The 27th edition of the Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira, Morocco, brought together artists from across Africa, South America, and Asia for a series of first-time musical encounters. The collaborations merged Moroccan Gnaoua traditions with Rwandan Itore dance, Ethiopian Azmari song, Indian vocals, and Afro-Brazilian rhythms.
A Historic Opening Fusion
Moroccan guembri specialist Mehdi Nassouli opened the festival, becoming the first young musician to do so in the event’s history. “I’m a son of this festival,” Nassouli said. “It’s usually opened by older maâlem (masters of Gnaoua), but this year, they trusted me to be the first young musician to open.” He added, laughing, “I’m 42, so not actually that young.”
His performance fused Gnaoua with Rwandan Itore dance troupe i Buhoro, Moroccan singer Sara Moullablad, Indian singer Ganavya, and French flute player Sylvain Barou. The group had only three days to meet and craft a show for the world stage.
Finding Common Ground in Rehearsal
“It has been an incredible experience to collaborate, negotiate, and find common ground between art from Rwanda and Morocco,” said Mucyo w’ Icyogere of Troupe i Buhoro, which preserves the traditional Rwandan warrior dance Itore.
Nassouli described the process: “The first day is always difficult, on the second day we see a window, and today [on the third day] we fixed everything.” The musicians began by listening for rhythmic and melodic commonalities. “Gnaoua music goes inside you; you feel it more than you hear it through your ears,” Nassouli said. “So it’s not easy to create an artistic show, because shows are mechanic with an intro and an outro.” Gnaoua, he explained, is an intuitive groove rather than a planned structure.
Despite the geographic distance, the traditions revealed sonic parallels. The Rwandan inanga, a multi-stringed trough zither, and the Moroccan guembri, a three-stringed skin-covered bass lute, produced similar tones. The metal qraqeb castanets essential to Gnaoua echoed the sound of metal on the Rwandan dancers’ belts. “The differences are visual, but the soul is the same,” one dancer observed.
“Art is not entertainment; it’s a universal language,” w’ Icyogere said. He stressed that mutual respect was essential to avoid one tradition imposing on another. “With the Gnaoua musicians, we met on the same wavelength. Each discovered the other and then found ways to craft magic. Identity was not a barrier.”
Ethiopian and Moroccan Traditions Meet
Elsewhere in Essaouira, Maâlem Mohamed Montari rehearsed with Ethiopian singer Selamnesh Zéméné and Badume’s Band. Zéméné descends from a line of Azmaris, traditional entertainers and traveling minstrels of the Ethiopian Highlands. Their music shares structural elements with Gnaoua, including a 6/8 rhythm and a tendency to push tempo.
“It was a challenge to find a good way to bring our music together, but we found many similarities in the structure, like the 6/8 rhythm and how we both push the tempo and rhythm,” a band member said. “It’s wonderful; we definitely want to come back.”
Brazilian Rhythms Close the Festival
Legendary Brazilian singer and percussionist Carlinhos Brown returned to Essaouira for the second time, having first performed at the festival in 2017. He collaborated with renowned Maâlem Hamid El Kasri to close this year’s edition, fusing Afro-Brazilian rhythms with Gnaoua.
“After I returned to Brazil [in 2017], I practiced and learned more about Gnaoua,” Brown said. “The melodic system is different, but the rhythms are similar, and it’s so special to make a capoeira or maracatu song in a fusion with Gnaoua.” He demonstrated the complementary beats, tapping syncopated patterns and humming. Brown also described an emotional connection to the Gnaoua history of enslavement: “When I listen to Gnaoua, I feel hope and freedom in the melodies. It’s mostly men singing the songs, but I hear mothers in the music. It’s spiritual.” El Kasri agreed, calling each musical encounter “a benediction.”
