Transe Gnawa Express is an artistic creation that fuses Gnawa traditional music with electronic sounds and live visual projections, delivering a festive trance experience. The electronic elements bring a hypnotic intensity to an already powerful art form rooted in North African spiritual tradition.
The Gnawa side of the project is led by Hamouda Benzaid, Amine Bassi and Ahmed Labnoua — three musicians and dancers from Essaouira and its renowned festival, long experienced in cross-genre musical collaborations. Their search for a generational encounter brought them to the duo Samifati, who have been travelling and performing internationally for over ten years.
The duo Samifati is represented by Sami Fatih on violin and machines. Visual creation is handled by Axel Vanlerberghe, adding a mesmerising scenic dimension to the performance.
The event takes place on Sunday 20 September 2026 at 19:30 at the Théâtre Jean-Claude Carrière in Montpellier, as part of the Festival Arabesques.