Essence of time, Spirit of place

Festival in the city Artists

Latefa Raafat

Latefa Raefat is one of the great names of Moroccan music. From Khouyi, Ana fi arek ya yamma and Maghyara right up to her recent re-release of some of the wonders of the musical heritage of our country, this diva of song spans a generation.

Latefa Raefat has always sung for her Moroccan public, which continues to grow. She has never been lured away by producers in Egypt or the Gulf.

 

Majda Yahyaoui

Majda Yahyaoui has broken the tradition that Malhoun music is always the preserve of men.
In its poetic or musical form, Malhoun is a typically Moroccan genre where many elements of literature and the Moroccan arts converge and are underpinned by the rhythms of Andalous music (the zajal) and popular melodies.
A true poetic art, Malhoun is the most elaborate form of poetry that exists in Moroccan Arabic.
Trained at the Meknes conservatory by one of the greatest Malhoun masters, Houssein Toulali, Majda Yahyaoui is well known in Morocco for a talent that has won her many prizes.

 

Said Bey

Singer, writer and composer, Said Bey has an eclectic style; a mixture of rai and malhoun blended with funky bits of flamenco and salsa. He is inspired by artists such as George Benson, Chuck Berry, Raina Rai and the great James Brown.
Bey has released four albums. The first, Mektoub, burst onto the Moroccan rai music scene like a firecracker. For the very first time, a young Moroccan artist launched an international album.
Songs like Sofia, Mektoub and Rdara have become timeless classics on the Moroccan airwaves
 

Amarg fusion

This group is a symbol of Amazigh culture, and it’s with a great deal of talent that they bring together the traditional music of the Souss region with world music. After years of work and research on the music of the Rways (troubadours of the Souss), the group has created a style that is both current and open. In a voyage across the world, Amarg Fusion brings us a message of love, peace and brotherhood through the universal language of music, and we are all touched.

 

Mazagan

Présent sur les plus grandes scènes nationales, Mazagan a sorti son premier album La tradition qui coule en 2005.
Les 5 musiciens puisent leur inspiration dans le plus profond du folklore marocain. Leur style est un registre à part entière, un mélange puissant de chant rural et de sons urbains, l'illustration même de l'esprit « Fusion et musiques du monde », autour de textes chantant paix, espoir, égalité, cohabitation, fraternité, fête et bonne humeur.

 

Darga

This group from Casablanca , founded in 2001 by a group of fine arts students, is a focal point of music from Morocco and elsewhere. The name Darga means cactus, and the group is composed of ten young people who bring with them different languages and influences. Darga represents the contemporary Moroccan alternative music scene. It presents inter-cultural vision with a multitude of rhythms and melodies, finding inspiration in reggae, ragga, gnawa, allaoui, rock, ska, dub, funk, jazz and so on. This long list of influences reflects the incredibly spontaneous energy of a musical melting-pot fanned by the hot, spicy breezes of many continents. Titles are in Darija, French and English. Darga express themselves on stage and sing just as they live: with sincerity and joy in sharing and discovering.

 

Bnet El Houariates

Under the direction of Khadija el Ouarzazia, Bnet El Houariates is a group of female musicians and singers. They continue a long community tradition and make it possible for us to discover and appreciate the two varieties of Houari song: the houari tqil from Marrakech and the houari farda of houmada. They are also the most prominent female group to sing and dance to Gnawa music.
All the lyrics are very old and cover both religion and love, with everyday subjects such as the neighbourhood, bad luck, the family, and so on. The women play a variety of instruments such as the taarija, the nagos, the bendir and the triar.