Hoba Hoba Spirit.
Moroccan schizophrenia

by Free Arabs

Created on Sunday, 16 February 2014 09:00

Day to day questions in Morocco can damage your mental health. In 2005 rock band Hoba Hoba Spirit summed up the psychiatric problems of the kingdom in a single song.

Moroccan band Hoba Hoba Spirit packs a powerful punch in the kingdom. Formed at the end of the nineties in Casablanca and known for their quality, protest lyrics and steady output, the band mixes Western influences with African sounds and draws inspiration from Gnawa, Indie, Chaabi and Punk music.

They’ve remained independent and critical, refusing to be tamed by the powerful Moroccan regime.

In a country where the music industry is nothing but an illusion, Hoba Hoba Spirit has captivated the public with a new album almost every two years. Every concert is an explosive moment of joy when tens of thousands of fans, screaming their smart , funny lyrics in Arabic, French and English, dance and mosh to their crazy rock rhythms like tomorrow might never come.

Initially, the band was a high-risk affair. Some of its members were victims of an almost literal witch-hunt unleashed in 2003 against Metalheads accused of worshiping the devil. In the early days Hoba Hoba Spirit could never have imagined the phenomenon they have today become. In the beginning to play alternative music or indeed any non-traditional music, was an act of defiance. It can still be dangerous. Moroccan artists still struggle to make a living from their music but they have at last won acceptance and recognition. "The Internet changed everything in Morocco, and allowed us to get rid of those producers who told us that we wouldn’t make it ," Hoba Hoba’s singer, Reda Allali, says in an interview. "So we put our songs directly on the website and people downloaded them."

While other musicians carefully avoid political issues, Hoba Hoba have always been outspoken. Right from the start Hoba’s lyrics openly criticized Moroccan society, exposing its contradictions with irony and pure Moroccan satire. When the Arab Spring spread to Morocco in 2011, they were the only famous band to openly support the February 20th movement, in a song called Iradate Al Hayate (the will to live), which cites excerpts from the Tunisian poet Abou Al Kacem Chebbi’s famous poem that inspired the Arab uprisings and became a protest slogan: “If, one day, a people desires to live, then fate will answer their call/ And their night will then begin to fade, and their chains break and fall.”

For Reda Allali, the Arab spring in Morocco began with the February 20th movement. “Today, we are disappointed with it and with the reforms. But I think that the Arab Spring is the beginning of something irreversible. Before, we thought it wasn’t possible to influence things, to provide input as a citizen. But now speech is freeing itself, people are opening their eyes and telling themselves that it’s important to debate”, he explains. And when asked if the band considers itself as non-conformist, the singer answers: “In a conservative society that judges or misjudges people too easily, the simple act of playing music is political. In Morocco, conformism is so total that rebellion begins as soon as you don’t sport a moustache… It was a little bit disturbing at first, but today, we don’t think about it anymore. We are what we are; we don’t represent Morocco, but one of its colours. Our presence is now considered legitimate.”

Blad Skizo (schizophrenic country) was Hoba Hoba Spirit’s second album, released in 2005. Even after nine years, the song hasn’t aged. Its lyrics still perfectly describe the paradoxes of Moroccan society, using well-known phrases and questions heard in everyday life. From the street seller’s persistence to the consumer’s habits, from elaborate customary courtesies to macho culture, Hoba Hoba Spirit’s song sounds like a mad scramble for answers. One of the lines is a famous example of the country’s artistic duality: “Why don’t you listen to Fatna Bent El Houcine?” (a famous traditional singer). The question was seriously asked in the Metalheads’ trial 11 years ago, proving, beyond reasonable doubt, that Morocco is still a “blad Skizo”.

*Ayla Mrabet is Free Arabs Art Editor

Lyrics

How much for this?
Is it raining in your area?
How’s your mother?
Wanna buy a watch?

Light or strong coffee?
Is she still sick?
What’s your final price?
In a cup or a glass? (still about coffee)

Did they call for prayer or not yet?
Gasoline or diesel?
How much, the Jawal pack? (a prepaid mobile service)
And where is Jamal?
(…)

Schizophrenic country
Why don’t you listen to Fatna Bent El Houcine?

Come, drop, be ashamed, sit!
Go, come up, get down, piss off!
Move, forget, nod, fuck off
Die, go away, be careful, go!

Why didn’t you call me when I bleeped you?
Why does he have money and I don’t?
Did they find the code of Canal Satellite?
And tell me, does this sandwich come with French fries?

Schizophrenic country
(…)