NEW RELEASE – KASSIDAT: Raw 45s from Morocco

by HAJI MAJI

Kassidat_web

I’m happy to announce the release of KASSIDAT: Raw 45s from Morocco, an LP project I put together for Dust-to-Digital. Hypnotic and trance-inducing grooves from what I call the “Golden Age” of the Moroccan record industry, the period beginning in 1956 when Morocco gained its independence, until the 1970s. It was a time when many locally-owned record labels flourished, thanks, in part, to the inexpensive 45 rpm format. Most of these companies were based in Casablanca, but they released hundreds of 45s of authentic, hardcore folk music from all over Morocco. KASSIDAT is the third in a series of Dust-to-Digital LPs that explore similar locally-controlled record scenes around the world during the 1950s and 1960s. The first two in the series was LUK THUNG: Classic & Obscure Recordings from the Thai Countryside, followed by Chris Menist’s QAT, COFFEE & QAMBUS: Raw 45s from Yemen.
I designed this one and wrote the notes with a lot of help from Ayyoub Ajmi (www.settatbladi.org) and Tim Abdellah Fuson (moroccantapestash.blogspot.com). Be sure to check out their excellent web stuff for deeper diving. The recordings were mastered by Michael Graves (www.osirisstudio.com). Thanks to Dust-to-Digital for continuing to support these projects.

LP AVAILABLE HERE

Digital Download Here