd Unazur قهوة مع فنان", Directed by Mourad Mimouni إخراج مراد ميموني, NadorCity 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4SsWDRkamk

Jadwane - Moul Enniya Kairbe7

Here's a very nice album by Jadwane (usually spelled Jedwane, usually billed as Orchestre Jedwane). El Mokhtar Jedwane is a chaâbi singer and composer from Rabat. Quite popular in the 90s and 00s, Jedwane retired from chaâbi in 2008 after making the Hajj to Mecca. [1]

Jedwane's style of chaâbi is of a very different variety than that of Said Ould el Houate which I presented last week. No real âita influences here. This is a much smoother chaâbi, with some traces of Andalusian melodies (see track 2), and orchestral flourishes that would be at home in Middle Eastern pop music or Moroccan chanson moderne. This sort of chaâbi typically bores me pretty quickly, but I must say Jadwane does it well and thoughtfully, and he has a lovely and sweet voice.

An interesting track here is "Oufigh Idjes Inmaden". It opens with a northern Moroccan style of melody and rhythm. Jedwane announces the title of the song in Arabic, "Lqit Bent Ennas", which he dedicates to Riyafa wherever they are, inside or outside of Morocco. Rather than singing in Arabic over this Riffi beat, though, Jedwane switches over to a standard chaâbi melody and rhythm, but starts singing in Tamazight (I assume it's the Riffi/Tariffit dialect.)

It's an unusual approach - for an Arabaphone chaâbi singer to translate an original song into Tamazight and sing in that language. As a way of evoking or playing across the linguistic and cultural divide, it certainly takes a greater commitment and effort than simply playing a Sousiya song and singing in Arabic, as I described some time ago. Jedwane thought enough of the work to include the lyrics on the j-card in both Arabic (Darija) and Tamazight (Tarifit).

This was not the first time he undertook such a project. His online biographies mention that in 1998 he spent 8 months on a translation of his song "Bghini Nebghik" into Tachelhit. [2] 

I know I was complaining last week about keyboard bass in chaâbi. This album is full of it, but it's used here unobtrusively, and quite nicely. 

There's another album of Jedwane's over at Moroccan Tapes and lots more at Ournia.

Jadwane - جدوان
Moul Enniya Kairbe7 - مول النية كيربح
Fes Maatic cassette
c. 2003

1) Moul Enniya Kairbe7 - مول النية كيربح
    Echafi3 Fina - لشافع فينا
    Hezzit Yedi Lessma - هزيت ايدي للسماء
2) Njerreb Zahri W Nsal - نجرب زهري و نسال
3) Oufigh Idjes Inmaden - وفيغ ادجس أنمدن

4) 3tit Lkelma ou Ndemt - عطيت الكلمة و ندمت
    Kayen Had Chi Wella La - كاين هاد الشي ولا لا
    Dima Halou Ki Houwa - ديما حالو كي هو
5) L3arousa Moulat Lhemma - لعروسة مولات الهمة

320 | FLAC

[1] Interview with Jedwane at Hespress.

[2] Biography of Jedwane at Music Chaabi.

Paul Bowles' Library of Congress Moroccan Tape Stash Is On YouTube

In 1959, noted American author and composer Paul Bowles made several trips around Morocco recording as many strains of Moroccan traditional music as he could capture. Bowles curated some of these recordings for release on a 1972 2-LP set "Music of Morocco" issued by the Library of Congress.

Bowles recounts some of the experiences of the 1959 recording project in the essay "The Rif, to Music" in his essay collection "Their Heads Are Green and Their Hands Are Blue". For a deep dive into Bowles' musical upbringing and aesthetics and how these inform his recording project, it's well worth seeking out Philip Schuyler's essay "Music of Morocco: The Paul Bowles Collection", included in the 4-CD reissue and expansion of the Library of Congress album, released in 2016 by Dust to Digital. This release is one of the most beautiful artifacts in my own stash - from the ornate box to the leatherette-bound booklet down to the track selection, sequencing, and notes, everything was done with great care, thought, and taste.

