Joy Keys chats with Moroccan Singer Oum

Oum EL Ghait is the first name that Morocco's Saharian nomads would want to give to girls born on a rainy day, thinking it's the luck of the new born that brings with it the water, the relief, or deliverance; where the meaning of the name, which literally means "Mother of relief " OUM, was born in Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco, and grew up in the city of Marrakech. She takes her name from her paternal grandmother: Lalla Oum el Ghait Bent Bella.

OUM is an eclectic feminine vocalist who dare to play soul music mixed with her natural influences, as the Hassany poetry (culture of the Moroccan desert) and african rythmes that she consideres as the roots of soul, gospel and jazz music. Malouma Mint El Maidah, Ella Fitzgerald, Miriam Makeba, Billie Holliday, Dimi Mint Abba, Aretha Franklin and Eryka Badu are her vocalists of reference.

Her first album LIK'OUM was presented in Casablanca in May 2009. She's considered one of the vocalists with most future on the feminin Moroccan scene.

Since september 2010 she started working on her second album "SWEERTY". "WHOWA" first single of this second opus was released with a video clip in January 2010.

A second single HARGUIN is released in july 2011, in collaboration with ghanéan-american artist BLITZ the AMBASSADOR, talking about illegal immigration in Africa.

The new album SWEERTY is coming up in September 2011.  

WEBSITE: www.oum.ma