Maalem Mahmoud Gania

Colours of the Night

★★★★

The beginning and end of two things: this was the last recorded session of Gania's music, and it's being released as the debut for Hive Mind Records. Gania is a musician I've heard about from his collaboration with Pharaoh Sanders and his live recording with Peter Brötzmann and Hamid Drake in Austria. Both of which are supposedly very well performed, but more importantly Gania is a star in his home country of Morocco. Moroccans helped popularize his signature style of music which is called Gnawa, while only recently has he gained more international recognition. He descends from a family of musicians and this has undoubtedly helped foster the mastery of craft that Gania possesses. 

Gnawa culture is descended from Muslim Africans in Northwest Africa, but African animism maintains a strong grip on their way of life and this sense of fusion is definitely passed on through the music here. The trance-like qualities of Sufism which create a hypnotic space are highlighted here, similar to that in the Qawwali music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. This is more readily available in the instrumentation rather than the vocals, but this still creates a powerful effect. The call and response idea is also put into play here; this is important as it's also portrayed in the music of Fela Kuti which eventually spread to American funk and then hip hop. In all of these examples the call and response technique helps create a sort of community within the music, an "around the campfire" style. 

There is an air of experience surrounding him while he sings on this album. Almost like you can see the toothless gums, maybe containing a few worn down teeth. Maybe I'm wrong but that's what I'm seeing. His guimbri playing however, is one of a young and confident musicians. He isn't afraid to take risks and the backing musicians follow carefully in his surefooted steps. In a very composer-like fashion, he leads as a the conductor of his improvised creations, and his guimbri playing meanders throughout a rumbling and unrelenting landscape. 

Colours of the Night is an apt title for this release; this recording was at the dusk of Gania's life and he was the undisputed "godfather" of Gnawa music. This album is a great example of his never-ending passion for creating and developing a music that was vital to the culture he came from. And I have no choice but to explore where he went with his American and European collaborators on other releases. As the night came for Gania, I'm sure he played it his way; with a lively community right behind him. 

Favorite Song: Bala Matinba