Had a nice long break away from the computer, hence the lack of posts over the past three weeks or so. During this time I've spent a couple of weeks in Morocco with my family, travelling in the beautiful Anti-Atlas mountains and up the Atlantic Coast. Events in Gaza have coloured this visit. Al Jazeera was playing in many cafe's, restaurants and hotel lobbies (you're never far from some huge plasma screen t.v. even in the mountains around Tafraout), and my family and I watched the catastrophe unfold and the bodycount rise with a growing outrage that I'm pleased to see seems to be shared by many people around the globe. Click
here to read the open letter sent to The Guardian by a large number of academics and writers.
On a brighter note, Morocco was beautiful, and the people we met amazed us with their warmth, friendliness and generosity. I heard lots of fantastic music, and managed to bring back some great cds which will be posted over the coming months. In the meantime, here is a cd by Hassan Idbassaid that I picked up from a stall at last years Essaouira festival. This is some kind of gnawa - berber fusion that blends traditional Moroccan instruments with modern electric guitars and synths...not normally my cup of tea, but the gentle melodies of this album have really grown on me over the past couple of months.
Tracklisting:
1. Dilou Lillah
2. Waiih
3. Rhi Lafou
4. Allah Allah
5. Ghzail Mail
6. Baba Moussa Ja
Get it
HERE.
This region is populated by the Amazigh Berbers, a fierce and proud people who managed to resist French colonialism until the early 1930s. During our stay I was introduced to Amazigh music (thanks to Rachid from Hotel Tafraout and Ahmed from the cafe along the Ameln Valley), this discovery was a real revelation...raw sounds from the banjo, the rabab (a one stringed violin), electric guitars and a variety of handdrums...and I hope you enjoy this stuff as much as I do.
Tracklist:
Had a nice long break away from the computer, hence the lack of posts over the past three weeks or so. During this time I've spent a couple of weeks in Morocco with my family, travelling in the beautiful Anti-Atlas mountains and up the Atlantic Coast. Events in Gaza have coloured this visit. Al Jazeera was playing in many cafe's, restaurants and hotel lobbies (you're never far from some huge plasma screen t.v. even in the mountains around Tafraout), and my family and I watched the catastrophe unfold and the bodycount rise with a growing outrage that I'm pleased to see seems to be shared by many people around the globe. Click here to read the open letter sent to The Guardian by a large number of academics and writers.
