Kasri – He now lives in Rabat but his origins are in the northern town Ksar El Kbir, thus the nickname Kasri (i.e. the one from Ksar). He is one of the biggest stars on stage and is particularly renowned in Morocco for his voice. In his youth Hamid was associated with the gnawa scene in Tangier and masters such as Abdelwahab "Stitou". He began his apprenticeship at the age of seven. He fuses the music of the north with that of the south: gharbaoui from Rabat, marsaoui from Essaouira and soussi or Berber from the south of Morocco. He has played with Jacob Collier and Snarky Puppy. H'mida Boussou ("The grand master") – As a child, H'mida immersed himself in Gnawi culture as taught to him by the Maâlem Ahmed Oueld Dijja, and became a maâlem himself at the age of 16. He also worked with Maâlem Sam from 1962 to 1968. Maalem H'mida Boussou died on 17 February 2007, but his son, Maalem Hassan Boussou continues the tradition and played a concert in homage to his late father at the 10th Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival in June 2007. Chérif Regragui ("The communicator") – He became a maâlem by the age of 18. He worked with Tayeb Saddiki in theatre and he was behind the group Taghada. Mahjoub Khalmous – His skills took him to many festivals in Europe. In 1993 he formed his own group and became a maâlem. He has worked for several years with Bertrand Hell, head of the anthropology department at Besançon University in France. Allal Soudani ("The dreamer") – His grandparents M'Barkou and Barkatou were brought from Sudan as slaves. "When I play I no longer feel my body, I empty myself. And when I reach the state of trance I become nothing more than a leaf on a tree blowing at the mercy of the wind," he says, describing his trance moments. Abdellah El Gourd – He learned Gnawa music as a young man while working as a radio engineer in his hometown of Tangier. He has collaborated with jazz musicians Randy Weston and Archie Shepp and blues musician Johnny Copeland. With Weston, he co-produced The Splendid Master Gnawa Musicians of Morocco, which received a 1996 Grammy Award nomination for Best World Music Album. Omar Hayat ("The showman") – He was taught by Mahmoud Guinea and the late Maâllem Ahmed. He