Lila

An Indigenous spiritual tradition of Morocco, Gnawa music is sometimes been referred to as Sufi blues, in part because it originated among enslaved West Africans brought into the country many centuries ago. A combination of ritual poetry, shuffling qraqeb (heavy iron castanets) rhythms, and lengthy call-and-response chants, Gnawa songs have a raw, almost hypnotic effect. Stylistically, it might seem an odd fit for Brooklyns Daptone Records, a label better known for its retro soul, R&B, and gospel acts, but on Lila, the second album by New York combo Innov Gnawa, it somehow resonates with a familiar frequency. Consisting of Moroccan expats and led by Maalem (a type of spiritual elder and master musician) Hassan Ben Jaffar, the band has already gained recognition among the citys world music scene and even earned a Grammy nomination for their 2016 debut. Recorded at the Daptone House of Soul in a single five-hour session, Lila captures the band in their purest, most spontaneous form. Playing a three-stringed bass lute known as a guembri and leading the calls, Jaffar guides the group through six entrancing pieces meant to represent a lila, which is the cultures communal night of celebration, prayer, and cleansing. At first blush, Innov Gnawas repetitive rhythms might sound particularly rugged and primitive to Western ears, but there are centuries of nuance encoded within these songs and an inherent soulfulness that should translate to any culture open-hearted enough to feel it. ~ Timothy Monger