Traditional music
As in most of the country, Tangier and the northern region have traditions very similar to the rest of Morocco. For example, theaïta, a rural song that emerged at the end of the 19th century, describes the daily life (and difficulties) of Moroccans. There is a sub-genre specific to the Tangier region, aïta jabalya (also known as taktouka jabalia), which the " jbala "(mountain dwellers or peasants) love from the depths of their hearts. It is distinguished by its more pious texts. The taktouka jabalia has produced a number of great names adored throughout the country, including Chama Zaz, diva and icon, Mohamed Laaroussi, one of the greatest masters, Ahmed Guerfti, who greatly enriched the discipline, and, more recently, Abdelmalek Andaloussi.
Berber music, a major part of the country's cultural heritage, is also very much alive in the Tangier region. Recognizable by its repetitive chants and intense rhythms, inseparable from dance, Berber music is a treasure for the eye and ear, to be admired especially during theahidous. This great collective celebration sees men and women gather elbow to elbow to form supple, undulating rounds, accompanied by songs, always choral, always iterative, set to the rhythm of the bendir, the large tambourine with a wooden frame and stretched goatskin. A great Moroccan ambassador - and innovator - of this Berber music was the group Izenzaren.
A huge part of traditional Moroccan music, it's impossible to miss the Gnaoua in Tangier. This is where you'll find Dar Gnawa - or the "House of the Gnawa" - a historic cultural center dedicated to preserving this music and home to Abdellah El Gourd, the internationally renowned maâlem. A legacy of the descendants of slaves from Black Africa, Gnawa music has been carefully preserved generation after generation, so that today, these bewitching rhythms still resonate, invoking trance. In addition to Abdellah El Gourd, the great masters - the mâalems - are Mahmoud Guinia (THE star, who once collaborated with Pharoah Sanders) and Maâlem Abdelkader Amlil (who has played regularly in France). We'd also like to mention two famous Tangier maâlems: Abdelkader Haddada and Abdelouahed Stitou, great references to listen to with your eyes closed.
Less expected, let's mention a very interesting documentary work: Music of Marocco recorded by American writer Paul Bowles (a Tangier figure), one of the leaders of the Beat Generation who, on behalf of the Moroccan Library of Congress, recorded hours and hours of Moroccan "sounds" in 1959. In four discs (published in 2016 by Dust-to-Digital), the document offers a splendid panorama of the Moroccan musical tradition.
Andalusian music
In Morocco, classical (and learned) music is above all Arabo-Andalusian music. This scholarly music, reminiscent of the music of medieval Christianity (particularly Gregorian chants), is highly prized by the Moroccan intellectual world, and remains particularly popular in the major cities of the north (Fez, Tangier, Tetouan). The reason is simple: the north of the country is historically the home of Arabo-Andalusian music, which first appeared there in the 12th century when Muslims driven out of Granada settled in Tetouan. Highly codified and modal, the genre allows ample room for improvisation in an orchestra traditionally composed of a rebab (a cordophone similar to a fiddle or lute), a tar (drum), a derbouka and a laud (four-string mandolin). Set against the flow of the music, singers interpret poems in classical Arabic or Andalusian.
In addition to the two great masters of the discipline, Abdelkrim Raïs and Mohamed Briouel, Tangier was also the birthplace of two leading figures in Arabo-Andalusian music: Omar Metioui and, above all, the immense artist Abdesslam Khaloufi, also famous for his interpretations of Sufi sacred music. In addition to the recordings by the aforementioned luminaries, two good points of entry for discovering the genre are the soberly titled album Arabo-Andalusian Music of Marocco by the great specialist Amina Alaoui and, more specifically for Tangier, the album Musique andalouse de Tanger, by the great Tangier master Sheikh Ahmed Zaïtouni.
