Music

I studied classic violin for 10 year’s but for the bigger time of my music life I’ve been more into traditional and electronic styles.

In the beginning of this era I was into techno, which then led to West African percussion music. Along the way I experimented with aboriginal music, nordic trad. music and I guess what you could call shaman music. These influences all came tougher in the band Giddabush that we formed in 1997 and still are active.

with the group Giddabush and the singer Ashar Khan in Gothenburg, Sweden.

In the beginning of 2000 I finally found what I was looking for in the first place: gnawa. It’s a kind of afromoroccan traditional/spiritual style that also corresponds to my Moroccan heritage. I met my current teacher Christer Bothén in 2002 and we are still in a tight collaboration. Through the year’s I’ve also studied with several masters in Rabat and Marrakesh in Morocco. Another related style is the mande hunters music that I study with Christer Bothén. I also had the chance to play at the source in Mali with the hunter’s bard (dosso yell) Amadou Sangaré.

Gnawa master Abdellatif El Machzoumi in his house in Marrakech, Morocco.
with Christer Bothén in Stockholm, Sweden.

Appart from this I play live percussions with dj´s and sometimes dj myself among plenty of other projects.

instruments: guinbri (gnawa bass lute), dosso n’goni (mande hunters harp lute), various percussions (djembe, cajon, timbales/percussion station, tbel, darbouka, tabourine), yidaki (didgeridoo).

more info:

Dosso yeli Amadou Sangaré and his son in Bamako, Mali.

www.myspace.com/saidbelhajmusic

www.myspace.com/treqgnawa

www.myspace.com/giddabush

www.giddabush.com