Ayrad (pronounced “hi-e-rad”) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

world music group from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, who play a modern spin on traditional

Moroccan music Moroccan music varies greatly between geographic regions and social groups. It is influenced by musical styles including Arabic music, Arab, Berber music, Berber, Andalusian classical music, Andalusi, History of the Mediterranean region, Mediterran ...

."Ayrad brings hybrid sound to The Boathouse"
''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee Ge ...

'', April 3, 2015. Led by vocalist Hamza Abouabdelmajid, band members include Annick Beauvais on oboe, bass and reita; Gabriel Brochu-Lajoie on bass and double bass; Anit Ghosh on violin; Kattam Laraki-Côté on percussion; and Sylvain Plante on drums.

History

Ayrad was organized in 2008 by Hamza Abouabdelmajid, who moved to Canada from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in 2005. In July 2013, Ayrad was featured on the CBC Radio program ''Cinq à Six''. The band's debut album, ''Ayrad'', which was released in 2014, was a nominee for World Music Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2015 The Juno Awards of 2015 honoured Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2013 and in most of 2014. The awards were presented in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 14–15 March 2015. The main ceremony was conducted ...

, and a nominee for a

Félix Award The Félix Award (french: Trophée Félix or Prix Félix) is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' (ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian p ...

ADISQ ADISQ (french: Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la video; eng, Québec Association for the Recording, Concert and Video Industries, link=yes) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the indepen ...

2015. That year, the album was also nominated for a

GAMIQ The Alternative Independent Music Gala of Quebec (french: Gala alternatif de la musique indépendante du Québec; GAMIQ) is an award-giving event created in 2006. It rewards emerging artists from the Quebec music scene. The awards are granted aft ...

Award for Best Roots Album in Quebec and was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award. In 2018, the band released their second album, ''Zoubida'' which was nominated for World Music Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2019 The Juno Awards of 2019, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in London, Ontario during the weekend of 16–17 March 2019. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Budweiser Gardens, preceded by numerous Juno Week events from ...

. At the 2020

Canadian Folk Music Awards The Canadian Folk Music Awards are an annual music awards ceremony presenting awards in a variety of categories for achievements in both traditional and contemporary folk music, and other roots music genres, by Canadian musicians. The awards progr ...

, the band was awarded World Group of the Year. In 2018 Ayrad performed in North Vancouver as part of the North Shore Jazz Series, and performed at Montreal's Festival International Nuits d'Afrique. Ayrad was the first performer named for the 2020

Festival International The Festival International de Louisiane is an annual music and arts festival held in Lafayette, Louisiana celebrating the French heritage of the region and its connection to the Francophone world. The festival was first held in 1987 and has bec ...

de Louisiane, but the festival was canceled due to the pandemic.

Discography

*''Ayrad'' (2014), COOP Les Faux-Monnayeurs *''Zoubida'' (2018), COOP Les Faux-Monnayeurs

References

External links

* {{Authority control Canadian world music groups Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups from Montreal Canadian Folk Music Award winners 2008 establishments in Quebec