More Amazigh Music from Fatima Tabaamrant and Rais Moulay Mohamed ben Lefqih

Here is another of Uncle David's wonderful cassettes, and I think this one may be my favourite. I believe the lady in the picture is Fatima Tabaamrant who was featured in this previous post way back in 2009 following a trip up the Souss Valley and on into the Anti-Atlas mountains. She is not the main voice heard in these wonderful songs however, and any help identifying the male lead singer would be much appreciated.
Anyway if you're a fan of the frantic banjo and rabab music of the Moroccan Berbers then you're in for a proper treat with this one. It's great!



Tracklist:

1A) Tandamt
1B) Izda Zine
2A) Allah Inser Siydna
2B) La ilaha illa Llah

Get it HERE.

Fatima Tabaamrante - Amazigh Music of the Anti-Atlas

On my recent visit to Morocco we spent some time in the Anti-Atlas mountains around Tafraout:
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.

So, in this post you'll find the first of the cds I brought back to England. It's by Fatima Tabaamrante, something of a Berber superstar. Her voice is really incredible, quite hoarse and rough sounding but with a texture that compliments the urgency of the music perfectly. She is from the region around Tiznit and is apparently popular for the poetry of her lyrics, many of which deal with Amazigh social issues.

Here she is in action:

Tracklist:

01 Irbi Swlka
02 Isgharn Dwamane
03 Nswingm Sawlghe
04 Ighnofayat Njloyat

You can get it HERE!