‘GNAWA ELECTRIC LAUNE’ is the magical collaboration between Moroccan Gnawa-master (ma lem) Rabii Harnoune and Frankfurt electronic producer V.B.K hl. Recorded at Achim Sauer’s 7V-Studio, collectively Rabii Harnoune & V.B. K hl have produced an LP which represents entirely new territory, building a bridge from old to new, from Africa to Europe,
and from to person to person.

This melange of traditional North African Gnawa music and modern club sounds results in a fascinating debut, cross-cultural friction which is electric and otherworldly. “Gnawa music was exclusively played by families whose parents came from Sub-Saharan or Central African tribes to Morocco in colonial times” Rabii explains, “it was rare to be able to listen to Gnawa music on radio, so I started to collect rare live recordings”.

Rabii’s mastery at the Guembri, a three-string lute and Gnawa singing (a central aspect to the culture), would lead him to play world-class festivals in Essaouira, Fes, Marrakesh, and Casablanca – all spiritual centres for the genre. V.B.K hl realised his own musical vision and ambition when he inherited his first ghettoblaster (boombox) and bought a four-track recorder: “rhythm is deep in me, and although music is not my profession, the passion never stopped”.

Supported by the likes of Pedo Knopp (Analog Africa), Tom Ravenscroft (BBC 6Music), Dom Servini (Soho Radio) and Moroccan stations such as Medi1 Radio, ChadaFM and Radio Aswat, Rabii Harnoune & V.B.K hl continue the legacy of Jimi Hendrix, Robert Plant, Randy Weston and more recently Bonobo, Floating Points and James Holden – in bridging together two different worlds, of Gnawa and Western musicians.

V.B.K hl caught the attention of DJ Shadow with two stellar remixes, which would later lead to commissioned remixes by Tru Thoughts for acts such as Anchorsong and Lakuta. V.B.K hl and album co-producer Achim Sauer founded t&TT together, a DIY label that was used as a vehicle to release both artist solo projects.