The Master Musicians of Jajouka Led by Bachir Attar, have been announced to perform at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in 2014. The ancient collective from the Rif Mountains in Morocco were invited on the strength of their most recent recording, The Road To Jajouka, released last summer on Howe Records.
The nine-track collection was produced by Billy Martin and includes guest performances by Ornette Coleman, Lee Ranaldo, Flea, Marc Ribot, Medeski Martin & Wood, John Zorn, Mickey Hart and many more. All profits from album sales benefit The Jajouka Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 2013 to foster awareness and preservation of this timeless ceremonial music.
For their performance at Bonnaroo, Bachir Attar and the Master Musicians of Jajouka will be joined by DJ Logic on turntables, Marc Ribot on guitar, Shazad Ismaily on bass and Billy Martin on drums.
“The music of Jajouka is trance music, ecstatic music, a music narcotic. From its source—a particular village in the southern Rif mountains of Morocco—this magical music has migrated around the world, moving like clouds, like water, like smoke-flowing through the collective consciousness of its appreciators.” – Jim Jarmusch
“The 4000 year old rock ‘n’ roll band.” – William S. Burroughs
“The name Jajouka has become a touchstone for Western lovers of world music.” – DownBeat
“The Road to Jajouka sets a tone that’s by turns old-world, magical hypnotic and hypermodern.” – Relix
“This is world music, envisioned and reimagined by musicians who instinctively stay a step (or two) removed from the safety and boredom of the mainstream. It is music that brings other worlds to your ears, and tells a story that has been a work-in-progress for many centuries.” – Popmatters
“Cathartic.” – Blurt
“This is literally a timeless music, haunting, intriguing and somewhat foreign to our ears, but one that can elevate the listener as few other experiences can. Try The Road to Jajouka with open mind and ears, and you’ll find yourself transported to a place and a culture of which you’ve never dreamed.” – INK19
