Guembri, voice – traditional & fusion Gnawa music

A true ambassador of Gnawa culture across numerous countries and traditional stage formats, the young Moroccan artist Mehdi Nassouli brings both legitimacy and mastery, as well as the audacity to share the stage with internationally renowned musicians: Titi Robin, with whom he has toured for 12 years, Benjamin Tobkin, Omar Sosa, Andy Emler, Karim Ziad, Hindi Zahra, Para One, Nneka, Justin Adams, Alpha Blondy, among others.

Yet beyond collaboration, Mehdi Nassouli has forged his own resolutely contemporary and fusion universe with the Mehdi Nassouli Band, where tradition meets innovation, and the sounds of the guembri and voice resonate in a modern, global language.

Mehdi Nassouli was born in Taroudant, in southern Morocco, and from a very young age was immersed in the rhythms and sounds of Moroccan heritage. His first school was his family, who introduced him to Gnawa culture, its rhythms, and its trance traditions. He also trained in the Malhoune, where the art of traditional poetic expression is taught, and in the Deqqa, a folkloric art form rooted in Roudanian culture, where the city’s Mâalems (masters) passed on this ancestral knowledge.

Passionate about the guembri, the plucked string instrument of the Gnawas, Mehdi Nassouli traveled for several years across Morocco, learning from the country’s greatest Mâalems, including Hamid el Kasri, Abdelkbir Merchane, Mustapha Baqbou, Abdeslam Alikane, and Agadir Gnawa.

This profound apprenticeship shaped a young artist striving for excellence, allowing him to move with ease and charisma between traditional realms and the world of fusion music — a challenge he meets with remarkable mastery.

More information on upcoming projects soon.
New album expected late 2026.