If you can't find the box set, the album is available to purchase digitally at Bandcamp, including a pdf of the booklet. The album is also available to stream online through various platforms, though of course without the reading materials:

I had meant to post something about this back in 2016, but did not manage to do so. While scrolling through Twitter last week, I stumbled across a YouTube clip of a Gnawa recording I'd not heard before, originating from the Bowles' collection, but not issued as part of the LP or CD sets. The video was uploaded by Archnet, a digital resource sponsored by MIT and the Agha Khan Trust for Culture.

It turns out that Archnet has made the entire collection available online in YouTube form! 60 reels of tape! As Michael Toler of Archnet explains on his blog, these clips are raw transfers of the original tapes, so do not expect them to sound like the versions on Dust to Digital's release, which were nicely mastered to improve sound quality.

Still, what an amazing gift to be able to hear these tapes! As an additional gift, Archnet has uploaded a scan of Bowles' own typed notes on the recordings, which accompanied their submission to the Library of Congress: http://archnet.org/publications/10093. Excerpts from these notes appear in the Dust to Digital booklet, but you can now see the whole set.

I found the Archnet website difficult to navigate, and the way they have named the YouTube videoclips is inconsistent and often incomplete. So for my own benefit and yours, I have grouped the clips into YouTube playlists, which I hope are easier to navigate. The playlists are linked below. I generally named them by recording date, artist name/style and location. A small number of things listed by Archnet or in Bowles' notes are missing or mislabeled, but the links below will get you to nearly everything he recorded for the Library of Congress from August to December of 1959:

• 1956-08 Gnawa Tangier - This recording was submitted by Bowles to the LOC as a supplement to the 1959 recordings. It was made with "inferior equipment", but he deemed it to be important enough to submit. 
• 1959-08-01 & 02 Cheikha Fatoma Bent Kaddour (Beni Mguild), Aïn Diab
• 1959-08-01 Moha ben Driss and Ensemble (Beni Mtir), Aïn Diab
• 1959-08-01 & 02 - Various Groups at the Moussem of Sidi Abderrahmane, Aïn Diab
• 1959-08-06 Hazan Semtob Knafo, Synagogue Elkahal, Essaouira
• 1959-08-06 Gnawa of Tamanar - Miloud Ben Barka Ensemble, Essaouira - Bowles lists 2 tracks for this group: 2B.1 and 2B.2. On YouTube I could only find 2B.2, but 2B.1 exists on Archnet's site here.
  
• 1959-08-08 Raïs Mahamed Ben Mohammed Ensemble (Beni Haha), Essaouira - Bowles recorded 3 reels of this group: 3B, 4B, and 7A. Archnet uploaded a video for 4B, but it contains the audio for 5B (Moha ben Driss Ensemble), so this playlist contains only 2 clips.
  
• 1959-08-12 El Ferqa dial Guedra Goulimine
• 1959-08-13 Amarg Tiznit - Rais Ahmed ben Bakrim and Group, Essaouira 
• 1959-08-15 Ahouache Tafraoute - Maalem Ahmed and Ensemble, Tafraoute
• 1959-08-21, 08-24, and 06-XX - Muezzins, Tangier, Ain el Hayani
• 1959-08-27 Music of the Jbala - Maalem Abdeslam Sarsri el Mahet Arzila and Ensemble, Asilah
• 1959-09-04 Café Music of Tetuan - Bachir bel Hadj Hassan Bacali and group, Qahoua d’l Nadjah, Tetouan 
• 1959-09-05 - Rais Mohammed el Khemissi and Ensemble (Rhmara Tribe), Tetouan - 7 tracks are listed on Archnet's site, but the YouTube link for the 4th clip is broken. However, it can be accessed via the download link at http://archnet.org/media_contents/116862
  
