Oum

Born in Casablanca and raised between the city and southern Morocco, Oum El Ghaït Benessahraoui developed early on a repertoire where soul, jazz, Gnawa influences and Hassani heritage intersect. Initially active on Morocco’s urban scene in the early 2000s, Oum gradually moved toward a more acoustic approach centered on voice and percussion, incorporating elements drawn from Saharan music and North African rhythms. Her lyrics, in Moroccan Arabic (Darija), Hassaniya and occasionally English, address the intimate as well as social or spiritual themes in a direct narrative style. The album “Lik’Oum” (2009) marked a first milestone, followed by “Soul of Morocco” (2013), which honed a sound blending jazz arrangements, choirs and traditional motifs, then “Zarabi” (2015), built around more stripped-back textures inspired by the desert. With “Daba” (2019), Oum continues to braid Moroccan popular music, jazz improvisation and contemporary sounds, surrounding herself with musicians from European and Maghrebi scenes and developing on stage a flexible lineup, from intimate setups to more orchestrated ensembles.