On Saturday, December 14, 2019, at 6:30pm the French Institute of Casablanca will present a musical story about this historic white city. Performing their interpretation of Casablanca will be Frédéric Calmès on guitar and oud; Leo Fabre-Cartier on oriental and Moroccan lotar; and Etienne Gruel on percussion. The trio aims to convey that in spite of Casablanca being in “incredible disorder… with heavy industries and small trades, advanced technologies… wealth and poverty, beauty and dirt, enthusiasm and exasperation,” it is also full of mystery, adventure, and fun.
Leo Fabre-Cartier is a French musician who studied oud with great master lutenists Marc Loopuyt, Iyad Haimour, and Ahmed Chiki. He has been based in Morocco since 2012. His music has been influenced by traditional oriental music, styles from Ottoman and Baroque, and contemporary dance. Since 2016, he has focused his attention on popular Moroccan music in the context of the Amazigh and Chaabi sounds.
Frédéric Calmès is a journalist, storyteller, and musician who also produced and broadcast the radio show Authenticia. The documentary series is devoted to handicrafts and Moroccan art. For the past five years, he has also played with the ancient brotherhood of Hemadcha of Fes, a group that appears on stages worldwide.
Etienne Gruel first discovered North African and oriental music in 1993, when he learned about the Darbouka. Today he is an expert in percussion and passionate for many instruments: reck, daf, cajon, tapan, and zarb.