Smugglers Way is pleased to announce its newest signing Guedra Guedra, the electronic music project of Moroccan producer Abdellah M. Hassak. The sound of Guedra Guedra is a dazzling compound of visionary electronics and musical traditions drawn from across the continent of Africa. Smugglers Way, an imprint of Domino, will release Guedra Guedra’s second album MUTANT on August 29th. On MUTANT, Abdellah blends analogue synths and drum machines, with field recordings from Morocco, Tanzania, Guinea and more, gathered while traveling across the vast landmass. MUTANT explores themes of identity, Pan-Africanism, Afrofuturism, and decolonization, bridging the musical heritage of the continent with elements of techno, bass music and dub. “I wanted to have a cultural sound that explored innovation with African and diasporic music alongside the vibes of rhythm and the vibes of bass,” says Abdellah.
The music of Guedra Guedra is imbued with Abdellah’s vision of cultural and technological decolonization, one that celebrates Pan-Africanism and interrogates the way mainstream production tools lack the ability to capture non-Western musical expressions. “In African traditions, rhythm especially in its polyrhythmic form is not merely a pulse or a measure: it is a cartography of life. It expresses social complexity, layers of oral history, community dynamics, and the spiritual dimensions of existence,” he says. “Transmitting this richness from generation to generation through practice and listening is also an act of resistance, a way of preserving knowledge and sensibilities that dominant narratives have long tried to marginalize or simplify.”
Guedra Guedra further ties himself to his country’s culture with the ornate face mask he wears while performing. Created by the Moroccan artist Meryem Aboulouafa, the mask is inspired by the veils worn by the Zayan people of the Middle Atlas mountains in Morocco as they sing in structured circles, recite poetry, and play bendir drums, seeking a shared state of trance.
Today Guedra Guedra shares MUTANT’s hypnotic first single “Drift of Drummer” and its accompanying music video, shot in Marrakech and directed by Romain Cherbonnier. Taking inspiration from the musical traditions of the town of Kouroussa in Guinea, “Drift of Drummer” foregrounds the djembé drum, a key instrument in West African music that was played in the fields to energize workers, with rhythms mirroring the sounds of labor. “African percussion is more than just music; it represents the heartbeat of life, from breathing and walking to the changing seasons and the pulse of the earth,” says Abdellah.
Watch the video for "Drift of Drummer" here