Asmâa Hamzaoui / Bnat Timbouktou / Aynur – WinterFuse day 2

Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou and Aynur bring together spiritual Gnawa and contemporary Kurdish music. Two powerful voices rooted in tradition, with music around ritual, identity, trance and cultural renewal. Asmaa Hamzaoui & Bnat Timbouktou 'For us, Gnawa stands above all other music. It is our childhood. It is spiritual, healing and it lets you ground yourself.' Asmaa Hamzaoui is considered the most important female ambassador of Gnawa music. With her group Bnat Timbouktou, she brings a contagious variant of spiritual desert blues. Although women have always played an essential role in Gnawa rituals, female Gnawa musicians are rare. Hamzaoui and Bnat Timbouktou are part of a new generation that is changing that. Hamzaoui grew up in Casablanca in a family where Gnawa music was central. At the encouragement of her father, she founded her own group: Bnat Timbouktou. Their album L'bnat (2024) focuses on female traditions and spirits within Gnawa culture. During their concerts, the guembri takes centre stage - a percussively played lute - together with Hamzaoui's expressive voice and the rhythmic play of the qraqeb. Rooted in tradition, but with a renewing force, Hamzaoui keeps Gnawa alive by preserving and changing it at the same time. Four years after her sold-out concert, Aynur returns to DE SINGEL. Aynur Aynur is considered one of the most iconic voices of contemporary Kurdish music. For more than 25 years, she has been renewing the musical landscape by connecting the deeply rooted traditions of Kurdish folk music with contemporary influences from the West. With her powerful voice and intense storytelling, she brings the rich cultural heritage of her Kurdish and Alevi roots to life for an international audience. She has collaborated with renowned musicians and ensembles, including Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. With her music, Aynur builds bridges between tradition and renewal, between local roots and a global audience.