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Born, alongside a twin brother, at the Rabat military hospital to parents from Boujniba, near Khouribga, Rabii Harnoune grew up in a family of 7 children, with. After moving to Casablanca and then to Berrechid due to a family problem, Rabii's mother found herself alone and having to care for her 7 children.
She thus had to take the hard decision to put her twin boys in a children's foster care in Bernoussi (Casablanca), managed by the Islamic charity association (Al jam3ia Al Khayria Al Islamiya). «She thought it was for our best», says the artist, who was five years old at the time.
Rabii Harnoune went on to spend five more years in this children's foster care with his twin brother, while maintaining regular contact with his family. «During the holidays at home, I enjoyed listening to music», he recalls. Rabii Harnoune also remembers the first live concert he attended. «Rachid Gholam came to perform for the children», he said, recalling having «learned to sing before handling an instrument».
From the children's house to the success of his band «Derdba»
Following his time at the youth center, Rabii returned home to continue his studies. His family had meanwhile moved to the Oulfa district in Casablanca, where he made friends and started to exchange music cassettes. Thence his love for Gnaoua music was born. Thanks to a friend, he also got to meet a Maâlem in Hay Mohammedi, making guembris and had to sell his bicycle to buy his first instrument.
«I was also commuting from Oulfa to Hay Mohammedi every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon to learn from this Maâlem. I was 14 or 15 years old. I was going to all the music vendors to find Gnaoua cassettes».
The young artist also began to attend Gnaoua musical evenings in Casablanca to «listen and learn». These were opportunities for him to meet several legendary Maâlems, such as Hmida and Hassan Boussou, Abdelkader Amlil, Said Saghout, Hamid El Kasri and Abdeslam Alikane, the artistic director of the Essaouira Gnaoua Festival. But it is from the talented Maâlem Abdellatif El Makhzoumi, a.k.a Oueld Sidi Amara, that he got to learn the most.
In 2010, Rabii Harnoune became an artist recognized among his peers: He performed with bands in several festivals around the country, «including that of sacred music in Fez, the Popular Arts one in Marrakech, as well as the Mawazine Festival». But the love that he developed with his friends for this musical style pushed him to create a band called «Derdba». «We were playing in a park every day, and eventually everyone in the Al Firdaous neighborhood in Oulfa got to know us», he recalled.
Thanks to a radio program, the band became a nationwide success: «We were then contacted to host an evening in honor of Neila Tazi, co-founder of the Gnaoua Festival», he recalled wistfully.
As he kept meeting other renowned Maâlems and the organizers of that massive musical event, Rabii Harnoune and his friends also got to play at the prestigious festival, in a fusion show, back in 2014. Following this unprecedented experience, «many international opportunities arose» for the young artist and his band. A tour then begun and brought them to Guinea-Conakry, then in 2016 to Sweden, thanks to an invitation extended by Moroccan-Swedish artist Mona Roukachi.
A new adventure that begun in Germany
After Sweden, the band performed in Germany in shows and workshops. From there, the members make the unanimous decision «not to return to Morocco and stay in Europe». The Maâlem gnaoui explained that this decision was due to the fact «the living conditions are better and there are opportunities to live from [their] music».
«We were almost 28 but we couldn't make a living from our art, knowing that we had no other job. We had to perform odd jobs, while remaining active in music, because a single song would cost us 300 euros», he added. There, the band made the decision to settle down in an irregular way, which was «not an easy».
While the members of his band went on to migrate to other European countries, Rabii Harnoune chose to stay in Germany. «It was certainly difficult at the start. But I met here a Moroccan man married to a German woman who spoke fluent Darija. They helped me a lot», he recalled. He added that his integration transformed him and taught him «to better accept the difference».
It is also in Germany that Rabii Harnoune met with DJ V.B.Kühl. The two artists thus began their collaboration and created four musical compositions they called project «Gnawa Electric Laune» and sent it to British label Tru Thoughts.
In March 2019, the producer offered the pair a three-year contract. The partners then went on to publish their first single, entitled «Traveler». «It was a surprise to the audience here, given that Germany is considered the cradle of Electro music, it has fueled the desire to produce more songs», said Rabii Harnoune.
The Moroccan artist also said he was waiting for a manager's contract for festivals, after the current global health crisis. «My immigration status was not regularized yet, the global pandemic is putting everything on stand-by», he regrets. He also said he was «looking forward to sharing [his] experience».
«It has been five years since I left Morocco. I look forward to visiting my country again», the musician concludes.
