Negative I

Ifrane, September 24, 2010 – It’s not every day that Al Akhawayn students get to play live in concert with an international music star. But that’s what happened in Ifrane on September 23 as U.S-based performer Houda El Idrissi, Class of 1999, played live with students following a 2-week campus residency that energized young Al Akhawayn musicians with world-class performance styles and techniques.

“I am totally amazed at the skill and energy of these students, and thrilled to be here and play a part in encouraging art at Al Akhawayn,” said El Idrissi (whose stage name is “Drissy”) in a pre-concert interview.

“I am also proud to be an alumna of this incredible place – students from all over Morocco and around the world playing guitar, keyboards, bass, bongos, singing back-up vocals, and more, all together; our drummer is even an American exchange student!”

Since early September, nearly a dozen Al Akhawayn students have rehearsed intensively, learning 20 new songs and getting a unique chance to express themselves creatively. “Some of them learned how to read sheet music for the first time, saw how songs are structured, and practiced creating a solid group dynamic,” said El Idrissi, whose band is called Negative I.

All this creative energy built toward the September 23 concert, which attracted hundreds of students, faculty, and staff and helped launch Negative I’s new album in advance of a Moroccan and multi-nation tour. Based in Durham, North Carolina (U.S.), Negative I consists of El Idrissi and guitarist Christopher Blakely, plus numerous others who join as needed. The latest album, Reinvention, was released on June 17, 2010, and sold briskly at Al Akhawayn after the concert.

Tangier-born El Idrissi is a member of Al Akhawayn’s first graduating class, having earned her B.A. in social sciences in 1998. Following a successful career in biotechnology in the United States, in 2007 she decided to focus on her long-standing passion – music – and “reinvent” herself. Since then she has performed in the United States and Europe, collaborating with noted musician Nick Fury and many others along the way.

El Idrissi’s return to Ifrane to work with students and perform has helped energize the campus music scene. “There are hundreds of talented student musicians at Al Akhawayn, and it’s great to have an internationally recognized alumna come to campus all the way from America, inspire us to form bands, play live, try new things, and really rock the house on a Thursday night,” said Amal, an undergraduate studying business administration.

Students were not the only concert-goers inspired by the event. El Idrissi’s experiences and career also demonstrate the unique value of Al Akhawayn’s approach to education, modeled on the American concept of the liberal arts, said Dr. Abdelhamid Lotif, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the Mohammed VI Library.

“Houda El Idrissi is a great example. It just goes to show that your career doesn’t have to have anything to do with your concentration or your studies, and that whatever your job is you have the ability and freedom to change direction, try new things, and experiment. Who knows? Study finance and become a rock star – that’s terrific,” said Lotfi after the concert. “That’s the essence of the liberal arts.”

The event also served as a kind of international alumni reunion, as Al Akhawayn alum Ali Boukili (Business Administration, Class of 1999) joined El Idrissi on stage to provide vocals for several tracks. He recently returned to Morocco after graduate school at the London School of Economics and a finance career in London, and now runs a Casablanca-based IT consulting firm.

“Houda and I were friends here together as two of Al Akhawayn University’s first students,” recalled Boukili. “Recently we reconnected on Facebook, and the rest is history. It’s so much fun to be back, to see how the university has developed and grown, and reconn - Simon O'Rourke

“ So I had the recent honor of spending some time with a local band called Negative I. We found each other when I was searching for a musical group to do promo pictures for. It took a while for the schedules to line up but it finally did and the results were great!....(see article) ” - Originalmind Production

Tous ceux par l’auditorium 17 à Al Akhawayn se rappellent de ce visage mais surtout de sa voix, Houda El Idrissi, accompagnée à l’époque de Jack, Frank et parfois aussi Azzedine au micro. Ce groupe a fait bouger plus de 400 étudiants pendant plusieurs années….
Installée aux Etats-unis depuis quelques années, Houda a sorti son premier tube pour le compte de l’ ONG « Knockouts for Girls » (KO4G), que vous pouvez découvrir sur son site. Soutenons-la, pas parce qu’elle est marocaine, mais parce que c’est une vraie artiste, passionnée par ce qu’elle fait et qu’elle a tout laissé tomber pour se consacrer à la musique ! - Cogito magazine

Negative I
"Brings Positive Vibes to the Triangle Music Scene" The Hell No
"Oh Hell Yes!"
Like many of you, I am passionate about the arts! Music, art, travel, culture and friends feed my soul. I moved to the Triangle area back in 2006 and immediately immersed myself in the local music scene. Raleigh has long been a well-known center for rock, metal, punk and hip-hop and now that news is reaching further and further across the globe. No matter where your musical tastes lead you; the Triangle is full of aspiring and professional singers, musicians, lyricists, and bands ranging from Rock to Bollywood that are sure to satisfy your musical palette. With the surge in popular concert series like Hopscotch Music Fest, Downtown Free Concert Series, Music Spark and the new venues cropping up, we are seeing more and more travelers making their way to the Triangle to experience the big scene for themselves.

The talented group “Negative I” is charging onto the Raleigh area stage with singer/songwriter Drissy, lead guitarist Chris Blakely and drummer/percussionist Robert Cantrell as the heart of this band. In 2007, they got their start working together on original Alternative Rock music. Since then they have been performing with bands in places like Morocco and California. Notable past collaborations have been with Nikk Furrie from “La Caution,” a French Rap/Electro/Hip Hop group known for their Laser dance song; “The a la Menthe” in the OST Ocean’s Twelve. Some of their work can be found online such as Drissy’s single “Cold” which can be downloaded from iTunes.

Popular venues where one may be able to see them perform on a regular basis are Broad Street Café, Mosaic and The Cave. With a new album release scheduled for December 2012, they look forward to sharing their musical passion with more lucky souls in the Triangle. Original songs are their bread & butter however, their cover of Toxic will have you thinking ‘Britney who?’ Their popularity is mounting as their latest song has been chosen as the theme song for a California based web series Million Mile Girls which was entered into the Cannes Film Festival on May 16th of this year.

To learn More about Negative i, visit the followinglinks.
www.reverbnation.com:80/negativei
www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Negative-I/37429169940
www.myspace.com/drissyofficial
www.myspace.com/negativeiband
www.youtube.com/houdadouda2
By Lilly Stormshadow - Au Courant Magazine