Lazywall are a Moroccan rock trio whose oriental rock hybrid is a tagine of traditional Arabic time signatures and instruments and powerful altrock. Singing in Arabic, the band covers topics like climate change, social injustice, integration and corruption with a visceral intensity that removes language barriers and unites cultures.
The band was formed in Reading, England by brothers Nao, Youssef and Monz who had relocated from Tangier to go to university in the UK. Influenced by Led Zeppelin, Audioslave and System Of A Down, as well as Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, the brothers set out to explore drop D tunings and roots music with a mission to connect the oud with the rock guitar, establishing a new musical trade route from the Orient to the Occident.
Lazywall signed to Warner Spain - the brothers have dual Moroccan and Spanish nationality - and got the opportunity to go to Chicago to record their debut EP “Primal Tapes” with Steve Albini. Performances at SXSW and numerous European festivals followed. The band were the first ever rock band to perform on Moroccan TV. Their English language records, of which there are five, were well received, but a performance in front of 50,000 compatriots at the Festival of Casablanca made them realise the essential missing link in their sound: the language.
Lazywall set out to write songs in Arabic. “We don't talk about politics because we don't care. We don't talk about religion because it's a personal thing. But singing about that underage girl who was forced to marry her rapist is tough in any language.”
