Introducing Bab L’ Bluz

Bab L’ Bluz are reclaiming the blues for North Africa. Fronted by an African-Moroccan woman in a traditionally male role, the band are devoted to a revolution in attitude which dovetails with Morocco’s ‘nayda’ youth movement – a new wave of artists and musicians taking their cues from local heritage, singing words of freedom in the Moroccan-Arabic dialect of darija. Ancient and current, funky and rhythmic, buoyed by Arabic lyrics, soaring vocals and bass-heavy grooves, Nayda! seems to pulse from the heart of the Maghreb.

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The band’s first single —and a great example of what to expect from the new album— is ‘Ila Mata’. “The lyrics are inspired by the Tunisian poet Anis Shoshan,” says frontwoman Yousra Mansour. “They aim to awaken the sleeping consciousness of individuals indoctrinated by racist statements and who consider some humans superior to others. It is a call to search for what can unite us instead of going towards everything that divides us.”

Nayda! is out on Real World Records on 5th June 2020 digitally, and available on CD/Vinyl on 24th July 2020.

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