WU_PJ-Mag Spring Summer 2026_FINAL - Flipbook - Page 123
S/S 2026
Gnawa musicians in the
Atlas Mountains, Morocco.
For travelers who have a desire to
understand a tradition from within, beyond
concert halls and curated festivals, a
rhythmic journey follows the pulse of a
sound back to its source. Its makers, its
spaces, its purpose.
Experienced within the right setting, music becomes
a connection to something higher. A way into the
culture itself. A deep, soulful and pure form of a
people’s artistic expression.
MOROCCO
Rhythms and rhymes
In Morocco, music is stitched into everyday life. Carrying weight,
not only as entertainment, but as something functional. It is used
to heal, to honor, to summon, to send o昀昀.
Gnawa musicians carry spiritual knowledge rooted in sub-Saharan
traditions. Their trance-like music forms part of sacred rituals that
use rhythm and repetition to connect with ancestral spirits.
Across the country, spiritual music takes many forms. In Fez,
immerse yourself in a private Su昀椀 samā ceremony within an
ornate Zawiya, where repetition and breath are utilized to guide
participants into a state of communion with the divine.
In the Sahara, nights are shaped by stargazing, storytelling, and the
hypnotic sound of Desert Blues, performed by Tuareg musicians
whose electric guitars echo the cadence of nomadic life.
In the Atlas Mountains, uncover the diverse styles of Amazigh
music, which serve as a conduit for language, landscape, and
continuity. Performed at seasonal gatherings and family rites,
these songs are passed down as both expression and inheritance.
Together, these musical traditions form a living archive of
Morocco’s cultural memory – adaptable yet deeply rooted. To
witness them is to engage with a world where rhythm is not only
an art, but a form of communication. Still shaping communal life,
and still passed on through generations.
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