Mehdi Nassouli
KUCHING: Moroccan ‘guembri’ player Mehdi Nassouli is set to perform at this year’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF).
Born in Taroudant in southern Morocco, Mehdi experienced the rhythms and sounds of traditional Moroccan culture while growing up and this inspired him to dedicate his life to studying instruments and the voice of his people, according to a RWMF press release yesterday.
“He immersed himself in the rhythms and spiritual trance of ‘Gnawa’ music practised by his ancestors. As he is drawn intrinsically to new rhythms, he took up the guembri, a percussive stringed instrument that is the foundation of Gnawa music and learned to master it from great musicians,” it read.
Launched into the international scene by festival director Brahim El Mazned, Mehdi now has many projects and international collaborations where he pushes those traditions ahead with enthusiasm.
As a fusion artiste, he has collaborated and shared the stage with many international artistes.
Mehdi was featured on French guitarist Titi Robin’s album Les Rives in 2012 and the two later collaborated on a joint album, Taziri, in 2015, with both albums yielding extensive international touring.
His collaboration with other genres, such as jazz and hip hop, has earned him legions of followers.
The press release also mentioned that Mehdi is enamoured by the Malhoune poetic arts and deqqa – a traditional form of art from Taroudant – and has spent the better part of a decade learning several traditional musical styles across Morocco.