Add a little Moroccan spice to your life

THE Moroccan music masters from “the world’s only 4000-year-old rock band” will make their way to Mona for a special one-off concert next week.

Custodians of one of the oldest musical traditions in the world, the Master Musicians of Jajouka will bring with them their hypnotic mix of ancient and contemporary pieces, performed on traditional, locally made instruments and passed from one generation to the next.

Jajouka is a mountain village in northern Morocco, and the Master Musicians’ mastery of sacred melodies and rhythms is revered throughout their native land.

They achieved global recognition in 1968, when Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones recorded with the group.

Now the Master Musicians of Jajouka are coming to Australia for the first time to perform at Melbourne contemporary performing arts festival Supersense, and they have squeezed a trip to Hobart into their itinerary.

Band leader Bachir Attar told Pulse there is a deeply personal element to the Master Musicians’ trance music.

“This music, nobody can play it — only this family,” he said. “This is music from human being to human being.”

Attar hopes his group’s tunes can capture and engage the Hobart audience.

“That’s what happened to me when I was a kid,’’ he said. “I grew up with my father, he played this beautiful music.”

The Master Musicians of Jajouka perform in Mona’s Nolan Gallery from 7.30pm next Thursday (August 17). Tickets are $60 (plus booking fee), go to www.mona.net.au for bookings.