Another outstanding performer of Arabo-Andalusian music is Bahaâ Ronda, a member of the Chabab al-Andalouss orchestra (arguably one of the country's finest Arabo-Andalusian orchestras) and a pupil of the revered Ahmed Piro (like Amina Alaoui). Morocco also boasts a number of great oud soloists who are always amazing to see and hear live on stage, including Driss El Maloumi, who has collaborated extensively with Jordi Savall, Azzouz El Houri, who has been very much in evidence on Belgian radio, and Saïd Chraïbi, who has accompanied the greatest voices of the Arab world, blending the Arabo-Andalusian heritage with Near Eastern, Turkish-Balkan, Flamenco and even Indian sounds. To be enjoyed in concert, notably at the Chefchaouen National Andalusian Music Festival, held every year in June or July, a major event in the field, or at Les Fils du Détroit, the café associatif of the Arabo-Andalusian music circle.
Popular music
Not at all hermetic to the sounds of its neighbors, Morocco appreciates the great voices of Egypt (Oum Kalthoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab), the Middle East (the sublime Faïruz) and even Algerian raï. The latter, a descendant of melhoun, is a combination of Arab-African tunes and modern instruments (rhythm boxes, electric guitars, synthesizers). Melhoun is the source of all Moroccan popular music. First appearing in the 12th century, it is traditionally a purely vocal form of poetry, gradually accompanied by the oud or guembri (a long two- or three-stringed lute), before welcoming percussion instruments. It was also from these realistic poems about life and love that châabi, the Moroccan folk music par excellence, blossomed. Present throughout North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt) and varying from region to region, Moroccan châabi has Arabo-Andalusian influences, lively rhythms and light-hearted lyrics that have made it an essential party and dance music (it is very popular at weddings). To get a better idea of châabi, we need only turn to its great performers: Houcine Slaoui (the modernizer and father of Moroccan châabie music), Abdelaziz Stati (the star), Najat Aatabou (nicknamed the "Lioness of the Atlas") or Mustapha Bourgogne. Châabi has stood the test of time, evolving and adapting, with each generation offering a new interpretation of the genre. Today, it is enriched by electronic rhythms, pop or autotune, as can be heard in the tracks of Zina Daoudia, the current queen of modern Moroccan chaâbi .
Jazz and contemporary music
It's impossible to talk about Tangier without mentioning its glorious past. A history that continues to attract many tourists, curious to experience the mystical charm and smoky creative atmosphere that was a magnet for rock bands in the 1970s. It's a well-known fact that the Stones used to come to town to smoke a hash pipe at Café Baba (which still exists today, and where something out of time hovers). Legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, Robert Plant and Janis Joplin were also attracted and captivated by the place, and something of theirs still hangs over the town. That said, Nass el-Ghiwane aside, rock never really took root in Morocco. Rap, on the other hand, is thriving, Tangier having contributed to its scene with two important names, Muslim, the pioneer of Moroccan rap, and Solomane, better known back home because he raps in French. Jazz, another genre that thrives in the Moroccan sunshine, is represented in the country by some very fine artists, such as Othman El Kheloufi, a saxophonist who has collaborated with Ibrahim Maalouf, Majid Bekass and his Gnaoua blues-jazz, and Malika Zarra, an oriental jazz singer. Tangier also hosts a major annual event, Tanjazz, which is not usually short on headliners, with big names such as Manu Dibango and Roy Hargrove setting the stage alight.
The theater
Tangier enchanted artists and writers in the 1950s, particularly those of the Beat Generation. In the 1960s, the work of Joe McPhilipps established the theater in the city on the Strait. By staging some twenty plays, and enlisting the collaboration of such greats as Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and Yves Saint Laurent in costume design, Tangier has carved out a special place for itself in the field. As a professor at the University of Tangier, he had his students perform many of the great classics until his death in 2007. The myth could have collapsed at that point, but it was quite the opposite. Projects continue to move forward apace. In Tangier, people understand that theater is a way of giving free rein to expression, and that's good. Two structures with innovative projects are keeping theater alive in Tangier: "Spectacles pour tous" and "Mémoire d'avenir". These two companies aim to bring theater to everyone, taking it to places where it isn't (the "Spectacles pour tous" troupe travels by truck). They organize shows and workshops in towns and high schools. The other mission of these projects is to get everyone performing. Darna Theatre for All is a perfect example. It teaches young people how to work together and enables them to express themselves. This is the theater of the "Mémoire d'avenir" company. Today, these associations and collectives are receiving increasing support and subsidies from major foundations such as the Fondation Majorelle.