• 1959-09-09/10 Music of the Beni Ouriaghel Tribe, Einzoren, Rif
• 1959-09-15 Cheikh Hamed bel Hadj Hamadi ben Allal and Ensemble (Beni Bouifrour Tribe), Segangan
• 1959-09-20 Festival Music of Taza - Allal ben Mohammed Kaaoui and Ensemble, Taza
• 1959-09-21 Cheikh Ayyad ou Haddou and Ensemble (Beni Ouaraine Tribe, Middle Atlas), Tahala 
• 1959-09-25 Andaluz Music of Fez - Abdelkrim·Rais, director (and rebab), Fez, Musée du Batha - Bowles' notes indicate that 2 reels of music were captured from the group: 26B and 27A. However, Archnet's link to 26B is broken, and their video for 27A contains the music from 27B (Taqtoqa Jabaliya).
• 1959-09-25 Taqtoqa Jabaliya - Maalem Mohammed Rhiati and Ensemble, Fez
• 1959-09-29 Andaluz and Melhoun - Members of the Family of the Chorfa of Ouezzane, Ouezzane
• 1959-10-18 Melhoun - Maalem El Hocein and Ensemble, Meknes - The third clip is labeled on YouTube as "32B", but the video itself contains the music and contextual information from "31A".
  
• 1959-10-19 Music of the Hamatcha - Valley of the Oued Boufekrane (near Meknes) 
• 1959-10-20 Cheikha Haddouj bent Fatma Rohou and Ensemble (Zaiane Tribe, Middle Atlas), Khenifra 
• 1959-10-24 Mohammed bel Hassan and group (Ait Bou Guemmaz Tribe), Ait Mohammed
• 1959-10-27 & 10-31 Guennaoua - Si Mohammed Bel Hassan Soudani, Marrakech
• 1959-10-28 & 10-31 Haouziya without and with cheikhat - Maalem Taieb ben Mbarek and Ensemble, Marrakech - Archet's site lists 7 clips. The 1st clip "39B" does exist on YouTube, but contains no audio. so I have omitted it from this playlist.
  
• 1959-10-28 Unknown Aouada player, Marrakech, Djemaa el Fna
• 1959-11-01 Embarek ben Mohammed (guinbri & voice), Melhoun and more, Marrakech
• 1959-11-04 Ahouache Misfioua - Maalem Ahmed Gacha (leader), Ait Ourir
• 1959-11-05 Ahouache Guidmioua - Larbi bel Hocein Nait ou Nasr (Moqaddem), Amizmiz
• 1959-11-25 Ahouache Ait Ouaouzguite - Maalem Hma M'barek (leader), Ouarzazate
• 1959-11-27 Music of the Draaoua - Moqaddem Mohammed ben Salem (leader), Zagora 
• 1959-12-10 Muezzins, Fez, Bab Jamai
• 1959-12-12, 12-13, and 12-14 Jewish Devotional and Religious songs - ft. Hazan Isaac Ouanounou, Meknes, Synagogue Benamara and Talmud Thora School
• 1959-12-13 Chanson Moderne - Mohammed Mohiyeddine and his Orchestra, Meknes - Bowles calls this "chaabiya" in his liner notes. Perhaps it was described to him as "chaabi" or "popular", but it's not what we would call chaabi today, but rather âsri or chanson moderne. Also, Archnet has mislabeled 57A as 57B, and vice versa.
  
• 1959-12-18 Music of the Souassa - Rais el Hussein and his Ensemble, Marrakech

If time permits, I'll comment on some of the individual tapes in future posts. I'm of course loving the additional Gnawa material, in particular the hour's worth of material from 1956 (the first playlist above). Until then, there's plenty for you to explore!

More Riffi Riffs - Mimoun Ousaid

Our final Riffi tape post is an album by Mimoun Ousaid, who is based in Nador. He has been composing, performing, and recording since the early 1970's. Many photos and videoclips on the web feature him playing an oud, though I don't hear any oud on this cassette. (A large black bird is pictured in the top right corner of the j-card, and it looks  flying away with the oud... symbolic?) Many interviewees in this odd promotional documentary testify to the beauty and quality of his lyrics.

