Hassan Hakmoun
Encyclopedia
Hassan Hakmoun (b. 1963 in Marrakech
) is a Los Angeles
-based Moroccan
Gnawa music
ian.
. By age four, he performed alongside snake charmers
and fire-breathers
on Marrakech
streets. His mother is known throughout the city as a mystic healer. At the age of fourteen he left school to concentrate on music.
before moving to Los Angeles
. The composer and producer Richard Horowitz
helped Hakmoun to adapt to his new life.
In 1993, Peter Gabriel
introduced him to Real World Records
, where he would release his Trance album produced by Simon Emmerson
. All this influenced Hakmoun's Gnawa music by fusing it with new styles such as Jazz
and psychedelic music
. He also performed alongside musicians such as Paula Cole
, Don Cherry
and Jamshied Sharifi
.
One year later, in 1994, he performed at WOMAD'94 tour and Woodstock '94
along with Peter Gabriel.
In August 2008, he performed at the American Folk Festival in Bangor, Maine. He was married to Paula Cole until the couple divorced in 2007.
His mom was a practitioner of black magic which involves sacrificing goats, chickens, and wearing different colors for spiritual dances.
Gnawa music was the Moroccan slaves music. Slaves were allowed one night of freedom a year, to dance and play music, they wore red and other colors like black or purple. Each color and music was a spiritual communication with spirits. They practiced black magic seeking supernatural powers to free themselves, put curse or try to heal. Lyrics used are a repetition of Allah instead of African spirits. It's like chanting Voodoo or Santeria. The night of music is usually tense with dancing, passing out, pretending to be empowered by spirits.
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
) is a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
Gnawa music
Gnawa music
Gnawa music is a mixture of sub-Saharan African, Berber, and Sufi religious songs and rhythms. It combines music and acrobatic dancing. The music is both a prayer and a celebration of life...
ian.
Early life
Hakmoun was born to a family of musicians who introduced him to the musical world of the GnawaGnawa music
Gnawa music is a mixture of sub-Saharan African, Berber, and Sufi religious songs and rhythms. It combines music and acrobatic dancing. The music is both a prayer and a celebration of life...
. By age four, he performed alongside snake charmers
Snake charming
Snake charming is the practice of pretending to hypnotise a snake by playing an instrument. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerous acts, as well as other street performance staples, like juggling and sleight of hand...
and fire-breathers
Fire breathing
Fire breathing is the act of creating a fireball by breathing a fine mist of fuel over an open flame. Proper technique and the correct fuel create the illusion of danger to enhance the novelty of fire breathing, while reducing the risk to health and safety...
on Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
streets. His mother is known throughout the city as a mystic healer. At the age of fourteen he left school to concentrate on music.
Career
Hakmoun's U.S. debut was in 1987 at Lincoln Center with the band Trio Gna & Nomadas Dance Group. He later resided in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
before moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The composer and producer Richard Horowitz
Richard Horowitz
Richard Horowitz is a composer, producer, arranger, and musician .He is best known for his work on The Sheltering Sky, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, which was awarded the 1990 Golden Globe and LA Film Critics Music Awards; Any Given Sunday, directed by Oliver Stone, which was awarded the 2000...
helped Hakmoun to adapt to his new life.
In 1993, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
introduced him to Real World Records
Real World Records
Real World Records is a record label started in 1989 by Peter Gabriel to record and produce world music.-Overview:The label grew up alongside the success of the WOMAD festivals and Peter Gabriel's exploration of music from other cultures, and helped push world music into the general public's...
, where he would release his Trance album produced by Simon Emmerson
Simon Emmerson
For the experimental music artist, see Simon Emmerson .Simon Emmerson is a Grammy Award-nominated record producer, guitarist, DJ and founder of the group Afro Celt Sound System....
. All this influenced Hakmoun's Gnawa music by fusing it with new styles such as Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and psychedelic music
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
. He also performed alongside musicians such as Paula Cole
Paula Cole
Paula Cole is an American singer/songwriter. Her single "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and the following year she won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.-Early life:...
, Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)
Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...
and Jamshied Sharifi
Jamshied Sharifi
Jamshied Sharifi was born October 17, 1960 in Topeka, Kansas to an Iranian father and an American mother. At an early age, Sharifi was exposed to Jazz and Middle Eastern music by his father and to European classical and church music by his mother. He began to study classical piano at age five and...
.
One year later, in 1994, he performed at WOMAD'94 tour and Woodstock '94
Woodstock '94
Woodstock '94, often called the "commercial Woodstock" or "Mudstock", was a music festival organized to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival of 1969...
along with Peter Gabriel.
In August 2008, he performed at the American Folk Festival in Bangor, Maine. He was married to Paula Cole until the couple divorced in 2007.
His mom was a practitioner of black magic which involves sacrificing goats, chickens, and wearing different colors for spiritual dances.
Gnawa music was the Moroccan slaves music. Slaves were allowed one night of freedom a year, to dance and play music, they wore red and other colors like black or purple. Each color and music was a spiritual communication with spirits. They practiced black magic seeking supernatural powers to free themselves, put curse or try to heal. Lyrics used are a repetition of Allah instead of African spirits. It's like chanting Voodoo or Santeria. The night of music is usually tense with dancing, passing out, pretending to be empowered by spirits.
Discography
- Gift of the Gnawa featuring Don Cherry & Adam RudolphAdam RudolphAdam Rudolph is a jazz composer and percussionist performing in the post bop and world fusion media, probably most notable to date for his work with Yusef Lateef...
(September 1992) - Flying Fish RecordsFlying Fish RecordsFlying Fish Records was a Chicago-based eclectic blues and country record label. It was founded in 1974 by Bruce Kaplan, former president of the University of Chicago's Folklore Society.... - Trance (November 1993) - Real World RecordsReal World RecordsReal World Records is a record label started in 1989 by Peter Gabriel to record and produce world music.-Overview:The label grew up alongside the success of the WOMAD festivals and Peter Gabriel's exploration of music from other cultures, and helped push world music into the general public's...
/Virgin RecordsVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny... - Fire Within (August 1995)
- Black Mud Sound (November 1995) with Cornelius Claudio Kreusch
- Life Around the World (Alula Records, June 1999)