Mattias De Craene & Black Koyo (Jazzlab)

An adventurous and intense fusion of contemporary and gnawa music.

Mattias De Craene works as a solo artist as well as with bands such as Nordmann and MDCIII, on a fascinating journey involving jazz, electronic music, drones and the encounter between image and music. Whether exploring contemporary sounds or live accompaniment to film, De Craene invariably puts a personal stamp on his creations. He seeks and innovates, proving that spirituality and technology need not get in the way of each other.

With this project, he creates a fusion of traditional gnawa music and his own sound world. He travelled to Morocco to learn about its cultural heritage and musical traditions, and got to work with local musicians as well as representatives of the Brussels gnawa community (the largest outside Morocco).

In the musicians of Black Koyo, he found the ideal allies to incorporate his impressions and ideas into a crossover. Don't expect a slavish rendition of North African styles or overly easy appropriation. What you get to hear is an inventive and exciting mix of tradition and innovation, of earthy ritualism and ethereal exploration, featuring the dark edge that characterises so much of De Craene's music. It will not simply be a meeting of cultures, but an intertwining, an in-depth dialogue.