Salamate Gnawa, Live at Alliance Francaise, April 27, 2019

19.4.27

 Salamate Gnawa 4.27.19 @ Alliance Francaise, Toronto

Thanks to Alliance Francaise interest in francophone music, Batuki Music has managed to present some excellent African concerts there. The theatre is small and fills up quickly, the sound is clear but not loud, and the shows start and end early. That might seem counterintuitive for at least some of the performances they present, but many well regarded African musicians find there way through little theatre on Spadina.

Salamate Gnawa is a Maghreb act led by Maalem Rachid Salamate. The music is small- t trance-y, and very spare. Hand drums are outnumbered by smaller percussion instruments, including these finger clickers I hadn’t seen before, worn by several members. There were other rhythm instruments contributing to the tribal feel of the music. Salamate himself leads the ensemble with his quembri, a 3 stringed traditional lute. There are repeated call-and-response passages which come and go while the band holds the rhythm. The band rarely addressed the audience but clapping was encouraged and there was some occasional French banter.

The marathon all night Gnawa music sessions have their roots in the Sahel Empire, and the music spread through Morocco. It’s a spiritual sensation they produce, not specifically religious, but the music allows you to retreat within yourself, despite the dance-friendly rhythms. Salamate described the music to Batuki Music as “ancestral blues in which the voices of the ancestors resonate.”

There were two 45 minutes set with an intermission. These live performances may last all night long in Morocco, but here, we have rules about that, and the show wrapped up punctually.