Altered Zones

We're excited to see the release of Group Doueh’s (pronounced doo-way) latest, Zayna Jumma. Discovered in 2005 by Hisham Mayet of Seattle-based Sublime Frequencies, Group Doueh has been making music that reflects the complex sonic textures of their native Western Sahara for over 27 years.

Zayna Jumma is centered on an amalgam of Saharoui music from Northern Africa (Morocco region), ancestral Mauritanian musical form, and Gnawa music (Sub-Saharan African Trance music). Mauritanian instrumentals are incorporated employing the tinidit, a three-stringed lute traditionally played with a plectrum; the ardin, a harp played mostly by women with 12 to 14 strings; with a western korg synth played by Doueh’s son El Waar; a drum-kit played by his other son Hamdan; and Salmou “Doueh” Baamar’s desert blues inspired guitar. Recorded last year while making ends meet as the "go-to group of the Saharan wedding industry," and playing with longtime Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen, Zayna's complex musical compositions feautre Halima Janaki and Bashiri Touballi’s animated vocal interplay to create exalting music, showing the poetic depths of the Hassania language.

But if you're not familiar with Group Doueh, "Beatte Harab" the title track of their last album, is a great place to start. Though it's a slight departure from previous styles mentioned, it fuses the traditional music formations with pop hooks and conveys the unique intermixture of the Dakhla people in the Western Sahara. On a relentless search for new and innovative music making, Doueh has drawn influence from a heterogeneity of sources, giving his music layers of depth that might not exist in pure musical modes. --Anna Rushford, International Tapes

MP3: Group Doueh: "Beatte Harab"

Order Beatte Harab (avail now), and Zayna Jumma (coming May 24th) from Sublme Frequencies and Forced Exposure, check out tour dates here