Trances

Soaking up tradition in the hills

Old traditional music footage 

The Nass El Ghiwane guys are outstanding musicians but they are also cultural historians of a sort.

My mom went to Morocco in the early 1970s - she saved her money and decided to go the place that was farthest away and she could stay for the longest time, within her limited budget earned from stockpiling her waitressing tips. She had so many crazy stories from that trip, which lasted a couple of months. She really stretched that waitress budget and hitchhiked all over the country Tangier to Tan-Tan, Marrakesh to Casablanca. She wasn't a big fan of Casablanca - too modern, just a big city, she said.

But at the same time in Casablanca, a Moroccan band from that city, influenced at the same time by its modern rootlessness and the country's ancient traditions, was finding national fame. Friends, do you know Nass El Ghiwane, "the Rolling Stones of North Africa," according to Martin Scorsese? I didn't until watching "Trances," a 1981 film about the band and their milieu. The band is amazing, unique, a little revolutionary, musically adept, deeply thoughtful, lyrically poetic. "Trances" shows us their live concert performances, as well as interviews and reflections, glimpses of the different cultures and traditions they're channeling in their music. Morocco is the absolute best for that. Is it the best crossroad country? Next to the Sahara, the sea and the Atlas mountains, close enough almost to touch Europe, diverse population that coexists and welcomes people from all over while maintaining a unique identity. (I read something on Reddit about the modern youth of Maroc getting more redpilled and nationalistic - is this just happening everywhere? Why?)

Anyway, I have zero doubt that my mother heard their music while she was there. She must have. It was very popular and she brought back a yellow ghembri with a colorful neck that fascinated me throughout my childhood. (It's a musical instrument.)

"Trances" is far more than a simple musical group documentary. Scorsese led a charge to get it restored, thanks Cartier and the other rich companies, so it is beautiful to look at and a fascinating subject. You will learn so much. I am glad to say Nass El Ghiwane is still around and touring too, although they have lost some members. I went to Morocco in 1996 and it wasn't so different from my mom's descriptions. "Trances" took me back and showed me new things.