SAÏD MESNAOUI & Transe Gnawa Fusion

His guembri always at the ready, Saïd Mesnaoui began performing towards the end of the 1970s, determined to promote gnawa music, not only by sharing its thousand-year-old heritage but revealing its creative potential and the immense freedom it allows for. Before heading to France in 1998 to continue pursuing his musical career there, Mesnaoui was among the first musicians to introduce North African music to Montreal, where he participated in the earliest editions of Festival Nuits d’Afrique and performed some of the first shows ever to be presented at Club Balattou. Over the years, he has explored a variety of music styles, such as ghiwane, Sahraoui, berber and, of course, gnawa, incorporating their rhythms into rock, blues and jazz without ever compromising their authenticity.