Nabil Baja: The Amazigh song is a message above all else and a struggle to preserve the Amazigh musical and poetic heritage
From the Tounfit region, a small village in the prefecture of Midelt, a youthful voice emanates with extremely splendid songs, carving his name in the sky of the Atlantic Amazigh song, following in the footsteps of its pioneers from Rouicha, Hada Ouaki, Hamou Belizid and others... He is Nabil Baja, a tourist guide for Amazigh music who takes us through his songs in A journey between the past and the present and draws us to our authentic heritage and ancient civilization.
The 33-year-old, with his melodious voice and listening ear, rises to the pinnacle of art, taming Atlantic rhythms to travel with you across the terrain of the Middle Atlas and its majestic cedar trees.
In this interview, Nabil Baja tells us about the details of his first steps in the world of Amazigh-Atlantic music, as well as the challenges he faced, as well as his future musical preoccupations, calling on the official authorities “to support the Amazigh-Atlantic song, and to extend a hand to Amazigh artists to produce their musical creativity with the best sound and image.”
The Amazigh song is a message above all else and a struggle to preserve the Amazigh musical and poetic heritage
?Welcome to the pages of “The Amazigh World” newspaper, to bring you closer to the readers. Would you like to give us an overview of your person
Nabil Baja, 33 years old, comes from the Tounfit region, where I continued my preparatory studies, after completing my primary studies in the city of Midelt, then Meknes, where I obtained a baccalaureate degree, Arts and Humanities Division.
?Could you tell us about your musical beginnings, and what prompted you to embark on this experience
It must be remembered that I grew up in a musical family environment, as my father was a string instrument player, and thus I was saturated with music in both its classical and Amazigh aspects since childhood, and since I lived between Midelt and Tounfit, this is what strengthened my love for Amazigh music, and in my beginnings I used to sing musical styles. Other pop, Western and Eastern, as for singing in Amazigh, I can tell you the truth that it was a coincidence, as while I was in my humble studio, I was surprised by a bandir rhythm while I was searching on the internet for rhythms, a rhythm that I liked very much, and it was for the song “Yodja Diki Badad Ousmun Asara Laouari” by the great artist. Singer, I decided to re-sing it in my own way and in a style that combined the various musical styles that I was saturated with. As soon as I uploaded the song after recording it on social networking sites, it received the approval of the audience who accepted the idea, and this greatly encouraged me to continue the journey of the Amazigh song.
?It is said that beginnings are the most difficult. What challenges did you face in your artistic beginnings? How were you able to overcome it
It is true that beginnings are always difficult, even though I am still in the beginnings stage, but there are things that constitute an obstacle for me, including unconstructive criticism from some artists who are fanatical about everything that is classic, and who do not accept the idea of renewal, and try to obstruct everything from It adds new modern touches to the music, as they consider it foreign.
But despite everything, I surpassed that, based on the love of a significant base of Nabil Baja’s followers and his creations, as I have been in the field for about four years, trying as much as possible to satisfy my musical passion first, and of course producing pieces in a new and distinct style, as I consider that Amazigh music You must keep pace with development and be open to other styles.
?You chose to re-arrange and sing the pieces of Mohamed Rouicha, Hamou Belazid and Hada Aouki. Why this trio exactly
Indeed, I am very proud of this singing trio, and it is the one that inspired me to become passionate about Amazigh music. Hadda Aouaki is an artist who gave a lot to classical Moroccan and Amazigh song, and for me she is the source of my inspiration. The same applies to the wonderful Mohamed Rouicha, who is considered one of the first innovators of his time. He took great transitional steps with the Atlantic Amazigh song, and gave it an international radiance, making it music that touched the hearts of all nationalities, far from their understanding of the Amazigh language. I consider him my role model in my artistic path, and I wished he had He is alive to listen to me and support me to continue. As for Professor Hamou al-Yazid, he is the poetic basis of the Amazigh song, and from it the late Rouisha derived most of his songs, and we, in turn, are trying to deliver them to the current generation in a way that will endear them to Amazigh poetry.
You previously re-released the song “Rala Boya” by the artist “Barchid” from Al Hoceima, with a new musical arrangement. Could you tell us about this idea? Will the experience be repeated with other Maghreb artists?
Above all, I am a fan of country music, and I listen a lot to Khaled Azri, Maestro Walid Mimoun, and great artists, especially the pioneers of the committed song, and I had a dream of performing a song with Tarifit’s expression. As for the piece “Rala Boya,” it is a joint production between me and the Nadourian artist Imad Belhanbal, and we We gather a lot and repeat many songs in our own style, and from here came the idea of the song, which is in the countryside and Atlantic language of our own writing, with a slight modification of the style in which the artist “Parsheed” sang it, but keeping the Rala Boya refrain that rural artists are known for, and I hope in the future to work with other artists from the countryside. But beyond that, I have a dream of a song that I hope will bring together artists from the countryside, Souss and the south-east, a song in the three expressions of the Amazigh language, and why not in the Amazigh expressions of the Maghreb.
?You recently released a new song called “AYADBIB.” Tell us about the song and the circumstances of its release
It is a song written by the artist and poet Saeed from the city of Itzer, whom, by the way, I and the artist friend Youssef Ait El Haj met when I was visiting him. This self-taught poet was creative in writing its words to be composed at the time. It was composed by me and the artist Youssef Ait El Haj, a song that was previously released. With a version that relied mainly on the violin, with the artist Mohsen Boghtas, the same person who played most of the songs for me, including the song “Ghifi Attempts,” so I decided to repeat a new version with the string instrument played by Youssef Ait El Haj, and it was recorded with the artist Dehya and released on my YouTube channel. , receiving wonderful echoes from the audience thirsty for the sophisticated word and distinct melody.
