The BBC News website has published an extensive feature on the Master Musicians of Joujouka following their appearance at Glastonbury Festival.
A report on the Master Musicians of Joujouka’s recent UK tour has been published by BBC News.
The article Master Musicians of Joujouka: The Moroccan band who wowed Glastonbury is a report by Richard Hamilton, who attended recent concerts in London and Glastonbury Festival with the Master Musicians.
Hamilton wrote: “For hundreds of years the Master Musicians of Joujouka have performed in their local village of the same name in northern Morocco, handing down their unique sounds of drums and pipes from generation to generation.
“But recently they opened the Glastonbury Festival in the south-west of England, one of the world’s biggest open-air music events.”
Hamilton interviewed members of the group and Rikki Stein, whose relationship with the Master Musicians dates back to his time living in Joujouka in 1971. Stein said: “I was so blown away by what I found there, that I tore up my return ticket and stayed in the village for a couple of years.”
Ghaita player Abdeslam Rrtoubi said: “When you play the ghaita, you become part of a great sound. I love seeing people moved by the music. It can also help me to play it on my own, whenever I need to calm myself. The audiences and the support we get from them with their dancing and their happiness is a gift to us.”
Lead drummer Ahmed El Attar added: “The music of Joujouka cannot disappear from here because the children who go to school in the village learn the music and it’s our heritage. If the music stopped in Joujouka, it would be as if there’s no more music in the world.”
Read the article Master Musicians of Joujouka: The Moroccan band who wowed Glastonbury in full here
A special report on the Master Musicians of Joujouka was also featured on the BBC Global News Podcast. Presented by the same reporter Richard Hamilton, the dispatch included live recordings from the Pyramid Stage.
Listen back to the Global News Podcast here
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