Texturally, this album features a palate of musical timbres that, to my ear, sounds closer to mainstream North African orchestrated popular music than the other Riffi tapes I posted. Synthesized sounds include strings, qanun (zither), and accordion.

Rhythmically, Track 1 is the only piece whose rhythm sounds like the standard Riffi rhythm heard on my other Riffi tapes. The other songs map to typical Maghrebi 2/4 and 6/8 structures, except for track 4, which has a Middle Eastern 2/4 feel.

Note that the cassette shell and j-card use Spanish instead of the French seen on most Moroccan cassettes - a legacy of the Spanish colonial presence in northern Morocco.

And once again,  cassette company logos!

Disco Melilla Présenta Mimon Osaid (2000)
1) Temsaman Jari Doura
2) Arahad Enhara w Tjar Tiwousha
3) Hjegh Timour

4) Asber Yahanjar
5) Men Zidham Zemaregh
6) Urzough Ghesâd Inou


Get it all here.

More Riffi Beat - Najmat Errif

Here's some more Riffi song. I originally thought this tape, from Y2K, was an anonymous Riffi album - the title "Najmat Errif" could be translated as "the Star of the Rif". But now I wonder if, in fact, the singer's name is Najma.

The singer in this video clip may be the same artist. The extreme auto-tune makes it difficult to say. The woman pictured on the j-card above (who I always thought was another model) does bear some resemblance to the singer in the video:



Unlike the synth-pop of the video, the 8 songs of this tape use the simple, traditional instrumentation of bendir, gasba (flute), handclapping and vocals. Most of the tunes (including the excerpt below) use the same Riffi rhythm that dominated my last post. But there are a couple of tunes with different, intriguing rhythms featured here. Hope you enjoy!

Atlas Music Présente Najmat Errif
Excerpt of Track 3 (of 8)


Get it all here.

Riffi Pop - Milouda

Happy 2014 y'all! The computer has been repaired, so I'm happy to get back to the blog!

I have never visited the Rif region of Morocco, but I was able to pick up some Riffi tapes in Tangier. Tariffit is the northernmost of the 3 Amazigh (Berber) dialects spoken in Morocco. (We've got plenty of Tachelhit and Tamazight stuff in the stash.)

Riffi music has not been very well represented on the national musical scene in Morocco over the years. For as long as I've been visiting Morocco, Moroccan TV has regularly featured artists performing in Tachelhit and Tamazight, some of whom have become household names in Arab-speaking areas. (E.g., Fatima Tabaamrant, Fatima Tahihit, Hadda Aouaki, and crossover artists like Rouicha and Najat Aatabou.) However, I don't recall ever seeing Riffi artists on Moroccan TV. This omission is perhaps a legacy of the long contentious relations between the Rif and the monarchy.

The girl in the photo is not the singer Milouda. In other Milouda album covers I've seen online, a model is pictured rather than the singer. If my web searching is correct, the singer in my cassette may be the same Milouda featured in the clip below, draped in the Amazigh flag. (Though I must say, the voice on my cassette is at a much higher pitch range.)



Hope you like the Riffi beat - it continues non-stop through both sides of this cassette. I think it's great - prominent bendir gives it great buzzy propulsion! To my ear, it has a rhythmic shape similar to that heard in northeastern Moroccan Arab music (known as Âlaoui)...



and in northwestern Algerian Arab music (folk rai and pop rai).



And again, loving the cassette company logos, this time for Sawt Shahrazad "The Voice of Scheherazade":

Sawt Shahrazad Présente Al Fannana Milouda - Awrar n-Rif
01) Mouray - Thnayen Thifousiyen
02) Irhanni - Thloust Iniri (excerpt:)


Get it all here.