Abdul & The Gang

Led by singer and guembri player Abou Ben Salem, known as Abdul, Abdul & The Gang is rooted in the Gnawa heritage of Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania while opening it to contemporary urban forms. Hailing from Boudnib in southeastern Morocco, Abdul transposes the rhythmic trance and popular poetry he inherited from his elders into a band context of traveling musicians, shaped by exchanges between the Arab world, West Africa and Europe. Abdul & The Gang’s repertoire, sung in Arabic and Hassaniya, is seasoned with chaâbi turns, propelled by a funk rhythm section, touched by afrobeat influences and peppered with nods to African‑American music. Sometimes billed as Gnawa Funk Gang, the project favors collective arrangements, long builds and a focus on groove that evokes lila nights brought onto the stage. Over the course of performances, Abdul & The Gang refines an aesthetic in which Gnawa tradition remains central but brushes against shorter song structures, festive brass and the energy of an electric brass band, forming an identity positioned between trance music, dance and popular song.