Electric Jalaba + Family Atlantica

As Electric Jalaba, London-based musicians Soundspecies team up with the boundary-pushing Gnawa master Simo Lagnawi, who has combined the ancient Islamic mystical form with everything from jazzy trip hop to the English folk songs of his wife Suzi Hicks. Lagnawi is a charismatic dancer and player of the guinbri – a lute-like stringed instrument made from camel skin – while his mesmeric voice harks back to the original use of Gnawa in rousing people into a 'cleansing' trance (very much unlike UK trance, then). In support, vocalist and cuatro player Luzmira Zerpa and her ensemble blend traditional Venezuelan folk and calypso with Afro-Latin percussion, flute and electric guitar.