Gnawa or Never
1001 Knights Production (82 mins)
The Gnawa people of Morocco can trace their ancestry to the Bambara (or Bamana) people of West Africa. Their music serves as a clear connection between the past and the present, between the North and the West of Africa, and between the cultures of the Bambara, Berber and Arabic populations.
A master of Gnawa music is given the title of Maalem, and on this album, Maalem Said Damir lives up to it, leading the Gnawa Allstars through a wonderful set of some of the tradition’s most iconic pieces. At its core, this is religious music. While it may not have been recorded as part of a full ceremony (known as a lila), the swirling rhythms of the clattering qaraqab (metal castanets) and the skyward hollers of the Maalem and his chorus invoking the saints are at once hypnotic and ecstatic.
Within and throughout it all, the Gnawa’s West African roots are easy to hear. The trademark instrument is the guimbri (bass lute). The bluesy tones of this not-so-distant decedent of the ngoni underpin the whole thing and flow with the mood of the pieces. At times, the guimbri can be mellow and surprisingly delicate, before slowly building up to a blistering pace that is positively thumping.
Gnawa or Never was recorded in Marrakesh by British-Moroccan DJ and beatmaster U-Cef together with Jason Emberton in 2011, and released as a digital-only album later that same year. Given U-Cef’s pedigree on the club scene, the production on display here is surprisingly down-to-earth. It is obvious that the aim has been to simply convey the music in its most natural way and in the highest fidelity. Everything is well-mixed and easily heard, which is somewhat of a rarity: the qaraqab often drown out all else on a record, but here they sit easily alongside the guimbri and vocals, integral without being overwhelming. Bonus points for going easy on the distracting reverb that is often heaped on similar recordings by the spadeful.
This unfortunately overlooked release is possibly one of the best presentations of the music of the Gnawa out there. If you need an introduction to this wonderful tradition, look no further!