Lala Tamar feat. Samir LanGus

Original Production

Singer Lala Tamar (Tamar Bloch), returns to perform in Israel and will host the Moroccan musician, Samir Langus, the first Gnawa artist to win a Grammy nomination.

Between Israel and Morocco, Lala Tamar creates a rhythmic fusion of ancient North African melodies, Andalusian music, original arrangements with pop touches wrapped into dance floor electronic beats. Her debut album was released in 2020 by the Kame’a label and produced by Ori Winokur (Asaf Avidan, Kululush, Lola Marsh…).  Featuring original work of female secular singing including the hit “A Lala Ya Lalla,” the album’s songs are in Haketia, a tapestry of Hebrew-Moroccan-Spanish dialect of North African Jews from the period before the Spanish conquest. 

Settling in Morocco two years ago, Lala embarked on an exploration of Gnawa music, “Moroccan blues,” an ecstatic soul music, which grew out of the Sufi order and the descendants of slaves and mercenaries who came to Morocco from Mali and Mauritania.  Played during African-Islamic worship ceremonies held at night, Gnawa’s hypnotic rhythms and powerful melodies are believed to have the power to  heal the sick, purify and drive away evil spirits.  It has inspired creators from Paul Bowles to Randy Weston, from Robert Plant and Jimmy Page to Jimi Hendrix. 

Langus, a native of Agadir who has lived and worked in New York for more than a decade, learned the secrets of Gnawa from the greatest masters in Morocco and is considered a gifted player of the sintir (the Gnawa version of the bass with three-strings). In 2013 he joined Master Hassan Ben Jaafar and together they founded Innov Gnawa, an ensemble which expands the traditional repertoire and unique sound of the sintir and the Qraqeb with a contemporary spin and a jazzy touch. He recorded “Bambro Koyo Ganda” with the band, which made history when it won a Grammy nomination in 2018 in the Dance Album category.

Langus collaborated, among others, with Israeli musicians Omer Avital and Itamar Borochov and even recorded “Mimuna”, a bouncy fusion track ranging from Gnawa to Moroccan Jewish music. The collaboration with Lala Tamar is part of a musical journey drawing on the deep affinity between the two interwoven cultures. A rhythmic show, full of groove and soul.