''The Rough Guide to the Music of Morocco'' is a world music

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

originally released in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. Part of the World Music Network

Rough Guides Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on customer ...

series, the release contains two discs: an overview of the

music of Morocco Moroccan music varies greatly between geographic regions and social groups. It is influenced by musical styles including Arab, Berber, Andalusi, Mediterranean, Saharan, West African, and others. Musical styles vary by geography. Andalusi music a ...

—featuring such genres as

Chaabi Chaabi ( in Arabic), also known as Chaâbi, Sha-bii, or Sha'bii meaning "folk", refers to different music genres in North Africa and the Middle East such as Algerian chaabi, Moroccan chaabi and Egyptian Shaabi. Chaabi music just means 'music of ...

and

Malhun Malhun (Arabic الملحون / ALA-LC: ''al-malḥūn''), meaning "the melodic poem", is a form of music that originated in Morocco.Mounira SolimanPopular Culture in the Middle East and North Africa: A Postcolonial Outlook p.58 (Routledge 2013) � ...

—is found on Disc One, while Disc Two features the modern rural-urban fusion band Groupe Mazagan. The compilation was curated by Andy Morgan, former manager of

Tinariwen Tinariwen (Tamasheq: , with vowels , pronounced ''tinariwen'' "deserts", plural of ''ténéré'' "desert") is a collective of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. Considered a pioneer of desert blues, the group's guita ...

and organizer of the Festival in the Desert. Brad Haynes and Rachel Jackson coordinated the project, and Phil Stanton, co-founder of the World Music Network, was the producer. It is the second compilation by this name: the

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

, focusing on the same range of music with entirely different artists, was released in 2004.

Critical reception

The compilation's release was met with positive reviews.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

called the record "more aggressive" than the

, praising the addition of Moroccan hip hop. We went on to include it in his top albums of 2012. Deanne Sole of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

noted that all performers are men, almost entirely in groups. She did, though, see the appeal of the "bareness" and "forceful exposure" of the tracks.

Track listing

Disc One

Disc Two

All tracks on Disc Two are by Groupe Mazagan, whose music has been described as " chaabi-groove".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rough Guide to the Music of Morocco (2012 album) 2012 compilation albums World Music Network Rough Guide albums World music albums by Moroccan artists