Hamid El Kasri

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Hamid El Kasri is a Moroccan gnawa musician, born in 1961 in Ksar El Kebir and now living in Rabat. He is regarded as a maâlem, a master of the tradition. His surname is a stage name that simply means: from Ksar El Kebir. He began his training at the age of seven. Gnawa is the spiritual music of Morocco, played on the guembri, a three-stringed bass lute, and on large metal castanets, with call-and-response singing and a repeating, trance-like rhythm.

Music and breakthrough

He became known outside Morocco and regularly plays with foreign musicians, often at the Gnaoua World Music Festival. In 2004 he performed there with Joe Zawinul, in 2010 with Karim Ziad and in 2011 with Hamayun Kahn and Shahin Shahida. In 2018 he opened the festival with the jazz group Snarky Puppy. That year he also played with Jacob Collier at the BBC Proms and was heard on Collier's album Djesse Vol. 1, on the song Everlasting Motion. His own albums include Bouhala Gnawa (2007), Yobadi (2016), Salam (2020) and Roots & Plugged (2022), which features Moulay Ahmed.

Influence

El Kasri shows how an age-old spiritual tradition can combine with jazz and world music. The tight, repeating rhythms of gnawa suit improvisation well, and as a result he has become a bridge between Morocco and the international stage.

Listening

• 
  Moulay Ahmed · Hamid El Kasri, 2022

Discography

Studio albums

• 2007Bouhala Gnawa
• 2016Yobadi
• 2020Salam
• 2022Roots & Plugged