Zaman Records opened in 1967 in Agadir. At the time, it was the city’s first record store. 58 years later, the founder’s son took over the torch of this store which has thousands of vinyls and cassettes, mainly of Arabic music, some of which are very rare. Amine Aqdim, 30 years old, is today at the head of this musical treasure chest. At the same time, he developed a DJ activity and worked to digitize rare recordings of Yemeni, Sudanese, Egyptian and of course Moroccan music.
From our special correspondent returning from Agadir,
Located in the center of old Agadir, the store is barely 20 m², but it seems much bigger. From floor to ceiling, vinyl records from the 1940s to today decorate the walls and line the shelves. From Billy Ocean to Ray Charles, via AC/DC or Farid El Atrache, we find all styles.
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« In this store you can find music from India, classical Egyptian music, music from Brazil, Moroccan hip-hop, funk, disco… », explains Amine Aqdim, who took over the store from his father in 2017.
Sitting at his desk in the center of the small room, his fingers drum on the rows of cassettes. He collects and organizes all this music on his computer. He is proud of his unique collection of Arabic music. “ I want to keep this memory alive Morocco. Most people only see Moroccan music as traditional music. But there is also electronic music, groove, disco, he enthuses. This is what I’m trying to share with people around the world. »
Hidden treasures
Among his thousands of vinyls and hundreds of cassettes, there are some rare gems. “ And now I keep them for myself. It is a treasure; it is very expensive, he confides. There is really a difference between the original editions and the reissues, and for me, it reminds me of my father. »
-From a suitcase well hidden at the back of the store, he takes out a vinyl from the committed rock group of the 1970s – Nass El Ghiwane or even an album by Osibisa, the British afro-pop group from the 1970s formed by Ghanaians and Caribbeans… But what fascinates him most is the music recorded in the Casablanca studios in the 1970s. “ There’s Izenzaren, it’s a very well-known Berber group from the 1970s. They released their album in Casablanca. »
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In addition to digitizing and classifying this music, Amine Aqdim is also a DJ. He regularly collaborates with the French collective Radio Flouka to bring up to date all the diversity of Moroccan music from 1950 to the present day.
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