Driss El Maloumi has been called 'the magician of the ud', because of his virtuoso and inventive playing on the Arabic lute. Born and raised in the great Moroccan resort of Agadir, he studied Arabic philosophy and literature as well as Arabic and Western classical music. For decades he has been a member of Hespèrion XXI, the ensemble that gives historical musical performances under the direction
… of the Spanish gamba player Jordi Savall. The broadly oriented ud virtuoso has worked with, among others, the film composer Armand Amar, jazz artist Paolo Fresu and in the project 3MA with musicians from Mali and Madagascar. El Maloumi chose as the title for his solo studio album Makan, which in Arabic means 'location' or 'place'. It was recorded in his hometown Agadir in an intimate setting with two percussionists, his brother Saïd El Maloumi and Lahoucine Baquir. On the tracks Nassim and Ayour we also hear the beautiful tender singing of sister Karima El Maloumi. Magician El Maloumi shows an incredible variation in his ud playing in terms of melody, rhythm, intonation and timbre. His swirling and fresh playing enriched with subtle percussion makes Makan an album full of pure and delicate music that you can listen to endlessly. (SvdP)more