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cd cover Nass Marrakech
Sabil 'a 'Salaam
$11.99

Listen to Shema
(audio courtesy of RootsWorld, © 2000 Nass Marrakech and Alula Records, used by permission)

From the record company:
Sabil 'a 'Salaam ("The Path of Peace") explores the musical elements which connect sub-Saharan Africa with the Mediterranean. This album brings together aspects of the black diaspora and those of Arab culture in an exciting recording that, while firmly based in the traditions of the Gnawa, also reaches out to the wider global musical community.

Abdeljalil Kodssi, Moulay M'Hamed Ennaji (a.k.a. "Sheriff"), Abdelkebir Bensaloum and Mohamed Bechar formed Nass Marrakech in 1991. On Sabil 'a 'Salaam, Nass Marrakech skillfully blends traditional pieces with new songs that connect with contemporary audiences. "An a, An ta" ("You and me") speaks about equality of rights. "Salaam Aleikum" addresses the need for peace, while "Allah" reflects an ecological idea of God. Traditional songs include "Yo Mala," a song which has existed for over 900 years and is performed in the ancient Bambara language.

Nass Marrakech's sound mixes Central African drums (djembes, sabar) with mandolin, Hindu tabla, sentir (3-stringed bass oud) and the omnipresent karkaba (metallic castanets) to create a solid musical landscape over which the voices perform the traditional "call and response." Sabil 'a 'Salaam is full of energy, so it must be sensed with one's whole body, allowing yourself to be taken utterly by the swooping planes of percussion, the circular rhythms of the karkabas and the melodies of the lute and the mandolin.

The effect on the listener is to suspend him in a non-directional time frame inducing a trance-like total awareness of the present moment.... the music is undiluted in its directness and power to transport the listener. Very potent stuff! - Aaron Howard, RootsWorld

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