Othman Wahabi

Guitariste de talent, compositeur inspiré, chanteur aux cordes vocales brutes, l’artiste casablancais installé au Canada touche de plus en plus à la reconnaissance internationale.
C’est par des rengaines de l’ancêtre du jazz que le quarantenaire maroco- canadien s’exprime. Son album «Desert», est une expédition vers le cosmique, un rêve éveillé, une aliénation des sens par l’émotion. Nous sommes invités à y humer les odeurs d’une cuisine musicale aux ingrédients sud-sud qui ne craint pas la novation. - Anis Hajjam - L'Opinion

Up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, there is an interesting guy you might not have heard of, a Moroccan-Canadian playing old time country blues. Essentially, he is either a walking testament to the universality of music or he represents the continuation of the blues across cultures, a North African playing the blues that are rooted in North and West Africa. He is Othman Wahabi, a proud Sunni Muslim, and he can play! - The Country Blues

N’en déplaise à certain chroniqueur aussi pédant qu’ethno-centriste, ce qui m’intrigue chez Othman Wahabi n’est assurément pas qu’il soit natif du Maroc. Non, ce qui ne laisse de m’épater, c’est que ce garçon soit un réformé du punk et du trash-metal (ce qui restaure chez moi une certaine foi en l’humanité, pourtant bien malmenée en ces temps agités). Ses quinze ans à peine sonnés, Othman fit ses premiers pas musicaux au sein de Keops (l’une des toutes premières formations métal marocaines), avec son ami de maternelle Azzedine. Désormais installé en France, ce dernier y a formé Krav Boca (mince, J.C., un de plus…), tandis que relocalisé au Canada, Othman y a entamé une carrière de bluesman doublement expatrié. Tous deux également asphyxiés par l’État obscurantiste et répressif de leur pays natal n’ont donc entrevu d’alternative que l’exil, mais celui-ci ne constitue-t-il pas au fond l’essence même du blues? Né à Casablanca le 26 septembre 1983 mais basé à Montréal depuis 2005, Othman y a déjà enregistré six albums. Son jeu de slide particulièrement maîtrisé étincelle sur le lancinant “Babylon’s Falling” introductif, tandis que l’ombre du grand Gil Scott-Heron surplombe “The Last Prophet”. Au fil de ses références à Rice Miller Williamson (“Fattening Frogs For Snakes”, dans la veine de John Mayall), Elmore James (ce “Telephone The Boss” démarqué de “Dust My Broom”, et la sidérante relecture folk mandingue de “The Sky Is Crying” qui ferme le ban), Peter Green (la version aérienne du “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” de Blind Willie Johnson), Corey Harris et Taj Mahal (“Taking The Blues Back Home”), celle du negro-spiritual “Down By The Riverside”, ainsi qu’à la geste du regretté John Lee Hooker (le malien “Almamy Samory Touré” et la pétrifiante plage titulaire), cette rondelle témoigne d’un pan-africanisme transatlantique à même de relier la diaspora afro-américaine à ses origines vernaculaires et ataviques. Autant dire qu’on cherchera en pure perte des poux à la démarche d’un Othman Wahabi, bien loin d’être moins légitime que (au hasard) celles d’Eric Clapton ou Joe Bonamassa.

Patrick Dallongeville - Paris Move

Truly unique artist Othman Wahabi is a Moroccan-Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, multi instrumentalist and music producer who has carved out his own niche in blues. Best known for his slide guitar work, versatile vocals and eclectic records that are diversity of moods and styles. Othman's sound is a mix made of blues, rock, roots, soul, jazz, reggae as well as other formats of musical expression. Some of his imaginative compositions are marked by a deliberate eclecticism while other songs stay true to the traditional blues formula of compelling vocals and down-home guitar. Creating a perfect balance between tradition and contemporary experimentation, Othman is a truly unique artist in today's music.
He is also the founding member of the spiritual Muslim jazz Mu'min Flow and the Co-founder of the punk reggae rap collective Raging Indigenous under the nickname of Oth L'indigene. Born September 26, 1983 in Casablanca Morocco and based in Montreal, QC Canada since 2005. He grew up hearing and listening to the blues, Jazz, reggae and rock & roll records that his father, a big-time music lover played in the house. Othman picked up the guitar around the age of 12 and played his first show at the age of 15 with his co-founded band Keops he also fronted a short-lived blues rock band called Voodoo. Othman's new release titled "The Blues Whisperer" (2021), slide guitar, deep soulful vocals, spiritually conscious lyrics and eclectic records mixing roots and trance blues music with north & west African melodies and a variety of other musical influences.

