Bab L’ Bluz (literally “The door of the Blues”) are reclaiming the blues for North Africa. Fronted by an African-Moroccan woman in a traditionally male role, the band are devoted to a revolution in attitude 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. Ancient and current, funky and rhythmic, buoyed by Arabic lyrics, soaring vocals and bass-heavy grooves, Nayda! seems to pulse from the heart of the Maghreb.
Armed with their electric guembris, Bab L’ Bluz resonates a mixture of Gnawa trance rhythms, Hassani songs from southern Morocco and Chaabi polyrhythms, propelling their music into the magnetic fields of psychedelic rock and volutes of incense. Led by a woman doukkalia, the group wants to carry a revolution of attitude being part of the movement of the Moroccan youth “Nayda”, a new wave of artists and committed musicians who are inspired by the local heritage and sing texts of freedom in the Moroccan Arabic dialect, the darija.
Very active since its creation, the power quartet travels the globe to distill its hypnotic riffs and spread its mystical and liberating headbanging frenzy to its audience – a true signature of the group.
Poetic and powerful, Bab L’ Bluz is an expanding universe, a sonic territory that transcends boundaries.
In 2020, Bab L’ Bluz made a stunning entrance on the music scene with the album Nayda! Mojo Top 10 world Album of the year, Songlines Best albums of 2020, The New York Times, Vogue Arabia, BBC, Le Monde, Financial Time, Pan African Music, Uncut, Radio Nova or Arte Concert…
In 2021, Bab L’ Bluz won his first Songlines Music Awards and then began a world tour which is still ongoing (Europe, Africa, America, Oceania).
After almost constant touring the band released their second album ‘Swaken’ in May 2024, to more critical acclaim. The album’s eleven tracks spark and pulse with kinetic, pedal-to the-metal energy and takes the listener to a place that shakes us up, to bring us peace.
