Hoba Hoba Spirit is a musical fusion band based in Casablanca

Casablanca

Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 that was formed in 1998. It is composed of Adil Hanine (drummer

Drummer

A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

), Anouar Zehouani (guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

ist), Saâd Bouidi (Bass guitar

Bassist

A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

), Reda Allali - (vocalist and guitarist) and Othmane Hmimar(percussionist). The name of the group is based on a song by Bob Marley

Bob Marley

Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...

.

Hoba Hoba Spirit's musical style mixes Rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, Reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 and Gnawa

Gnawa music

Gnawa music is a mixture of sub-Saharan African, Berber, and Sufi religious songs and rhythms. It combines music and acrobatic dancing. The music is both a prayer and a celebration of life...

. They refer to their music as "Hayha". Their lyrics are mostly in Darija

Darija

Darija is the group of Arabic dialects spoken by Maghrebi Arabic speakers. It is only used for oral communication, with Modern Standard Arabic used for written communication...

 (Moroccan Arabic

Moroccan Arabic

Moroccan Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken in the Arabic-speaking areas of Morocco. For official communications, the government and other public bodies use Modern Standard Arabic, as is the case in most Arabic-speaking countries. A mixture of French and Moroccan Arabic is used in business...

 dialect), French and sometimes English. Recurring themes in their songs are the disorientation and confusion of young Moroccans.

A notable duo of Hoba Hoba Spirit was with Moroccan rapper Bigg

Bigg (rapper)

Taoufiq Hazeb better known by his stage name Don Bigg and Al Khasser, is a Moroccan rapper from Casablanca...

 in a single called "goulou bazz", which was a huge success. Bigg also appeared on the track "Baz" from the album Trabando.

Since 2003, the band has emerged as one of the most popular rock acts in Morocco, frequently playing the country's major festivals, such as the Mawazine

Mawazine

Mawazine is a festival of world music that takes place annually in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, featuring Arab and international music icons...

Festival in Rabat, L'Boulevard Tremblin in Casablanca, Timitar Festival in Agadir, and the Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira.

During the 2007 Mghrib Music Award, Hoba Hoba Spirit won three awards in the categories of "best fusion artist, best album for "Trabando", released in 2007, and best title for the song "Fhamator."

Discography

• Hoba Hoba Spirit (2003)

1. Casa
2. Soudani
3. Maricane
4. Gnawa Blues
5. Fine Ghadi Biya
6. Basta Lahya
7. La tele
8. La'hrig

• Blad Skizo(2005)

1. Jamal
2. Blad Schizo
3. Chalala...
4. Ma Ajebtinich
5. El Kelb
6. Aourioura
7. El Caïd Mötorhead
8. Seddina (wa choukrane)

• Trabando (2007)

1. Hoba's Back
2. Intikhabat
3. Fhamatôr
4. Kalakh
5. Baz feat. Bigg
6. Maradona
7. Zerda
8. Tiqar
9. Marock'n Roll II
10. Miloudi
11. Trabando
12. Super Caïd

• El Gouddam (2008)

1. Radio Hoba
2. Hyati
3. Wakel Chareb Na3ess feat. Stati
4. Jdoudna kanou shah
5. 60%
6. Rabe3a
7. Femme Actuelle
8. Arnaque mondiale
9. El Gouddam
10. Spoutnik

• Nefs & Niya (2010)

1. Bab Sebta
2. Les Anesthésistes
3. Dark Bendir Army
4. Terrorist
5. Black Moussiba
6. Fawda
7. Al Qanat Assaghira
8. The Debil
9. Happy Hour
10. Qadi Hajto
11. Nefs & Niya

External links

Official website An interview with Hoba Hoba Spirit