September 24th in Minneapolis and the weather was spectacular. Zar Electrik, a band out of the south of France and more deeply from Morocco and the Horn of Africa, still managed to entice a hundred people into the the darkened space of The Cedar Cultural Center.
Their show performed in low lights with a backdrop of colorful geometric images held our attention and moved most of the audience to gyrate and jump about the dance floor. We clapped and sang along and shouted our appreciation.
Zar Electrik’s setlist included numbers from both albums, Hawa (2023) and KOTO (2025). Their music is as unique and varied as the instruments they played.
Anass Zine, vocalist, guitarist, and krakeb player, opened the 7:30 pm show with a moody, reflective piece that shifted into a driving rhythm with vocals taken over by Arthur Peneau who delivered magic via his electric kora.
I’d never seen a krakeb before. It looked like two pair of brass castanets welded together with a metal rod, the sound bright and clanging. I’d also never heard an electric kora with no calabash, the iconic gourd used to make many north African instruments including shekere, kora, calabash drums, and berimbau as well as many others.
Alongside these traditional African instruments, Didier Simione from Marseille, France, commanded the electronics. Somehow this mishmash of cultures, time periods, and ethnicities all melded into a unified sound.
Anass Zine told us between songs that this was the band’s first time in Minneapolis and it was kicking off their North American tour.
In the audience sat people from all over the world. Some were already fans of Zar Electrik. Others had never heard of them, but were feeling adventurous and taking in new music. The end result of Zar Electrik’s show was an ephemeral community, but with lasting memories of the music and the message of the band.
Midway through the performance, Anass Zine said in describing the next song, Munda Mio,
“We can forget to speak about all this situation, leadership gone crazy in lots of countries, something’s wrong and we are afraid. [With this] song, we want to speak about oppressed people.
We are so rich, all this culture, and we have to mix and make something with it.”
The band liked to look into one another’s eyes. They’d smile and share a word or two while playing. They clearly enjoyed making music and making it with one another. Their exuberance was contagious. We felt their collective energy and joy. We soaked in the warmth as if inoculating ourselves against the social turmoil our political landscape has become.
Their last song, Babord from their latest album KOTO, was dedicated to “all the men, women, and children coming from Africa to Europe.” Babord means boat. We floated into the night as we made our way home.
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About Susan Budig
Susan is based in Minneapolis and reports on general assignments for Mshale with a focus on entertainment. In addition to reporting, she is also a writer, poet, teacher and coach.
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