AFRZIZ by Hassan Wargui
AFRZIZ = BITTER MELON
Hassan Wargui is a composer, songwriter, banjo player, and an expert in the songcraft and the poetry of the Tachelhit speaking Amazigh tribes of the Anti-Atlas mountains in the south of Morocco.
He was born in 1985 in a region called Issafen Tata, where he grew up among artists and creators allowing him to develop an excellent musical sense, a deep understanding of the complex poly-rhythms that underpin Amazigh music, and becoming proficient on the banjo, the preferred instrument of the region.
Hassan has been active in the Amazigh musical community for a number of years and has worked with a number of groups, notably Groupe Lbouchart, Imanaren (who worked with Jace Clayton/DJRupture during his 2011 Beyond Borders project) and Tidduklah.
Hassan Wargui is an Amazigh musician who makes timeless, hypnotic music. He has composed dozens of original songs that showcase his soaring vocals and energetic, elegant banjo playing. A true multi-instrumentalist, He has performed across Europe and North Africa, with appearances at the Clandestino Festival in Sweden, La Cave 12 in Switzerland, Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival.