Praise for ‘Swaken’
Fiery and exultant. Bab L' Bluz's sound, which fuses traditional Moroccan folk music with a strong, rhythmic drive - that of the Amazigh, Gnawa, Hassani and Houara peoples - to psych-blues, rock and funk in songs that address local socio-political issues. Swaken is heavier than their 2020 debut …. it's also more varied, as standouts 'AmmA', whose whirling intensity Jaz Coleman might well applaud, the sweetly twangling, gently hypnotic 'Hezalli' and punchy desert-blues of 'Li Maana' attest.
7/10 UNCUT
[Swaken] comfortably asserts itself as a contemporary masterpiece in local and international terms—conceptually and effectively toying with the notion of frontiers while using them as tools of sonic transcendence.
SPIN
This is energetic stuff that doesn’t so much invite listeners to get up and get with it but clearly doesn’t expect any other reaction … the tunes on Swaken are firmly aimed at raising souls up and spreading smiles all around, bringing peace and harmony for all.
★★★★
THE ARTS DESK
Blasting guitars (think Hendrix), percussion (think psychedelia meets the trance-tastic Gnawa) and soaring vocals from Yousra Mansour make Swaken a time-busting experience …
★★★★★
NEW INTERNATIONALIST
Brilliant band!
DEB GRANT, BBC 6MUSIC
Their second LP, then, arrives with greater expectations, but a gig-tested muscularity to blow the cobwebs off that four-year gap, with the rock of Led Zeppelin rather than the roll of more familiar Saharan bands. Crucially, though, the band use traditional lutes, flutes and percussion - awisha, ribab, quembri, grageb, ney - giving their music a different texture to groups with similar dynamics. There's a trance-like swing to AmmA, no-nonsense boogie on Zaino, and if apocalyptic freak-outs (à la I Am The Resurrection) are your thing, Mouja will definitely not disappoint.
★★★★
MOJO
Nothing less than an essential album from an essential band built for our times.
MONOLITH COCKTAIL
“Even more psychedelic and hard rocking than its predecessor, Swaken draws as much from psychedelic blues, funk and AC/DC-style rock as it does from the propulsive rhythms of Northern Africa’s Maghreb: Gnawa, Amazigh, chaabi, Hassani and Houara music … Mansour’s voice – melismatic, wide-ranging, take-no-prisoners powerful – feels like a call to arms, or at the very least, a call to hair-swirl and head-bang … Marvellous.
★★★★★
SONGLINES
….psychedelic blues and funk mixed with the propulsive rhythms of northern Africa.
MORNING STAR
Praise for ‘Nayda!’
Raised consciousness guembri grooves and psych blues
★★★★
MOJO (TOP 10 WORLD ALBUM OF THE YEAR)
Fearlessly rebellious music
★★★★★
SONGLINES (BEST ALBUMS OF 2020)
A percussion-heavy mix of gnawa, funk and psychedelic blues.
7/10, UNCUT
My new favourite discovery of the moment.
SARAH HOWELLS
DOUBLE J / STIR IT UP
Jouant sur les régistres de l'enracinement et de l'ouverture, Bab L'Bluz concentre dans l'album « Nayda ! » toute la fougue de sa créativité hybride.
LE POINT AFRIQUE
Reclaiming the heritage but looking forward, the group injects the godly music and romance of Arabian-Africa with a new energy and dynamism. A 21st century blues excursion of dreamy and political vigor.
MONOLITH COCKTAIL
Dans son premier album, Nayda, le groupe Bab L’ Bluz fait résonner les rythmes de transe gnaoua dans les champs magnétiques du rock et les volutes d’encens. Poétique et puissant.
PAN AFRICAN MUSIC (BEST ALBUMS OF 2020)
Stunning debut… the songs are performed with an irresistible energy and joy that’s positively contagious.
★★★★
RNR MAGAZINE
This transcontinental quartet creates rollicking, headbanging music. Somewhere in the mix, you will find the hypnotic loops of Gnawa religious music, poetry from the Sahara and the reckless abandon of fuzz rock and blues. And every listen reveals a little more.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
A blast of low, guttural guembri, thumping drums with a slight stutter to the rhythm, a hint of overblown flute and sharp ululation … This is gnawa, the trance-inducing Arabic blues that Bab L’ Bluz are now reinvigorating.
★★★★
FINANCIAL TIMES
The production, rich in reverb and distortion - though never in excess - makes the most of this intoxicating blend. This is a band, once we can get out to gigs again, that’ll set your heart on fire and blow your troubles away
★★★★
THE ARTS DESK
Reste que c’est bien la musique gnawa et ses instruments totems, l’awicha et le guembri, qui sont au cœur de cet opus mêlant blues, funk et chaabi. « Nous utilisons l’awicha comme une guitare et le guembri comme une basse, les deux accordés différemment », poursuit la musicienne. Illustration avec le clip, envoûtant et psychédélique, d’Ila Mata, un morceau en arabe classique.
LE MONDE
Bab L'Bluz revolutionieren die marokkanische Musik - fünf Songs der Woche.
WDR COSMO RADIO
A very exciting debut album ... it’s funky, it’s soulful, it’s traditional and it’s modern.
9/10, RHYTHM PASSPORT