Hassan Hakmoun

Master of trance music, Hassan witnessed his first Gnawa trance ceremony when he was just 6 years old. He explains: "My little sister had been terribly burned. She was screaming. My mother, a Gnawa musician herself, immediately brought together the local Gnawa masters from their Moroccan neighborhood. They then sacrificed a goat, removed its skin and covered my sister with it. I was terrified, but I watched the entire time. They then began to sing, drum, and play the sintir, and miraculously, my sister was healed." That incident led the young Hakmoun to begin learning Gnawa music; first percussion, and later the bass-like sintir. By the age of 14, he was performing at Gnawa lila ceremonies.

Hakmoun was an agile dancer, and when he was about 16, he participated in a breakdancing showcase sponsored by the French Cultural Center. The American dancers were brusque at first, and intimidating with their gear, many changes of sneakers and clothes and so on. But when the say Hassan spinning on his hands and dancing like a madman in bare feet, they became friendly, and curious. This event led to Hassan’s first trip to New York, which impressed him deeply. In 1987, he moved to the city.

“We got pulled over by the cops right out of the airport,” recalled Hakmoun, “because one of the musicians had his ney [flute] sticking out of the window, and they thought it was a gun. So they followed us, and pulled us over. That was the first impression here in America. Pulled off by the cops. Then straight up to Harlem. 137th St, between Broadway and Amsterdam. And that's where we stayed. And I looked out, and I said, ‘Oh my God, what happened to America? Is it at war?’" He soon adjusted, though, and gradually began moving his family over.

He began recording his music at home, on a 2-track recorder, and with help from Robert Browning at the World Music Institute, arranged to record his first American album, The Fire Within, a spare, powerful acoustic session. Among the adventurous New York musicians who became attracted to Hakmoun’s gnawa sound early on were percussionist Adam Rudolph and jazz trumpeter Don Cherry. Together they made a groundbreaking recording of gnawa jazz fusion, Gift of the Gnawa. Hakmoun recorded his first electric band, Zahar (meaning “luck”) and widened his circle. During a performance at the Knitting Factory, Hakmoun met one of his heroes, Miles Davis, but someone he did not know was also in the audience that night, and that person, producer Daniel Lanois, introduced Hakmoun to an important collaborator, Peter Gabriel.

Hakmoun and a revamped lineup of Zahar recorded Trance in 1993, a tour de force fusion of gnawa trance and rock ‘n roll ecstasy. Hakmoun spent time in the UK touring with Gabriel, and from there many doors continued to open. Hakmoun spent a few years living in California, while married to singer Paula Cole. They produced a CD called The Gift together in 2002. Hakmoun returned to New York n 2005 and in 2009, opened a Moroccan restaurant in the East Village, where he performs, hosts musicians, and holds court in an environment that is both “in New York, and outside New York.”

He continues to record and perform and is today regarded as a trailblazer for many young gnawa musicians who have sought out connections with the world beyond their traditional heritage and milieu. In the age of ambient club trance, and hip hop, Hakmoun revels in the world’s musical melting pot. “If you listen to the music right now,” he says,
“you can hear Asian music, or Middle Eastern styles, samples from India, from all over the world, making their flavors. That's beautiful. It’s great that these musicians are so open minded. If you have just world music itself, it cannot be played on certain pop radio stations, but because of the pop artists doing that, or the hip-hop artists, then you can hear that, and you get to know the other side. And that's beautiful.”

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