GNAWA ELECTRIC LAUNE II out on Tru Thoughts 24th June!
The magical collaboration between Moroccan Gnawa-master (maâlem) Rabii Harnoune and Frankfurt electronic producerV.B.Kühl aka Rabii Harnoune & V.B. Kühl. Recorded at Achim Sauer’s 7V-Studio, collectively Rabii Harnoune & V.B. Kühl have produced a debut LP ‘GNAWA ELECTRIC LAUNE II’ is the new album from the majestic duo of Moroccan Gnawa-master (maâlem) Rabii Harnoune and Frankfurt electronic producer V.B.Kühl. Melding traditional North African Gnawa music with funky, soulful modern club sounds (perfectly demonstrated on V.B.Kühl’s recent HÖR Berlin session),‘Gnawa Electric Laune II’ is a more defined follow-up to the duo’s debut. The birth of the ‘Gnawa Electric Laune’ concept resulted in a fascinating cross-cultural record that won over the likes of Gilles Peterson (Winners 2020), Tom Ravenscroft (BBC 6Music), Songlines and many others, for its electric and otherworldly bridge from old to new.
Gnawa music is among Morocco’s richest and oldest continuous traditions, dating back to pre-Islam. Rabii Harnoune joined the Kotab, a place where one can learn the teaching of the Quran, at the age of four.
Growing up on a household diet of classical Arabic, Moroccan and Sufi music, Rabii was first introduced to Gnawa through his neighbour’s uncle who was a master in the genre. “Gnawa music was exclusively played by families whose parents came from Sub-Saharan or Central African tribes to Morocco in colonial times” Rabii explains, “it was rare to be able to listen to Gnawa music on radio, so I started to collect rare live recordings”. Rabii’s mastery at the Guembri, a three-string lute and Gnawa singing (a central aspect to the culture), would lead him to play world-class festivals in Essaouira, Fes, Marrakesh and Casablanca – all spiritual centres for the genre.
