Khalil Mounji المنجي خليل

Originally from Casablanca, Morocco, and trained as an advertiser, Khalil Mounji is a Gnawa musician/researcher who develops his style halfway between tradition and modernity. Passionate about world cultures and music, he is inspired by great Gnawi masters to learn about Tagnaouite and master the Gnawa instruments. Khalil is the only musician in his family and has no Gnawa ancestry, but that didn't prevent him from learning this art, which for him is a Moroccan and African heritage that must absolutely be safeguarded, valued, and promoted. For this reason, in 2014, and after the bonds of friendship that were forged with the brothers Maallems Abderrahim and Said Oughassal, who immediately began a new stage of Gnawa initiation for Khalil, he created Gnaoua Culture, an association dedicated to the promotion of this heritage and using NICTs as a means of dissemination, especially by launching the "Play Guembri" application and then the gnaouaculture.org website. Khalil Mounji has been working on exploring new creative and educational horizons of Gnawa culture such as storytelling, workshops, and masterclasses.