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Bab L’ Bluz (literally “The Door of the Blues”) is a Franco-Moroccan band formed in Marrakech in 2018, born from the meeting of Moroccan singer and guitarist Yousra Mansour and French guitarist and producer Brice Bottin. United by a deep passion for Gnawa music, the two began learning the guembri together, forging a singular musical language that became the foundation of the band’s early repertoire.Armed with electric guembris, Bab L’ Bluz blends Gnawa trance rhythms, Hassani songs from southern Morocco, and Chaâbi polyrhythms, pushing their sound into the realms of psychedelic rock and hypnotic, expansive sonic landscapes. Led by a woman from Doukkala, the group embodies a bold shift in attitude and expression, aligning with Morocco’s Nayda movement—a new wave of artists drawing from local heritage while singing messages of freedom in Darija, the Moroccan-Arabic dialect.
Since their formation, the power quartet has toured extensively around the globe, delivering hypnotic riffs and a mystical, liberating energy that has become the band’s hallmark. Poetic, powerful, and boundary-transcending, Bab L’ Bluz continues to build an ever-expanding sonic universe.
In 2020, the band made a striking entrance with their debut album Nayda!, which was named among Mojo’s Top 10 World Albums of the Year and Songlines Best Albums of 2020, and praised by outlets including The New York Times, Vogue Arabia, BBC, Le Monde, Financial Times, Pan African Music, Uncut, Radio Nova, and Arte Concert.
In 2021, Bab L’ Bluz won their first Songlines Music Award and embarked on a world tour that continues to this day. Over the years, they have performed across Europe, Africa, the Americas, Oceania, and Asia, bringing their hypnotic and liberating sound to audiences worldwide.
After years of near-constant touring, the band released their second album Swaken in May 2024 to widespread critical acclaim. Its eleven tracks pulse with kinetic energy, carrying listeners on a journey that shakes, heals, and inspires.
Today, Bab L’ Bluz continues to evolve, captivating audiences across the globe with a sound that is psychedelic, hypnotic, and deeply rooted in Moroccan tradition.
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101 Hiester Street, State College, Pennsylvania 16801, United States
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