ATAY

Location

Essaouira, Morocco

Genre

Members

• Maâlem Driss MansouriGuembri (bass lute), lead vocals, spiritual leader
• Hamza BelkhayatQraqeb (iron castanets), backing vocals, percussion
• Zaid Al-FassiBendir (frame drum), atmospheric textures

Bio

Atay stands at the heart of the Moroccan Gnawa revival — a devoted brotherhood from Essaouira carrying a centuries-old ritual into the present with fidelity and fire. At its foundation is the guembri, the three-stringed camel-skin bass of Maâlem Driss Mansouri, whose earthy thrum grounds the music in trance while iron qraqeb shape the heartbeat and bendir drums ride the pulse. Melodically the group leans into Hijaz contours, letting micro-ornaments and pedal-tone riffs unspool over time — music that breathes, circles and ascends. Recorded live in a single incense-heavy take, it holds the raw grain of the Lila ceremony itself.