Zar Electrik: bridging cultures with a fusion of African, Arabic and electronic sounds

“Zar is a musical healing ritual of eastern Africa found notably in Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. Our music is based on Gnawa and West African rhythms, and integrates Eastern and Arabic inputs while electrifying traditional instruments mixed with electronic beats”, says Anass Zine when summing up the raison d’être of Zar Electrik.

The Marseille group’s gimbri, oud and guitar player, Zine started out as a singer and musician in Morocco nearly 20 years ago, playing festivals in Casablanca, Fes and Rabat with his band Gnawa Click.

In 2010, he moved to Marseille, a gate to Europe for many from the Middle East and Africa. There, he met Arthur Péneau, who had been playing Cuban and African percussion since he was young, learning kora with Guinean musician Karamoko Bangoura, whom he had accompanied on a two-month ‘transmission ritual’ in Guinea. One highlight of that trip was having the chance to study with the late kora master M’Bady Kouyaté (1934–2016).

Zine and Péneau jammed together in sessions around Cours Jullien, a creative area in downtown Marseille, and often appeared in each other’s bands. They started playing together as Zar Electrik in 2019, but the group really began to take shape the following year, when during the COVID-19 pandemic they were joined by beatmaker Didier Simione (aka Miosine). “Among other things, our influences have been Karim Ziad, Aziz Sahmaoui and Gnawa Diffusion for Maghreb, Bassekou Kouyate and Oumou Sangaré for West Africa”, says Zine. Simione states that it’s “the British electronic scene: drum’n’bass, dubstep and labels like Warp and Ninja Tune, techno, hip-hop and drill” that are the most important part of his background. “It’s a different approach to compose for tunes built around vocals and riffs, and then give space to instrumental freedom and solos on stage”, he adds.

After forming, the group quickly began touring extensively, in France, then Europe, Algeria and Canada, winning a Prix des Musiques d’Ici award in France in 2022. Their debut EP, Hawa, arrived in 2023, followed by this year’s KOYO. ‘Babord’ – borrowing the French nautical term for port side (left-hand) – is the first single off their new album. Its video shows the arrival of a North African immigrant in Marseille after crossing the sea, offering a tale of despair and then hope.

“With the title KOYO, a Gnawa term that could mean companion, we try to stand as ambassadors of the diaspora and our cultures, like troubadours or griots through history”, says Zine. Péneau adds: “Migrants leave everything behind and are real adventurers, warriors on a path… Unlike the general political direction considering immigration as a security and economic danger, we try to show it as an opportunity for exchange and diversity.”

During a recent tour in New York and Washington, the trio recorded an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, which will be aired in April. As their touring schedule gets even busier than is already the case, we must remember that this is just the beginning.