Maalem Mahmoud Gania - Aicha '2020

Tracks list

We are celebrating our tenth release by bringing the label full circle, right
back where we started from. Were excited to announce that weve once again worked
with the Gania family of Essaouira to bring you another reissue of the music of
the undisputed King of Gnawa music, the late Maalem Mahmoud Gania. It feels like
the perfect time to release this spiritual music, specifically played to heal
and to cure us of our ills, as the world is in the grip of a viral pandemic and
powerful forces seem to be polarising people all around the globe. We hope that
Aicha will enable you to carve out some healing space in amongst the chaos of
the world.

Aicha was previously released on cassette in Morocco only in the late 1990s.
Maalem Mahmoud Gania was a particularly prolific artist recording for many
labels in Morocco and many details about the recording of this particular album
or the people involved are destined to remain a mystery. However, we do know the
album was recorded in the Ganias home town of Essaouira with only a small and
intimate group of supporting musicians. The resulting album, after the dizzying
intensity of the opening song, offers more relaxed, laid back interpretations of
the Gnawa ritual repertoire, and a deeper, more gentle sound than our previous
Gania release, Colours of the Night. The album shines a light on Mahmouds
virtuoso guimbri playing and mastery of Gnawa songcraft, and is a standout
amongst his many cassette releases.

The album comes with extensive sleeve notes written by Tim Abdellah Fuson,
Berkeley scholar and curator of the excellent Moroccan Tape Stash blog.
The first pressing of this release comes with a print of the album cover. 

Tracklisting:
01. Maalem Mahmoud Gania - La Ilha Illa Allah (8:58)
02. Maalem Mahmoud Gania - Lalla Aicha (7:04)
03. Maalem Mahmoud Gania - Assamaoui (7:11)
04. Maalem Mahmoud Gania - Al Boudali (8:05)
05. Maalem Mahmoud Gania - Bangara Bangara (6:23)
06. Maalem Mahmoud Gania - El Bahraoui (8:05)

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