The Virtual Maghreb: ”The digital world has created greater access for artists, particularly those from small markets whether due to geography, language or genre. Particularly good news for alternative artists in small countries and that brings us to alternative music artists in Morocco. The virtual world has created a platform for alternative artists in Morocco (hip-hop, fusion, rock, electronica, singer-songwriters) that was hardly imaginable [...]
"The Blues Metaphor" (Moroccan Roll column from The Beat, Vol. 27 #4)
_The Blues Metaphor_ (Moroccan Roll column from Vol. 27 #4) — discusses the often-tenuous use of the blues as a metaphor to describe and pigeonhole genres of popular and traditional music, particularly music from Africa or the African diaspora).
“The Sentir is a Whole Civilization” (Moroccan Roll column from The Beat, Vol. 27 # 3)
“The Sentir is a Whole Civilization” (Moroccan Roll column from Vol. 27 # 3) — A look at the use of Gnawa music, particularly the sentir (or hajhouj), in Moroccan pop music from the ’70s Folk Revival (i.e., Nass el Ghiwane) to “fusion” efforts of the last decade in Morocco, Algeria and beyond
"Family Ties" (Moroccan Roll column from The Beat, Vol. 27 #2)
Family Ties (my first “Moroccan Roll” column in The Beat in 2008) — Tarik Batma was an early member of the fusion movement in Morocco in the 1990s. He is also belongs to an influential musical lineage, the Batma family: his father and uncle were prime movers in the ’70s Folk Revival (Morocco’s first fusion [...]
