“Music is a message…I think, without music, we prejudge each other…We need to know each other and learn about the culture of each other, to be open…My music [is] a message of love against all this pain happening in the world. Everyone deserves to be safe, to be happy, to enjoy their life”.

Hamza is a Sufi singer and composer. He achieved recognition in Morocco after appearing at local and national festivals. Since moving to the UK, he has continued his music career by performing at various festivals and events and taking part in cross-cultural collaborations with other musicians based in Manchester.

HAMZA’S MUSICAL LIFE STORY

Hamza was born with a love of music. He grew up surrounded by Amazigh singing and dancing at home and in local festivities in his home town of Midelt.

“My music career just started from my family because everyone loves music…My mom, she’s a great singer, [she sings] just at home…In my city, most of the musicians, they don’t study music, they’re doing it because they love it. We have songs for weddings, songs for special situations…I learnt from our community”.

“I’m Amazigh, we are the original people of Morocco from the Atlas Mountains. The Amazigh music is about giving you a link with the nature…We love to sing with a strong voice because we like to sing in the mountains…You can find a big difference in our language, how we talk and how we sing”.

At school, Hamza joined the choir. There, he learnt a wide range of repertoire reflecting Moroccan cultural diversity and he had the chance to perform for the whole community at the graduation parties.

“The choir is what I did most of the time in school…We prepared French songs, English songs, Arabic songs and Amazigh songs…In Morocco, it is very special because we have a big mix between many kinds of music…The Amazigh people, we do have our own rhythms, our own language. After the Arabs moved to Morocco and North Africa, it’s became a mix between African music and Arabic music. We also have Andalusian music, because we are like 15 kilometres from Spain. This gives us something unique”.

“In the choir, we prepare for the whole year to do the graduation party. We performed in a big place with a stage with the whole school together. We do events with music, with theatre, with magic tricks, clowns. Everyone makes food for each other. It was lovely!”.

After finishing school, Hamza went on to study a degree in International Business in the city of Errachidia and worked in finance, insurance, and other areas, but he always continued playing music. He gained recognition as a singer at festivals in his town and region and also at a national level. He led two ensembles, a group dedicated to Sufi spiritual songs and a fusion band which mixed gnawa with jazz and blues. Since moving to Manchester, Hamza has pursued music as his main career and has performed in festivals and events in cities across the UK.

“After I finished school, music was on the side, but my dream was to do a career in music…Now I’m in England, I’m trying to make people know more about my culture and my music…If you can do something you love, this is happiness, this is life”.

THE MEANINGS OF HAMZA’S MUSIC

For Hamza, music is deeply spiritual, a mode of transportation to another world.

“Sufi music can take you out of your world. When you feel the music, feel the voices, you dance from the soul, not from the outside”.

Music also offers Hamza a means for connecting with people, challenging cultural prejudices, and conveying positive messages of peace. 

“I write songs and what inspires me is the hard situation. I see the news, the war, the hunger, the hate. It makes me feel like I want to change something in this world, but I don’t know how to do it. So, I just try to make my music with feeling and a message of love against all this pain happening in the world. Everyone deserves to be safe, to be happy, to enjoy their life”.

“I don’t sing music because I feel sad or I feel this or that. I think music is a message for the world to know more about my culture…I think, without music, we prejudge each other…I want people to listen to my music, my words, not what the media says…We need to know each other and learn about the culture of each other, to be open”.

SUFI MUSIC IN MANCHESTER

Hamza highlights that it was a difficult process moving from the small town of Midelt to the large metropolis of Manchester, but he later came to adjust to the new environment. He particularly enjoyed the opportunity to listen to and collaborate with musicians from other cultural backgrounds, as an extension of his diverse cultural experiences in Morocco.

“My city is small, everyone knows each other, it’s a peaceful city, no crime, not much noise. I moved directly to Manchester and it’s a big city for me! I found it difficult…But later I understand that, in the UK, I think the best city to live is in Manchester…It’s similar to Morocco, because we have different people from Arabs to Africans to Sahrawi to Amazigh but, in Manchester, it is even more nationalities. I never met someone from the Caribbean or heard Caribbean music before but, since I came to Manchester, I heard these different rhythms. It’s a good thing for me because I learn more. To do something for yourself, you need to learn from different cultures”.

Hamza has found that Sufi music has a welcome reception in the UK, with audiences always amazed by the experience of hearing this music, but he warns that all musicians are facing barriers in building a career. He hopes that promoters will become more open to different kinds of music so that more musicians can get opportunities to share their music and get their voices heard.

“My experience in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London is that, anytime I did an event, everyone loves it a lot – Muslim or non-Muslim. They found the music unique. But I want to show more. I’m trying to build a career and network with musicians, but it is very hard…I don’t think there is a barrier for my kind of music, I think there is a barrier for all kinds of music, for all the musicians. The people love the music, there’s just not enough opportunities to show it. If [the promoters] give more opportunities to more kinds of music and musicians, I think [the audience] will find it unique and they will enjoy it”.