MATTIAS DE CRAENE

ft BLACK KOYO

With Black Koyo, Mattias De Craene plunges into the depths where tradition and innovation collide. In Morocco, he immersed himself in the gnawa culture, working with local masters as well as with Brussels’ thriving community—the largest outside Morocco. With Black Koyo, he discovered the perfect sparring partners for a striking fusion: gimbri and krakeb in dialogue with saxophone and electronics. This is no exotic façade, no easy act of appropriation, but a raw, spellbinding cross-pollination. Earthbound and ritualistic, yet dreamlike and elusive—always underpinned by the dark undertone that makes De Craene’s work so distinctive. What emerges is no surface encounter, but an entanglement that vibrates with intensity.

LINE UP

Mattias De Craene  -  sax, electronics
Hicham Bilali   -  gimbri, vocals, krakeb
Ismael Akhraz  -  vocals, krakeb
Marwan Abantor  -  vocals, krakeb

LIVE

In collaboration with coproducers Jazzlab / Muziekcentrum Nona, Ha Concerts & KAAP.
Supported by the Flemish Government State of the Art.