- artist:Bab L'Bluz
- event type:WOMEX 21 Showcase - Official Selection
- date:28 Oct 2021
- time:00:45 - 01:30
- city/area:Porto
- venue:Coliseu Stage
- country:Portugal
- event posted by:Piranha Arts
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Fronted by Yousra Mansour, a Moroccan woman in a traditionally male role, Moroccan-French power quartet, Bab L’ Bluz, reclaim the blues for North Africa, drawing on African, Andalusian, Amazigh, and Jewish influences to create an inspirational, multi-layered mix which dovetails with Morocco’s nayda youth movement – a new wave of artists and musicians taking their cues from local heritage, singing words of freedom in the Moroccan-Arabic dialect of darija. Singer, composer and guembri player, Mansour formed the band in 2018 with composer and player of the bass guembri, Brice Bottin, in tribute to Gnawa culture. The traditional instruments are amplified and enhanced, rolling and tumbling with the solid backing of drum kit and electronics, building a space where Gnawa meets funk, Moroccan chaabi meets trance, and the ancient blues of the desert meets rock and hip-hop.