‘Hommage to Mohamed Rouicha’

The cream of the crop of the contemporary Moroccan Amazigh music scene will pay tribute to Mohamed Rouicha, the master lute player. This talented musician taught himself to play and connected the country from north to south, with his own unique music language, combining vocals with the lute or oud.

In a sense, Mohamed Rouicha is the Toots Thielemans of North Africa. The Moroccan philosopher and lute player inspired a revolution in traditional Berber or Amazigh music with his out-of-the-box approach. The self-taught musical genius created his own unique musical language, combining instrumental music for the lute and the bendir (a North African percussion instrument) with choral traditions. The simplicity of these instruments combines beautifully with the falsetto voices, creating a magical blend of melancholy and upbeat music, in which you can almost hear the echo of the imposing, rugged ridges of the Atlas Mountains.

The cream of the crop of the contemporary Moroccan Amazigh music scene will pay tribute to the master lute player, who succeeded in connecting the country from north to south and who will always have a place in Amazigh minds and cultures. Before you know it, Ahmed Allah Rouicha – the son and musical heir of the popular Rif artist Mimoun Rafroua – and a slew of other artists will put you into a trance!

It's our treat! Listen to BOZAR’s "World" playlist on Spotify for free and discover BOZAR MUSIC season ’18-’19.