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Listen To Album
Recorded live on April 20th, 2014, by Tyler Wood in Agdz, Morocco.
Mixed and mastered by Tyler Wood at Sauce Farm Studio, Catskill, NY
With deep gratitude to Mhammed Elyadini, Kawtar Houari, Chez Yacoub, the Agli family, and the entire community of Agdz.
Remix Examples
Khalil Mounji
Casablanca, Morocco
HAT
NYC / Morocco
Start Remixing
We've meticulously prepared a collection of remix-friendly audio (loops and one-shots) and video (stems) from the above album and are making them available as free downloads with a Creative Commons BY NC SA license, which allows you to remix and share them solely for non-commercial purposes, as long as you always give credit to Remix ⟷ Culture and Ferqa Ahwach Agdz, and provide a link to this very same license.
If you end up making killer remixes and you'd like to earn money from remixing our audio, contact us for a licensing agreement.
Audio Downloads
Listen to a few of the hundreds of audio files you will find in the downloads above:
Video Downloads
Watch a few of the dozens of video files that you will find in the downloads above:
About The Band
Band Members
———Standing Left to Right———
Mohamed Balhsen, Lmehdi Onjar, Jamal Gangho - Dance, vocals, claps
Abdelali Ait Ttalb - Lead dance, vocals, claps
Aba Hassan - Dance, vocals, claps
Ait Taleb Azeddine - Naqos, dance, vocals, claps
Abdelhak Abhaoui - Dance, vocals, claps, lead vocals
Abdlehadi Baeziz, Bororo Mohamed, Aziz Onjar - Dance, vocals, claps
Agzal Hamid, Tassin Boughaz, Abdelhadi Meddah - Dance, vocals, claps
Abdallah Balhsen - Dance, vocals, claps
———Sitting Left to Right———
Bobker Marouk - Tar, vocals
Ait Taleb Mohamed - Lead vocals, tar
Mohamed Ait Dadda Alla, Mohamed Ba Malek - Tbal, vocals
Aba M'Barek, Mahamed Gangou - Tar, vocals
Kala Mohamed - Naqos, dance, vocals, claps
Mohamed Gouni, Bayaich M'barek, Mohamad Balhsen - Tar, vocals
Mohamad Bayech, Bochieb, Mohamed Abhaoui - Tar, vocals
Abdelkabir Meddah - Tar, vocals
Abderrahim Ahrouch - Tbal, Vocals
Ferqa Ahwach Agdz (Al-Kobra) is a traditional band from Agdz.
Ahwach is an Amazigh performance tradition that is hundreds, perhaps thousands of years old. There are different Ahwach traditions in different parts of the Souss Massa Draa region of Morocco; some composed of men and women, some all women, and others all men, like Ferqa Ahwach Agdz.
The Ahwach ceremony, historically performed around the time of the harvest, celebrates community. It is inspired by the concept of a nucleus, as the word Ahwach specifically comes from “hawch,” or the (traditionally) circular wall that surrounds the house. It also means the gathering. Ahwach ensembles are commonly composed of 20 to 120 people.
The formation of Ferqa Ahwach Agdz started around Moroccan independence in 1956, when they began by performing for weddings and other large celebrations, commissioned by El Glaoui, an historically famous chief of the Glawa tribe of the Amazigh people in southern Morocco.
In 2009 the band evolved into a new iteration, becoming a cultural non-profit organization for the preservation and transmission of the culture. Boys as young as 16 years old are welcome, as well as men aged 70 and older who are still practicing. The band has performed at various festivals throughout Morocco (Tan Tan, Figuig, Errachidia, Arfoud, Ouarzazate), and in the United Arab Emirates.
About the instruments and costumes, which are all made locally in Agdz:
Tbal (big bass drums), also known as the Dindoum, which is its Sub-Saharan African name of origin. These drums are made with middle-aged bull’s skin (for its durability) stretched and woven over a metal frame.
Naqos (welded metal bell). These are an aural and symbolic component of the music, creating the sounds of swords while evoking the feeling of being in war.
Tar / Bendir (smaller drums), also known as the Tigdam, Tagenza, or Tallount, depending on the region. These drums are made from goat (higher-pitched) or lamb (lower-pitched) skin.
The band wears traditional local dresses used for weddings and other communal celebrations.
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