Interview by Michael Limnios
.......... - Blues.GR

Othman Wahabi is a Moroccan Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and music producer who has carved his own niche in the blues & rock genre. He is best known for his slide guitar work, versatile vocals and eclectic records.
His music is described by some critics as trance blues rock and while some of his compositions are marked by a deliberate eclecticism, other songs stay true to the traditional blues roots formula of compelling vocals and down-home guitar.
Othman is internationally recognized and have been featured on many prestigious publications, websites and radio shows including the notorious Blues Show with Cerys Matthews on the BBC2 radio.
Born September 26, 1983 in Casablanca Morocco and based in Montreal, QC Canada since 2005.
He grew up hearing and listening to the blues, Jazz, reggae and rock & roll records that his father, a big-time music lover played in the house.
Othman picked up the guitar around the age of 12 and played his first show at the age of 15. - Don's Tunes

Tegenwoordig heb je overal een “whisperer” voor. Zelfs voor de blues! In het geval van de Marokkaans-Canadeze zanger-gitarist Othman Wahabi kunnen we daar alleen maar blij om zijn.

Op zijn zesde album mixt hij de blues met roots en Afrikaanse invloeden en doet dat op een broeierige wijze.

Naast zijn bluesactiviteiten is Othman ook de oprichter van de punk-reggae-rap formatie Raging Inigenous en de Moslim jazzband Mu’min Flow.

Het brandende rauwe slidegitaarspel van Othman komt flink aan bod op dit album. Zo opent Babylon’s Falling er mee. We hebben hier te maken met een broeierig bonkend, haast swampblues-achtig, nummer met Othman’s donkere soulvolle stem.

De cover van Sonny Boy Williamson’s Fattening Frogs For Snakes klinkt lui in een shuffle met Othman’s priemende slidegitaar. Taking The Blues Back Home is funky en broeierig. Een mysterieus nummer met een bijtende elektrische gitaar.

Ook The Last Prophet is funky en wordt geopend door zeer funky drums. De Afrikaanse invloeden zijn vooral in het refrein terug te vinden.

The Blues Whisperer is een trage zweterige blues met een donker dreigende slidegitaar en huilende harmonica. In het mystiek zwevende Nobody’s Fault But Mine is de invloed van Peter Green duidelijk aanwezig.

Down By The Riverside is een nummer dat ook als “I Ain’t Gonna Study War No More” bekend is en is een broeierige donkere blues. De akoestische slide boogie Telephone The Boss heeft opzichtig geleend van Elmore James’ Dust My Broom.

In de afsluiter Sky Is Crying vermengt Othman op broeierige wijze Americana (de banjo) met de blues (de schroeiende gitaar).

Met dit nieuwe album van Othman Wahabi haal je een uitstekend broeierig bluesalbum in huis!

Tekst: Peter Marinus - Bluestown Music

A thought that for 39 year old Moroccan-Canadian artist Othman Wahabi, symbolizes art as a lever for goodwill that has shaped his career with altruistic, rustic vision.

With words and a tongue meant for unity, spirituality, peace, racism and poverty, a move to Canada in 2005 broadened the horizon for a young Wahabi to actively make a change and speak out for the good of people.

With a slide guitar on his back, he walked the path of a messenger. His successful release, a Robert Petway rendition of Catfish Blues, was a staple in the international blues community’s recognition for his art and message, as he describes it: “it is my versatility as a musician and the way I’m able to mix my African roots, with western influences together, that brought me positive reviews and an eclectic fan base that stretches beyond the scope of blues music.”

His message takes several shapes, as Wahabi is also an educator and an antiracism activist.

In September 2022, he spent a month and a half on the road, where he was invited by production company “La Boite Interculturelle” and the Canadian Government, to be the main artist and the face for the project “Weaving and Reweaving”, an interactive musical experience of fighting racism and intolerance, through inciting citizens to come together with music as a facilitator agent.

His efforts will see him present project “Afrika Blues – Une Histoire Noire” on February 2023, sponsored by the Government of Quebec, as part of Black History Month celebrations.

Ali Farka Toure, Nass El-Ghiwan, Ry Cooder and Pops Staples to name a few are inspirations for Wahabi who believes in their art being “Spiritually connected and with conscious roots.”

The blues knocked on Othman Wahabi’s door at a young age, as he noticed the strong African influence in the art. Similar to many aspiring artists, he started playing Rock infused Blues believing it to be the true form of the art.

Joining the black preservation movement led by artists and folklorists such as Corey Harris and Lamont Jack Pearley, and enriching his knowledge led him to understand historical facts, how Blues music was portrayed in mainstream music.

He said, recalling an interview between Ali Farka Toure and his friend Corey Harris, “The Blues was not created for the Whiskey nor for Scotch nor for the Beer.”

He considers himself a Folk Artist and an “heir of the real field hollers.” He also includes an Islamic influence on the artform in his work, and encourages Sylvianne Diouf’s work as a good reference for the work he does and the subject itself.

His work is appreciated and revered in World Fusion and by “Blues Connoisseurs”, he was able to make an impact in his environment with his message of multiculturalism and peace, which led him to producing projects funded by the Canadian and Quebec Governments. - Hespress