HICHAM BILLOUCH

Hicham Billouch, a Moroccan musician, seeks to explore new avenues and musical possibilities.

Billouch studied music at the Royal Conservatory of Marrakech and graduated as a pianist. He also plays violin, lute, guitar and sintir.

When he was a teenager he began working in cabarets in Marrakech such as the Hotel Sahara Inn, Rotana and VIP Club and the Hotel Semiramis in Casa Blanca. In Morocco he played for singers like Ahmed Adawiyya from Egypt, Fares Karam from Lebanon and Mohamed Reda, Pinhas and Badr Sultan from Morocco.

He also participated in the Mawazin Festival organized by the Government of Morocco and worked in the organization of musical events such as the Green March Festival.

In France, he played with Maqam al Ushaq, a Moorish music group, at the Corsica Mediterranean Music Festival and the International University Music Festival in Ville de Belfort, France.

In Mexico he created Nour Morocco, an ensemble of Arabic music, with local musicians. Nour Morocco has participated in international festivals such as Lerdantino (Durango), Festiva Toluca and Calimaya (State of Mexico) and the International Book Fair of Córdoba (Veracruz). He also played at the Lebanese restaurant Adonis de Polanco. In Mexico City, she organized a belly dance contest and also published a book with the Spanish translation of 40 Arabic songs.

Gnawa music, inscribed in 2019 on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Heritage of Humanity, is one of the most versatile, because the scales and rhythms of this genre originating from sub-Saharan Africa are compatible with the pentatonic scales of blues and bass. jazz.

That is why Hicham Billouch has fused the traditional instruments of Gnawa music such as the guembri, the outar and the qraqeb, with Indian instruments such as the sitar and the tabla and with electronic music.

His record production includes 3 CDS: Salam, Qamar and Kalimat, with covers of Arabic songs and his own compositions.

Her fourth album, Best Belly Dance Music, with the best music to dance Arabic dance, is available on digital platforms such as iTunes, Shazam, Spotify, Amazon music
"Music to me is like oxygen and I will never give up my passion"