El Mizan, a band founded in Switzerland in 2018, incorporates a wide range of North African music into their unique style by blending the sounds of their ancestors with gritty rock and elegant vocal harmonies sung in Darija, a dialect of the Maghreb.

Their music draws inspiration from North African styles such as räi, chaabi, and the Berber tradition, resulting in a unique blend they refer to as Maghrock. The band’s name, “El Mizan,” translates to “the balance” or “groove” in Arabic, reflecting the fusion of traditional and modern influences in their music.

Anouar Kaddour Chérif, an Algerian mandolist living in Lausanne, established the band after meeting various local musicians. Their music is rich with diverse influences, merging collective memory with contemporary postcolonial issues. The group’s songs touch on themes of freedom, taboos, love, and the emancipation of peoples in the redefinition of a post-colonial identity.