Wednesday 5 February 2014

M'hamed Dammou - Masoufa Mosikiaya








Sunshine. Red boulders. Clear blue skies. Barren moonscapes break unexpectantly into lush green valleys filled with date palms.  Singing birds and the insistent ringing sound of the metal ring that balances up on the laughing man's head.

Beautifully serene Amazigh sounds from Moulay M'hamed Dammou, this is instrumental music that comes from Joachim's collection  All I know is that this chap once played in Izmaz, an Amazigh group featured in this previous post. Any more info would be much appreciated. X

Get the goodness HERE.

6 comments:

ron said...

Many Thanks !!

Hammer said...

Moulay Er-Rayess M'hammed Dammou is a Berber l'rbab player and famous singer. He was born in Idafounu, Ait Mzal in Agadir, in 1955, and started a professional music career as a member of Izmam.

Si M'hammad Dammou got together 50-80 l'rbab players and formed what is known as the first Amazigh orchestra symphony for 'Ruweiss' music called 'The Moroccan Amazigh Symphony Orchestra' (L'Orchestre Symphonique Amazigh), in 2001.

Ruweiss is a strictly Soussian music style that depends heavily on poetic rendition and Dammou wasn't the first to incorporate this style into a symphonic method: Before him there were Rayess Damsiri, Rayess Abdallah Iznkad, Ibn l'Mtoub Moulay Ibrahim, Moulay 'Larbi 'Ladnani, El-Hadj B'Leid, and Inchad, who played loutar, l'rbab in aiddtion to the tassousit.

Awesome Tapes from Africa has featured a rather modern cassette by this Amzigh singer and maestro before (here).

Here is a YouTube link for Dammou playing in 9-11 August 2013 at Festival Orientalys in Montréal, Canada:
Mohamed Damou à Montréal-Interview. |(Note: Music starts at 35:40 into the video). More interviews: Here.


Thanks a lot for this rare cassette, Mr. T.

H.H.

roberth said...

thanks for the magic of snap crackle and pop. this one looks great. one could live on cassettes alone sometime who needs food. though the combo is life sustaining
thanks
robert

Mr Tear said...

I'm loving this tape at the moment! But Hammer, L'Orchestre Symphonique Amazigh have just blown my head. The first five minutes are about the most intense I've ever heard. !!!

Hammer said...

Roger that, Mr. T: this is the best drone-like, hypnodelic music that is really fantastically consistent it surges on and on like a wave that refuses to touch the sea; a stagnant staccato mixed with crazy crescendo boom-bang, call-'n'-response syncopation.

Dig on and on.

H.H.

Anonymous said...

great music - thanks for sharing.
-j