Driss El Maloumi Aswat

The Moroccan musician Driss El Maloumi created another original album with Aswat. In trio instrumentation characterized by the melodic vocals, the harmonic sounds of the oud and the rhythmic percussions, Aswat is an inner musical journey and a metaphorical victory over the vicissitudes of everyday life. In the 90s, Driss El Maloumi successfully completed a classical Arabic and Western music education and was awarded various prestigious prizes in 1992, 1993 and 1994. Besides composing his own albums, Driss El Maloumi has composed music for numerous performances and films such as Isabel I (musical direction: Jordi Saval), L'Amour Sorcier (director: Antoine Bourseiller) and La Source des Femmes (director: Radu Miahileanu). Furthermore, since 2008, the musician has been playing alongside kora player Ballake Sissoko and valiha player Rajery in the music group 3MA. The award-winning trio of African stringed instruments composes their own contemporary albums and revolutionized African music with their instrumentation of stringed instruments without percussion. As part of the music project The Routes of Slavery, Spanish musician and conductor Jordi Savall invited the trio to contribute their compositions to the history of the slave trade in Africa. By cooperating with artists of different musical styles such as classical music or jazz, the magician of the oud, as Driss El Maloumi is praised for the purity and delicacy of his playing, succeeds in adding an extraordinary touch to the traditional music of his homeland. This original style runs through his new album as well. Aswat is a homage to his homeland and the search for adventures outside its traditions, once again demonstrating Driss El Maloumi's ability to mix different genres and his unique style.