?What work do you consider to be the most successful in your musical career? What is the story behind this song
The most successful work, despite my modest musical career, is the re-arranging and singing of the piece “Attempts of Ghifi” by the able artist Hadda Awaki and the artist Nasser Khoya. It is a song suggested to me by a friend, and it suits the texture of my voice. As soon as I listened to it, I really liked it, and after I had recorded it alone. Three months later, I and the visual artist, Ms. Zakia Khabou, who is also from the Tounfit region, tried, in the language of music, to add the female voice and complement the musical maqam, which is the bayati maqam. It was her first musical experience as well, and the song succeeded and found a beautiful echo both inside and outside the country.
?Our era is an era of images par excellence, and yet we notice the absence of Amazigh songs in the “video clip” format. In your opinion, what is the reason for this absence
It is true that the “video clip” plays an important role in conveying the song and broadcasting its message through the image, and sometimes more than the song itself, but based on my humble experience, I believe that, especially in the Middle Atlas, everything related to the image, the reason is attributed to the financial problem one hundred percent, because the production “Video clips” at a high level require a budget or supporters, and with the region’s lack of production houses to embrace artists, and the complete absence of any institutional encouragement for Amazigh-Atlantic art, the Amazigh song currently remains a hostage of sound and only.
By the way, this is an invitation to cultural and institutional actors in the region, to support the Amazigh song, and to extend a hand to Amazigh artists to produce their musical creativity with the best sound and image.
?What do you think of the current level of local art, compared to the generation of pioneers from Rouicha, Hamo Belizid and others
Frankly, I cannot compare between the classical and modern song, but technically, many things have changed. Previously, the Amazigh song relied primarily on poetry, but now the modern song is trying to keep pace with classical poetry in a way that includes innovation and modern music.
In any case, the modern song has its fans, and the classic song as well, and the generation of pioneers remains the source and from them we start to reproduce and perform, as well as invest in their music to move forward with our artistic creations.
?Can your artistic experience be considered a search for the continuity of the Amazigh song and preserving its originality in a new form
Regarding my personal experience, the Amazigh song is a message above all else, and a kind of struggle to preserve the Amazigh musical and poetic heritage from extinction, and to continue it for future generations, so that the Moroccan person will always remain proud of his Amazigh, and this is what I try as much as possible to work on, the continuity of the Amazigh song while preserving its authenticity. In a style that keeps pace with the spirit of the times, and I hope to succeed in that.
What is your response to the statement that the Amazigh song has lost its originality and turned into a commercial song devoid of meaning and content?
Aside from what is material, that is, a song that comes from the heart, its destination is the heart, of course, and it receives a unique response from the audience. As for the Amazigh song being separated from its authenticity, this is not true, as it is possible to combine the authentic with modernity, and in this way we preserve our culture and our Amazigh musical heritage from extinction. This is the case with rural, Susian and south-eastern songs.
Here we notice that young people listen and appreciate everything that is new, and I consider this pairing to be a service to the Amazigh song, to keep pace with the development taking place in music in general, and personally, in the songs that I present, I always rely on the string and the violin, and these two instruments were in the classical song and are still in the modern song. I am not against other instruments such as the guitar and piano to add more aesthetics. On the contrary, the Amazigh song has not lost its originality, because it is the foundation for any artist to pave his artistic path and carry the torch.
Do you have radio and television experience or previous participation in cultural events?
In all honesty, after the amazing success achieved by the song “Hulaat Ghifi” and other songs, I received many offers from Moroccan radio stations and channels, and I was not convinced of the idea at the time, because I was in my first steps in the music field, and I had not yet decided to continue in the field or limit it as a hobby. This is what made me postpone this issue and not reject it, as I am in my beginnings, and I must arm myself with musical and knowledge resources, and this is the main reason for my temporary reluctance from the media.
As for the experiences of participating in cultural demonstrations, they are not many, but I actually had the honor of participating in a good number of artistic evenings organized by civil society associations, for which I thank them, by the way.
?What are the colors and lyrical styles in which Nabil Baja finds himself? And why
As I mentioned earlier, I had previously had singing experiences in many musical styles, and I even had experience in the art of rap, but since (laughs) my lips committed to singing in Amazigh, the melody and the sweetness of the words attracted me, and I became in love with it, and spiritually I find myself in the Atlantic Amazigh song, and this It makes me very comfortable when I sing in Amazigh. I am honest with you in saying that a person, no matter how Westernized he is artistically or in his identity, must return to his origin and nostalgia for it, and because the Amazigh language is my language and my homeland, this has increased my certainty so that I can create as much as I can, interpreting Amazigh poetry that carries connotations and expressive symbols that my tongue fails me to pronounce in other languages.
?What are your future projects in this field? Are you thinking of releasing an album
After this small experience of redistributing and performing the songs of the pioneers in Amazigh-Atlantic music, and after releasing some songs of my own, I am currently preparing for my own album, which will be released this year, God willing, with a little focus on the video clip, with our modest capabilities of course, and I hope Sincerely, it will receive the admiration and interest of the Amazigh audience in particular and the Moroccan audience in general.
Free word..
I thank you for this wonderful gesture and for this interesting dialogue, and I thank the staff of the newspaper “The Amazigh World” for what they are doing to introduce our identity that is steeped in history and our rich musical heritage. I also thank all of Nabil Baja’s followers and their noble encouragement, and I hope that I live up to their expectations, and I promise my audience. What is clear is that I am still in the beginning, and that I will not be stingy with what my humble musical talent brings to them.
Interviewed by: Khairaldin Jamaei
Source : websites