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Mahmoud Guinia
This is the most magnificent and recommended tape I have heard in a while… enjoy this gnawa music from Morocco’s Mahmoud Guinia. Google around (also under “Gania”, a commonly-used spelling of his name) and you will see Guinia has collaborated with people like Hamid Drake (awesome) and Bill Laswell (interesting but less awesome). Not bad for a guy who also makes some of the illest spiritual/stoner music ever on hometown releases like this.
Thanks to Landon P for the tape!
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perhaps my favorite guinia tape from the dozen or so i bought in morocco. i don’t agree that this is the “illest spiritual/stoner music ever” – but i see your point.
this is definately not the original healing music, but a hybrid of the music to the leila-ritual and various kinds of berber/north-african traditions – maybe ghania was even aware of somebody like hendrix, who visited essaouira (ghania’s hometown) in the 60s.
thanks for spreading this!
the swing on the shaker is so freaking tight it’s giving me a toothache.
nice, this tape is immediately in my top five, with the Boubacar Traore, Kandja Kouyate, Ebenezer Obey, and the Charles Chepkwony/Oriango & Kipchamba combo tape.
Ata Kak just got booted from the top five. Sorry Ata!
Fantastic!
anyone read that arabic!?
Mahmoud Guinia
A
Sast Demanio
Makawyah
B
Ed Zalba
Ya Jawadi (My Horse)
thanks so much for the transliteration, tata!
inspired by you, i’ll post some more guinia-tapes at my blog. salam.
Thanks! Creative use of a blog! I member the first time I heard Guinia was on the Pharoah Sanders album (The Trance Of Seven Colors). Not as kickin as this but some how soothing to hear pharoah honk away with the ululating ladies. Big ups master shimchong!
Many thanks!
an awesome tape indeed
Very hysterical. I have the exact same tape. I bought it 25 years ago in Morocco. Your tape was sitting on a shelf all that time.
niiiice
Most of the stuff i’ve picked up in Morocco have his name spelled as so:
Maâlem Mahmoud Ghania
He’s incredibly prolific, hit any little record shop in Essaouira, and you’ll find dozens of his tapes and cds. I even picked up a couple video cds of concerts. And I’ve got recording of him doing a concert in Canada, so he does get around live as well as the studio projects with Pharoah Saunders and others.
He’s generally one of the most respected Gnawa guembri master playing today.
does this tape have a title?????
can someone translate?
This is wonderful, thank you for posting it. Love your work :)
Guinia is my favorite Gnawa musician, He performed at he Gnawa Music Festival in Swira. He kept it real even when he plays with international musicians!!! not like Hamid Kasri or Omar Hayat, who now do the Show
Yes, excellent Gnawa music! More, like this please!
wow 505 error can you re-up this one looks super !!!
I just discovered your blog. It’s a real magic box, thank you for sharing all this beauty!
ale.
Please someone tell me where i can download more music like this.
I’ve found a couple of his CDs to download:
http://narod.ru/disk/8211337000/Gnawa%20Essaouira.rar.html
(a bit fiddly to dowload — fill in the numerical Captcha, on next screen untick box, then click link)
http://rapidshare.com/files/164484668/emmg_-_Unknown_Album.zip
Awesome Tapes From Africa is fantastic — more please!
Many thanks for sharing this rockin’ bit of divine mastery.
it reminds me the record Transa (1972) Caetano Veloso… or should I say Transa reminds me of this? anyway… Bahia and Africa are the same thing anyway.
This is great stuff! Thank you so much.
i came looking for some gnaoua stuff & mahmoud ghinia is believed to be a good maalem, great!
about the tota botata explanatory comment he left, he seems not to have a clue eventhough it’s in his MOTHER LANGUAGE LOL;
sast demanayo is in kenyan language (life isnt forever)
makawyah is prolly a person (fem.) from makkah but inarguably is just an act of veneration for a person from makkah (proph. of islam muhammad) but NOT an act of worship
ed zalba is just another version of salaba a sorcery ritual with incense, Woods and barks, Seeds and fruits, Resins and gums, Leaves, Roots and rhizomes, Flowers and buds & also Animal-derived materials believed to be used in ceremonies which seems sometimes like jinn-worship
& finally ya jouady (NOT ya jawady my horse LOL) is an attribute of the god of islam ALLAH (swt) means The Bestower
O my Lord, make useful for me what you hath thought me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me.
I testify that there is no deity except Allah; He is One and has no partner. And I testify that Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is His servant and apostle. I seek protection from Allah, The Sublime, and I seek the protection of His Merciful Self and of His Eternal Kingdom against the accursed devil. O Allah, I repent before You for all my sins and I promise never to return to the same (again). Hasbiya’Allah’u Wa Niêma Lwakil waSalamu Alaikom warahmatou’Allah Wabarakatouh!
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thanks man im pumped about this
[…] with a 20 page photo essay. For some more truly outstanding music by Guinia, check out this post on Awesome Tapes from Africa. We hope that more music came out of this unexpectedly thrilling […]
[…] with a 20-page photo essay. For some more truly outstanding music by Guinia, check out this post on Awesome Tapes from Africa. We hope to hear more music from this unexpectedly thrilling […]
Mâallem Mahmoud Guinia died today. sast demanayo. inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un.
RIP El Malem Mahmoud Guinia. I am saddened of his departure. His Sintir was the best I heard during the Gnaoua Music Festival held every year in Morocco.
Here is an album done with him as the key singer.
http://earthfusionmusic.com/music_store/?album=shaman-of-the-sahara
[…] to Hakmoun, Mahmoud Guinia is considered a master of gnawa music. Guinia plays the Hejouj and leads a band where he leads the […]