EVERY once in a while at Backseat Mafia a little gem pops up from nowhere … cue the first single from the Moroccan newcomers Zawraq, “Fate El Foute”.
Coming with a whisper of low-key publicity, the track is a collaboration between Zawraq and US instrumentalist/producer John Mock, who has country folk form playing and writing with Ricky Skaggs, Nanci Griffith, Gretchen Peters, &c. Together they’ve woven a gently moving song, that could go unnoticed but which has an undefinable authenticity that quietly draws you in.
Built around some pared back acoustic strums, trembling strings and almost incidental percussion, the song gets its real lift in other ways: the scuffed, lived-in vocal; the melodic invention tinged with eastern twists; and a hook with an infectious classic pop ring. Backed with a subtle and suitably understated animation of the everyday, directed by Indonesian film-maker Fadly Adi Putra, this is an impressive first step.
Available via YouTube and Spotify, the views are rising steadily, so jump in and get ahead of the curve.
See: Zawraq – ‘Fate El Foute’: a little gem from Moroccan newcomers
