Moroccan music varies greatly between geographic regions and social groups. It is influenced by musical styles including Amazigh, Andalusi, Mediterranean, Saharan, West African, and others.
The Gnawa are an ethnic group inhabiting Morocco.
Les Têtes Brulées are a Cameroonian band known for a pop version of the bikutsi dance music. Their name literally means the burnt heads in French, but more likely is meant to imply mindblown or hotheads, although founder Jean-Marie Ahanda prefers the translation "burnt minds".
Didier Malherbe, is a French jazz, rock and world music musician, known as a member of the bands Gong and Hadouk, as well as a poet.
Gnawa music is a body of Moroccan and West African Islamic religious songs and rhythms. Its well-preserved heritage combines ritual poetry with traditional music and dancing. The music is performed at lila, communal nights of celebration dedicated to prayer and healing guided by the Gnawa maalem, or master musician, and their group of musicians and dancers. Though many of the influences that formed this music can be traced to West African kingdoms, its traditional practice is concentrated in Morocco. Gnawa music has spread to many other countries in Africa and Europe, such as France.
Louis Bertignac is a French guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. An ex Shakin' Street member and a founding member in 1976 of the rock band Téléphone, he formed Bertignac et les Visiteurs after Téléphone split in 1986. Tony Visconti produced his first solo album, Elle et Louis (1993) and Chris Kimsey the second, '96.
Gnawa Diffusion is an Algerian Gnawa music band based in Grenoble, France. The group's lead singer, Amazigh, is the son of the Algerian writer and poet Kateb Yacine. Although there is a strong Gnawa influence, the band is noted for its mix of reggae and roots music. Gnawa Diffusion is very popular in Algeria and is also well known in many other countries including Morocco, Tunisia and France. The band's lyrics are in Algerian Arabic, Tamazight, French and English. Gnawa Diffusion started their career in 1993 with the release of the album Légitime différence.
Lucknerson Junior Mervil, is a Haitian-Canadian singer-songwriter, actor and entrepreneur. He is known for his work in the French musical Notre-Dame-de-Paris, playing Clopin in the original French & English casts.
Hoba Hoba Spirit is a musical fusion band based in Casablanca, Morocco that was formed in 1998. It is composed of Adil Hanine (drummer), Anouar Zehouani (guitarist), Saâd Bouidi, Reda Allali - and Othmane Hmimar(percussionist). The name of the group is based on a song by Bob Marley.
L'Affaire Louis' Trio were an art pop band from Lyon, France. The band formed in 1982, and in 1986 were signed to Barclay records, France, who released their first album, Chic planète. The members were: singer / guitarist Cleet Boris, guitarist Karl Niagara and keyboardist / drummer Bronco Junior. In 1987, L'Affaire Louis' Trio were awarded the prize for best newcomers at France's Victoires de la Musique ceremony.
Frédéric "Fred" Chichin was a French musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Alliance Ethnik was a 1990s French hip hop band. It was composed of five members from different origins, but all spoke French or were of French origin; Algeria, DR Congo, Italy, and France.
Omar Pene is a Senegalese vocalist and composer, who is the lead singer of Super Diamono, and is now a solo artist.
The gumbass is an African musical instrument. It is a cross between a guembri and an electric bass.
Martin Meissonnier is a French musician, producer, journalist, and filmmaker. He is known for his work with African pop musicians such as Fela Kuti and King Sunny Adé among other diverse artists. His producing and film directing credits include documentaries about finance, politics and history.
Whitney is an American band from Chicago, which formed in 2015 and is signed to Secretly Canadian. The band was formed shortly after the breakup of members Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich's band Smith Westerns in late 2014. They released their debut album, Light Upon the Lake, in June 2016 and have toured internationally.
Youssef Guezoum is Moroccan-American-Belgian film music composer, orchestrator and sound designer based in Los Angeles. His credits include scores for the Power Rangers, Saban Entertainment, and Frenchy Movie directed by Jean-Claude Van Damme. Many soundtracks from his music library were used in film, TV, games, and trailers by major studios in Hollywood. This list includes productions by Paramount Pictures, Universal Music, Lion’s Gate, as well as CSI:Miami, Secret & Lies, Hell's Kitchen, PGA Tour, Ultimate Justice. He is also a member of Oticons film composers agency. Born in Marrakech, Morocco, a colorful melting-pot city with many musical influences, including the folk music of the Atlas mountains, African music, as well as Andalusian (Moorish) music. This rich musical atmosphere gave birth to his love for music. When He was 10 years old he learned to play guitar and became the bassist of a rock fusion band created with a group of friends. They named their band "The Marrakech" to honor the city that inspired us so much. Along with music he also have a passion for movies. When He was a young boy he went to the movies with my friends to watch action, suspense, war and adventure movies. He was completely blown away by the music that took him into a compelling imaginary world. Graduated from Academy of Music in Brussels, Belgium with a focus on piano. Subsequently, He flew to Canada and worked at Creative Future, the prestigious production company that created the sound design for Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Harry Potter, among many others. When composing for film, He try to create music that faithfully captures the emotion that the filmmaker wants to express. Thank to his diverse musical background and his deep knowledge of Western musical tradition. He is able to uniquely combine music genres for many platforms, including television, video games, cartoons, corporate videos, advertising and commercials.
Steve Shehan is a French-American percussionist and music composer.
Mohamed Abdennour is an Algerian composer, arranger and instrumentalist, active in France and playing a fusion of different musical forms mixed with chaabi.
Majid Bekkas, also known as Abdelmajid Bekkas, is a Moroccan musician on guembri, oud, guitar and vocals, who is internationally known for his contributions to World music and Ethno jazz with North African roots.
