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Khadija El Warzazia's Bnat el Houariyat & Esraa Warda: Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST

By Bob Boilen
Published January 30, 2023 at 5:30 PM EST

For the third consecutive year, NPR teamed up with globalFEST in January 2023 for a thrilling online music festival we call Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST: three nights, nine bands, and a world of musical traditions hosted by African pop star Angélique Kidjo. Now, we're posting all the sets from our festival as individual Tiny Desk (home) concerts. To see the translations on these videos, please click the 'CC' button.

Khadija El Warzazia's Bnat el Houariyat & Esraa Warda is a pairing composed entirely of women artists: Bnat el Houariyat from the heart of Marrakech performs women's celebratory and trance music, including chaabi and houara. The group's percussion and call-and-response singing and complex polyrhythms build into a deeply transporting sonic experience. It is accompanied by the mesmerizing Algerian American dancer Esraa Warda, a "rebellious spirit" known for her profound performances of the trance-like jedba hair-swaying dance.

SET LIST

  • "Dyaf Allah Rjal el Bled"

    •
  • "Ya Rajel (Wal Mra Sabra)"

  • "Li Guer imout"

    • MUSICIANS

  • Fatiha Benmsinane

  • Malika Nouader

  • Khadija el Warzazia

  • Nouzha Lagrimi

  • Touria Nouader

  • Esraa Warda: dancer

    • CREDITS

  • Producer: Esraa Warda

  • Audio: Simo Chafai

  • Director, Producer, Camera: Ahlam Maroon

  • Camera: Oussama Mountassir 

  • Lighting: Amine Houmam

  • Special thanks to Azzedine & Abdelghafour Art

    • TINY DESK TEAM

  • Creative Director: Bob Boilen 

  • Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin 

  • Series Producer: Bobby Carter 

  • Editing: Joshua Bryant

  • Tiny Desk Team: Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer

    • GLOBALFEST TEAM

  • Co-Directors: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer and Bill Bragin

  • 2023 Curators: Shanta Thake, Isabel Soffer, Bill Bragin and Meera Dugal

  • Event Producer: Ian Thake

  • Host: Angélique Kidjo

  • Legal Services: Tamizdat

  • Legal Services: Duane Morris

  • Video Production: Karim Tabbaa

    • FUNDERS:

  • The Mellon Foundation

  • The National Endowment for the Arts

  • NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

    • SPECIAL THANKS:

  • Ken Umezaki

  • Fabian Alsultany

  • Steven Kirkpatrick

  • David Komar

    • Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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    Bob Boilen
    In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
    See stories by Bob Boilen

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