Anouar’s greatest joy is to collaborate with musicians and artists from all over the world. He states: “I believe this is the way to bypass the borders between human beings. Musicians and artists have a special power to touch the minds, the souls and create a positive impact on society.”
His collaborative project ‘Sin Fronteras’ – An original composition - gathered musicians from different musical backgrounds, different cultures, and different countries (Thailand, Poland, Morocco).
Most recently, Anouar has composed music for the short film “Water of Life” by Fatima Matousse. The film is about David, a Moroccan Jew, who brings the Moroccan fig alcoholic drink to the U.S.A. We see his struggles with his newly made business and reliving the coexistence between Moroccan Jews and Muslims in New York.
Besides composing, arranging and performing, Anouar has worked as a music educator for many schools as well as giving private guitar lessons.
Originally from Agadir, Morocco, Anouar Afa was born into a family of artists. His uncle was an illustrator, and his grandmother a traditional carpet maker. Growing up next to his grandmother, Anouar was constantly exposed to music and art throughout her singing original songs expressing sorrow, happiness or simply her state of mind while making carpets. This influenced him to start playing the guitar at a young age.
Fascinated by the sounds of Aita, Imazighen, and Gnawa music, Anouar started to work on his own style of combining these genres of music with Flamenco and Jazz, making a link between many cultures and roots.
Anouar gained valuable experience having performed alongside many notable musicians, such as Hicham El Issaoui, Amen Viana, Malika Zarra and many others.