Fnaire

“One of the biggest changes brought by the arrival of King Mohamed VI to power in 1999 has been the development of new visible (or rather, audible) popular music scene in Morocco. In the last 10 years, fusion groups like Hoba Hoba Spirit or Fnaire, and rappers like Bigg or Muslim have been the flagships of a real musical revolution that have given the decades-long deprived Moroccan youth a chance to finally hear independent music that reflects their reality and aspirations.

With the notable exception of Nass el-Ghiwane, Jil Jilala and Lem Chaheb, the last two decades of the late king’s reign were characterized by a grim cultural aridity where official representatives of culture, fully homologated by the authorities, were the only ones with access to state subsidies or TV distribution.

While most Moroccans enjoy local chaabi (popular) groups or foreign music, the country’s official TV channel (and until 1989, the only one), would to almost every Moroccan youth’s great displeasure, limit its contribution to culture to the broadcasting of the infamous Sahra Fanniya Koubra (the grand artistic evening) a long and soporific succession of official artists every Saturday evening.

Nass-Lghiwan

With the death of the late king in 1999, a new generation of young and assertive performers was able to create a new space for musical expression. Despite some initial difficulties (a group of 14 Moroccan heavy metal singers were condemned to jail sentences for playing “satanic” music in 2003), bands such as H-Kayne and Darga were quasi-instantly able to secure a large audience of young Moroccans eager to hear music in tune to their concerns, speaking their language and free from the stifling norms of official art. Singing in colloquial Arabic, Berber, French and English, the different songs reflect the multiple identities of their creators and their public. They tackle issues rarely discussed publicly such as corruption, torture, sexuality and the difficulty of being young in a country of contrasts and inequalities.

The Moroccan francophone press quickly labeled these changes ‘Nayda’ (which means ‘up’ in Moroccan Arabic) as a reflection of the Movida, Spain’s cultural and social revolution which followed Franco’s death in 1975. As in Spain, the arrival of a new King created a great deal of hope among a population eager for change. Indeed, immediately after his coming to power, the “young king of the youth” attempted to distance himself from his father’s autocratic ways by (somewhat) liberalizing the political sphere, encouraging the emergence of new private radio stations catering to a younger audience and by sponsoring a number of major music festivals across the country. In less than 10 years, state-organized music festivals like Mawazine in Rabat became Morocco’s major cultural events while Nayda’s inventive groups were given wide access to state television and official events.

Hoba_Hoba_Spirit

However, as underlined by many Moroccan journalists, it quickly became clear that whatever change Morocco was experiencing could hardly be compared to what occurred in Spain in the 1980s. Catering to increasingly conservative voters, Morocco’s main Islamic party, the Party of Justice and Development, regularly condemns the organization of music festivals and lumps together the risk of depravation that these festivals are supposed to encourage with homosexuality, drugs use and the westernization of Morocco’s youth. Similarly, Rachid Nini, perhaps Morocco’s most influential journalist, has also been a stern critique of music festivals which he sees as part of a large conspiracy to corrupt the younger generations of the country.
While authorities were initially hesitant on how to deal with these changes, the terrorist attacks of 2003 made them realize the importance of allowing increasingly frustrated urban youth vent some of their dissatisfaction. The government now directly sponsors multi-million dollars festivals in all major Moroccan cities while at the same time assisting local artists with administrative and logistical support. According to Dr. Mohamed Darif, a political science professor at the University of Hassan II in Mohamedia, Nayda is simply “another effort by the state to co-opt culture and is doomed to fail.” For Darif, “Nayda is an attempt to promote the image of Morocco as an open and tolerant society while at the same time trying to contain the appeal of extremism to increasingly conservative youth.”

Undeniably, the links between the Nayda movement and the authorities are much closer than they appear at first sight. The lead singer of Hoba Hoba Spirit, Nayda’s most iconic band, was the star-columnist of the very influential Telquel, a widely read francophone magazine popular amongst Morocco’s décideurs. Similarly, Bigg‘s aunt, Milouda Hazeb, is a prominent politician with the Parti Authenticité et Modernité also close to the authorities. More importantly perhaps, some of Nayda’s songs are no better than Morocco’s most nationalistic chants of the 1970s. L’fnair patriotic song Yed al-Hanna (Henna Hand) is a blatant example of chauvinism and underlines the increasing trend among Moroccan artists to express themselves in terms of traditional themes such as nationalism, loyalty to the monarchy and the need to defend Moroccan values and identity.
Finally, the striking success of Nayda’s artists is due above all to the ability of all these groups, including the staunchly independent ones, to benefit from government sponsored venues and have access to official music distribution channels. Without the government (often self-interested) benevolence, Morocco’s fragile musical scene is less ready than ever to emancipate itself.”

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Bonus entertainment was included as Zanouba belted out her songs to the accompaniment of Jilaiyat while her mother kept vigil in the corner, telling her what to sing next and ululating every chance she got.

A duet of modern dance followed the live music with two energetic and rubber-boned young men spinning on the floor, angling their bodies into improbable shapes and giving unique choreographic expression to the house music. A short hip hop performance followed with yet another young Moroccan man eager to entertain the packed house.

Sunday night concerts at Café Clock offer something much appreciated in Fes … a place where an equal number of foreigners and Moroccans gather together to appreciate talent and revel in the diversity life offers.

Last night, British Theater producer, Tim Supple was here to have a look-see at the talents of local singers and musicians. Among the performers Café Clock arranged for him to hear were Jaliliyat, Essaouwa, Zanouba, The Fes Jdid Boys, Annas Habib and so many more – including several talented staff members of The Clock.

Tim is traveling throughout Morocco and the Middle East searching for actors, musicians and the like for an upcoming Canadian theater production of 1001 Arabian Nights. Will some of them come from Fes? It’s possible!

The Clock was rockin’ as one by one the performers provided a sampling of their musical talents. Tim was clearly enjoying himself as was the encouraging crowd that sang and danced along to the tunes of their hometown friends.

Tim, who has never been to Fes before, said he knew he liked the place within 2 minutes of his arrival. He dropped off his luggage at the riad where was booked and headed straight for the café.

“This place is really special,” Tim said about Café Clock. Having just come from Tanger, where no such venue was available for gathering local musicians, Tim was clearly enjoying his research in Fes.

Bet he’s sorry he’s only in town for 1 night.

I’m sure he’ll be back. After all, callbacks have to be arranged, don’t they?