Morocco: The Spirit - The South -
music voyager

Friends Nouamane Lahlou, Hassan Hakmoun and Laurent LeGall travel across the Atlas Mountains to Marrakesh, one of the most exotic cities in the world. This is where artists and poets, painters and creatives sought their inspiration. Hassan was born and raised here, and this is the city where at the age of five years old he learned how to play Gnawa music. Hassan takes his friends to the house where he grew up, the bakery that he worked in, and the instrument maker that makes his sintir from scratch. The market is bustling with exotic foods, clothes, colors and entertainment. From Marrakesh the friends head to Essaouira, the old city of Mogador by the sea, where the blend of Arabic, Hebrew, and French languages can be heard floating through the seaside resort, home of the International Gnawa Festival. Hassan invites the original Gnawa group to perform on the old fort overlooking the ocean. From Essaouira, the three of them head to the southern desert of the Moroccan Sahara, the home of the Sahrawi people. There, they invite one of the foremost popular artists Fnaire to join them. Their journey brings them to Agadir, a major city in central coastal Morocco, and the home of the Timitar Music Festival. Venturing further into the Western Sahara as guests of Hassan Hakmoun, Fnaire and Nass El Ghiwane, the team travels by road to Dakhla. Through the artist ambassadors, they seek to understand Gadra music, its origins, how it is being preserved, and the modern interpretations of this style of music.

Episode Duration: 26 minutes and 28 seconds

Episode Number: 708

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About Music Voyager:

The new travel-based music series MUSIC VOYAGER features host Jacob Edgar exploring thriving, exotic global music scenes to discover emerging talent.

Edgar - an ethnomusicologist, cultural musician and music critic - travels all over the world to hear cutting-edge musicians and immerse himself in their cultures.

In the series' first episode, Edgar ventures to Mumbai, Delhi to create a hit Bollywood song with vocalist Sona Mohapatra and meet Kailash Kher, one of India's most prolific performers, producers and musical stars.

Kher also brings the members of his hit band Kalisa into the studio for a private, intimate performance with Edgar.

Other episodes include journeys to Jamaica, New Orleans, New York and Chicago.