Next Music Station

Morocco: North African beats

Traditional and popular music styles collide and collude.

Next Music Station is an odyssey through the rhythms of the Arab world.

Travelling through nine countries and meeting more than 80 musicians, this series by musician and documentary filmmaker Fermin Muguruza paints a ‘soundscape’ of the Arab music scene.

Next Music Station takes us on a journey, exploring the music of different Arab countries, en route addressing issues of tradition and modernity, the struggles of the present and the yearning for a brighter future.

Episode four takes us to Morocco, where viewers are taken on a musical journey by Oum. She is a vibrant singing sensation representing the country’s new music scene.

Fermin and Oum meet at the border city of Tangier and together they walk through the cities of Tetuan, Rabat and Marrakech. Along the trip we see and hear different styles of music, each having their own unique influences from Spanish flamenco to African influenced gnawa music.   

Meet the musicians
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Orquestra Chekara

The Orquestra Chekara is a family of musicians spanning three generations.

Jalal Chekara is the orchestra’s leader. He said: “We always listen to flamenco music … because Spain’s southern bank is only seven kilometers away from us. We are deeply influenced by the flamenco culture and the Andalusian culture in general. 

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H-Kayne

‘What’s up?’ is the name of this band of rappers coming from Meknes, a city which, beyond its imperial past, is still waiting to be acknowledged for its rising cultural scene.

“When we were young, youth clubs did not provide enough entertainment facilities for us. Only the chess game was available back then. So, rap music was the only way through which we could entertain ourselves.”

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Hamid El Kasri

An exceptional figure of gnawa music – a magical rhythmic expression of black African culture brought to the Maghreb by slaves. The gnawa music has been turned into a syncretic cult by means of therapeutic music.

Gnawa singers started to chant religious and spiritual hymns, after it originally was a way to talk about the suffering of slaves.”

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Karima Skalli

Khadija (B’net el Hoariat) is the leader of one of the most notorious and loved troupes from Morocco. Her music accompanies very special familiar events such as births, circumcisions or weddings.

“Music, and singing in particular, choose which body to live in.”

 

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Episode four – Morocco can be seen from Saturday, May 21, at the following times GMT:  Saturday: 2000; Sunday: 1200; Monday: 0100; Tuesday: 0600.

Click here for more on the series.