Introducing Rhani Krija…

Gareth Lubbe and Philip Zoubek are joined at the Loft at 8.30 tonight by percussionist Rhani Krija.

Rhani was born in Essaouira, Morocco, surrounded by the many different North African music styles on which his current musical work depends.

As a teenager he worked as a percussionist on the traditional Moroccan music scene, and soon earned a reputation for his grasp of Arabic, Andalusian, African and Latin American music styles.

Rhani lived and worked in France for a while before eventually moving to Cologne. Mastering a large variety of percussion instruments such as the darbouka, riqq, frame drums, congas, bongos, djembe, Caribbean timbales and many others, his musical influences today are derived from a combination of traditional Arabic and North African rhythms, Latin American styles, blues, reggae and pop.

In February 2003, Rhani was invited by Sting to record percussion tracks for his new album Sacred Love, giving him the opportunity to share the stage with the likes of Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea.