Congratulations:
Hassan Hakmoun
"The Gift"
2003 AFIM Indie Awards
Best Contemporary
World Recording

Los Angeles March 19, 2003 - Triloka Recording Artist Hassan Hakmoun's The Gift received the Association for Independent Music (AFIM) Indie Award for Best Contemporary World Music Recording this past Tuesday at the Annual Awards Luncheon in Orlando, FL. The "INDIE's" were conceived to recognize artistic excellence among member labels and distributors. Through the years, the INDIE Awards have honored many of the best and brightest stars in the independent galaxy, including recordings by such well known artists as Sugar, Burning Spear, Naughty By Nature, Professor Longhair, Kate Wolf, Leon Redbone, Queen Latifah, Richard Thompson, Holly Near, James Cotton, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Alison Krauss, George Winston, Frank Zappa, Robert Cray, and many, many more.

Hassan Hakmoun has been a commanding and intriguing figure on the world music scene since his 1992 debut album Trance (Real World). He has fashioned an eclectic performing and recording career, exploring a plethora of musical realms from jazz and "world music" to neo-classical contemporary Western music to cerebral pop. He has engaged in startling collaborations with the likes of the late Don Cherry, Pharaoh Sanders and The Kronos Quartet, as well as Peter Gabriel and, most recently, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Paula Cole. Gabriel has described Hakmoun's vocal capacities as "among the most piercing and intriguing in the world."

The Gift (Triloka 85228) teams Hakmoun with American-born producer Fabian Alsultany. The two have tackled the landmark task of bridging Gnawa with Arabic music while maintaining a forward-looking sound. Alsultany recruited over a hundred musicians to fill out the sound with strings as is common in popular Arabic music. The CD breaks new ground with a widely popular Arabic song, "Layla Layla" (without which no Arabic wedding is complete), which is unheard of from a Gnawa musician. Hakmoun carries the healing tradition to a wider audience with the life affirming single, "This Gift," a remarkable and timely duet with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Paula Cole.