Gnawa Diffusion to play in Fez

Today my spies tell me that one of Morocco's top groups, Gnawa Diffusion, are about to embark on a tour that will include Meknes, Fez, Casablanca and Marrakech.

The first show, in Meknes will take place in the garden of the Meknes French Institute on June 27 in the institute's garden. The following night they will be in Fez in the courtyard of GSU Jean de la Fontaine School in Fez.

In Casablanca they will perform at the courtyard of Molière School on June 29.

Their music tour will end in Marrakech. The group will perform on June 30 in the theatre of the French Institute.

The story of Gnawa Diffusion goes back to 1992 when eight talented musicians, mastering different music styles, toured France and neighbouring countries and performed in bars and streets.

Headed by Amezigh Kateb, son of the famous Algerian writer Kateb Yacine, Gnawa Diffusion have acquired fame in France, the country which has had a long tradition of producing bands specialised in ‘métissage' (musical fusion).

The members of the band have succeeded in fusing their individual influences into a collective sound. They mixed the traditional music of Gnawa with different styles, including rap, raggae, jazz and rai.

Based in Grenoble in the South East of France, the band has triumphed in several events not only in France but also England, Canada and the Maghreb.

They have performed in the most prestigious festivals, including Africa Festival (Würzburg), Euro pop days (Freiburg), Pirineos (Spain), Racismus Beat It (Nederland), Gent Party (Belgium), Reading Festival (England), Montreux Jazz Festival (Suiss), Essaouira Gnawa Festival (Morocco) and World Festival (Italy).

The group's name is a reference to the Gnawa, a tribe from Western Sudan who were deported to North Africa in the 16th century by the rulers of Fes and Algiers.

Gnawa Diffusion saw that the story of these people, uprooted from their homeland and deported to start a new life in a foreign land, was similar to their own experiences as immigrants growing up in France.

Amezigh, the leader of the group, arrived in France in 1988 at the age of 16. He has been closely involved with the struggle to defend immigrants' rights and eradicate racial prejudice.

He formed his band to transmit his political messages. He writes his lyrics in three languages, Arabic, French and English.

Gnawa Diffusion's innovative music and the hard-hitting lyrics of their protest songs have certainly made them one of the most prominent groups on the French scene.

Their greatest success was “Ombre-elle” and “Algeria” album, which have served to increase their popularity. Algeria is still one of the personal favourites that is played regularly in the office of The View from Fez.

Their latest album “Souk System”, released in June 2003, has had an incomparable success. The members of the band have decided that the lyrics of the album should be more political, referring to international news, denouncing and satirizing the events with their usual mixture of music styles.

Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news