Music - Morocco - page 912

Berber Folk Music
There's plenty of other indigenous Moroccan music besides Gnaoua, thanks to the ancient
Berber tradition of passing along songs and poetry from one generation to the next. You
can't miss Berber music at village moussem s (festivals in honour of a local saint), Agadir's
Timtar Festival of Amazigh music, the Marrakesh Festival of Popular Arts and Imilchil's
Marriage Festival, as well as weddings and other family celebrations.
The most renowned Berber folk group is the Master Musicians of Joujouka, who fam-
ously inspired the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and William S Burroughs, and collabor-
ated with them on experimental fusion with lots of clanging and crashing involved. Lately
the big names are women's, including the all-woman group B'net Marrakech and the bold
Najat Aatabou, who sings protest songs in Berber against restrictive traditional roles. For
more women vocalists, head to Tetouan for the Voix des Femmes (Women's Voices) festiv-
al.
FOR THOSE ABOUT TO MO'ROCK, WE SALUTE YOU
Not since Ozzy bit a live bat onstage has hard rock caused such an uproar. In 2003, police, who didn't
appreciate being rocked like a hurricane, arrested 11 Moroccan metalheads for making their audiences
'listen, with bad intent, to songs which contravene good morals or incite debauchery'. Despite wide-
spread protests that authorities were driving the crazy train, the rockers were ultimately sentenced to
one year in jail for 'employing seductive methods with the aim of undermining the faith of a Muslim'.
But diehard Moroccan metalheads got organised, calling all rockers to the mosh-pit in Sidi Kacem,
an inland agricultural centre near Meknès better known for braying donkeys than wailing guitars. The
second Sidi Rock festival was held in February 2008, showcasing bands from the area with names sure
to warm any true metalhead's heart, if not a mullah's, including Despotism from Casablanca and Sidi
Kacem's own Damned Kreation (now Putrid Cadavers). Far from pleather-clad '80s hair bands, these
Moroccan groups write their own rebellious lyrics and rock hardcore in black jeans and torn T-shirts.
The metal scene has since outgrown its Sidi Kacem venue, storming the stage at L'Boulevard, Casab-
lanca's free festival of urban music held at the Casa stadium in May, and at L'Boulevard's March show-
case for emerging artists, Tremplin (Trampoline), held at the coolest-ever rock venue: Casa's anciens
abbatoirs (old slaughterhouses). Past editions of the festivals have focused on hip-hop and electronica,
but there's a jittery excitement when the metal bands take the stage, and the police reinforcements
brought in to monitor the mosh-pits look distinctly nervous.
With the 2010 editions of L'Boulevard and Tremplin featuring metal headliners and attracting 30,000
spectators over four days, the mainstreaming of Mo'rock raises another question: once metal goes legit,
what's a Moroccan rebel to do? The answer seems obvious: go emo'rocco.