Club d'Elf

Club d’Elf, on the road celebrating their 25th anniversary, is a jam/groove supergroup with wide-ranging styles and influences, from Moroccan trance to electric-70s era Miles Davis, the prog-rock masterworks of Frank Zappa and hip-hop turntable jams a la DJ Logic, to global dub reminiscent of Bill Laswell’s work. Their live performances, led by bassist/sintir player Mike Rivard, are legendary improv sessions where anything can happen.

Under the tutelage of member Brahim Fribgane, the band skillfully incorporates gnawa (Moroccan trance) to the mix. Audiences of all persuasions are drawn to Fribgane’s mesmerizing oud stylings and Rivard’s commanding playing of the Moroccan sintir, a 3 string bass lute used by the Gnawa people of Morocco. Derived from such ancient sources as these, trance forms the central core of the Club d’Elf aesthetic, unifying all of the various genres the band has absorbed.