Back To The Blues

Well, we got back safe and sound from our trip to Morocco. Definitely a different trip for us. For the first few days we actually played tourist and 'saw the sights' of Marrakech. After that we escaped the city and headed inland to the Atlas mountains and did a little trekking. Our return to Marrakech was more about some much-needed relaxation than tourism.

What did I think of the place? Here's the thing: Morocco knows what it is now, in terms of being a tourist destination for 'Western' (mostly French and British) tourists. Moroccans are mostly poor and will do anything to get hold of your cash money. You literally can't walk down a single street in Marrakech without being hassled at every turn to buy some piece of tat or other that you really don't want or need, invariably at an incredibly overinflated price. It's almost ironic that you get constantly heckled with the mantra 'Come see, come see... ASDA price!'

When we were in the mountains we stopped in at a couple of the local Berber shops, still selling the same mass-produced trinkets as you'd see throughout the capitol. At one store I bought a fossil for a work friend who's a bit of a paleontologist wannabe. After much haggling I managed to barter the shopkeeper from 200 down to 80 dirhams, roughly £6. I knew I was being ripped, but for a matter of a few pence I wasn't going to argue. It wasn't necessarily about getting a good price. Anyway, upon our return to Marrakech I found a very similar, possibly nicer specimen in a (supposedly overpriced) wholesale store for 19 dirhams... about £1.35. Basically, the guy started off by trying for a 10x profit. In the end he still managed to get 4x, which isn't bad.

As we were passing shops on our way out of the mountains we were actually heckled by a couple of shopkeepers for not buying from them when we said we might come back but didn't. Not a very pleasant experience. Some of the curses I caught were pretty graphic and not really repeatable here.

Perhaps it's a good thing that one trinket I did purchase was a silver 'Hand of Fatima' (or Hamsa, depending which faith you buy into). I'm not religious or superstitious, but it's supposed to be a good luck charm and is used to ward off the 'Evil Eye'. Might come in handy!



I think it's safe to say that while I would visit Morocco again to go on another trek or to undertake an excursion into the desert, I don't think I'd choose to spend much time in Marrakech again. I'd recommend tourists go for a long weekend, but frankly the insanity of the place wears you down pretty quickly and after a few days of being constantly hassled you just want to leave.

I'm sure some would disagree with me, though, and to some extent my 'review' of the place is clouded by a black mood that has descended upon me today. All is not right with my world. The blues have well and truly arrived, in more ways than one. My brain fug to one side, the blues also arrived in the form of the 20th Anniverary Layla CDs, including a series of Duane/Eric (and The Dominos) jams and out-takes from the original sessions. When I cheer up a bit I'll have a listen.

Arabian Nights

You know how I've been complaining that everyone's been going off on their hols and not getting back to me about jamming, joining bands etc?

Well...

IT'S MY TURN! Ha-ha!

Yes. We're off! Where? Morocco. Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains. By accident rather than design we're headed to a 99% Muslim country during the holy month of Ramadan. It should be an interesting experience, full of culture shock.

It's our first time visiting North Africa, so we're not 100% sure what to expect. When Tim and I travel we tend to do so in quite an immersive fashion, trying to blend in with locals, adopt local customs... eat where the locals eat... that kind of thing. Of course, during Ramadan there's somewhat less eating to be done during daylight hours. By all accounts the festivities after sundown will more than make up for any inconvenience during the day.

It got me thinking about what the soundtrack to our travels will be. I'm no stranger to many forms of world music, but my knowledge of North African culture is limited. I'm guessing that as Morocco is predominantly Berber/Arabic, we'll be treated to some quite exotic sounds.

Having a brief trawl around the internet, it looks like Arabian music is quite different from the standard fare over here. There are no I-IV-Vs, that's for sure! In fact, harmonisation seems pretty scarce. It looks like you predominantly get a solo performance (or chorus of instrument and voice singing the same notes), accompanied by a bassline supplied by a variety of drums. Interesting!

The music is based around quarter-tones rather than half-tones. In other words, there are twice as many notes available to the musician. Okay, so obviously, unless you're really good at tight quarter bends or you're using a slide, as a guitarist you're stymied from the get-go. Well, not completely, but the range of scales open to you are significantly reduced.

Scales themselves are termed 'maqam' and there are something like 100 main and sub-scales at your disposal. Note, that the maqam equivalent to C major would count as different from A major as there is no real concept of 'key' as far as I can tell.

Okay, so maybe discarding the concept of a 'key' is somewhat harsh, as you might move from one maqam to another which to Western ears might sound like shifting scales within one key signature, but... well... as there's no real harmonisation, so perhaps 'key' is irrelevant after all. I think that kind of highlights one of the main things about music theory... that it's really just a framework applied to 'what we know works'. Sometimes, when you try to shoehorn alternate musical styles into Western 'music theory' the wheels fall off the wagon.

Looking forward to the trip... If we're not back by a week on Monday then send out a search party. We'll probably have taken the wrong camel headed south...

Feel free to check in with The Project, though. If I get the chance (and a phone signal) I'll see about sending postcards from my mobile.

Easy As 1-2-3...

Only one more day to go before our VACATION!!!!!



We're headed from Budapest to Vienna then on to Prague, shown as A-B-C on the map. Can't wait. Probably won't be making any advances musically, but I DON'T CARE!

If I get the urge (probably after a few cheap beers) I'll send a couple of photos from along the way, but otherwise I'm outta here until April!

Happy Easter, everyone!