Chalaban Band was founded in 1999 in Budapest by the Moroccan musician Saïd Tichiti. The diversity of the group’s sound is defined by the musician’s Afro-Arab roots, with their lively, exuberant Moroccan music enhanced by elements of Carpathian Basin, Roma and Balkan music, all while singing in Arabic. Each Chalaban concert is full of desert spirituality, melancholic melodies, ending with an air of trance.
Their music is featured in the 2018 documentary film “Échos du Sahara”, which examines the 20-year career of the band’s leader. The film sees Saïd return from Budapest to the Sahara Desert, where he draws inspiration from the spiritual Hassani culture and presents a fruitful encounter of diverse musical traditions.
