The DJs didn’t stop playing until 5 a.m.
At a beautiful villa about 20 minutes from the heart of Essaouira, guests enjoyed a night of music and art at the inaugural Solal Experience.
The Solal Experience was a three-day long festival that highlighted different forms of art, culture, and expression — giving a platform to local artists from Essaouira.
The first night of the festival, which ran from April 28-30, was celebrated at Mama Lova hotel with DJs and dancing on the rooftop under a beautiful sunset sky. It was organized by the hotel’s owner Swan Toledano.
“I’m so grateful for all these people that believe in the Solal Experience and believe in me,” he said.
Solal founder Swan Toledano.
Saturday night was the main event of the festival hosted at the villa Out of Medina. A line-up of DJs showcasing electronic music kept people on the dancefloor the entire night.
The venue was complete with gorgeous decorations, a pool, and two camels that guests could ride up and down a walkway.
Out of Medina is owned by Thybald who said it was his first time organizing an event like Solal. Thybald is originally from France but has lived in Essaouira for five years.
“[Swan and I] just wanted to make something cool and chill in Essaouira,” Thybald told MWN, later adding that for him, “Essaouira is really a small paradise.”
Artists from across Morocco and beyond gathered to showcase their skills and give guests a rich cultural experience with a celebration of musical, visual, and culinary arts.
The festival was held at the Mama Lova hotel.
Among the artists was Soraya Hilali, a tattoo artist and owner of Kim Tattoo, established in 2018. Hilali has Italian and Moroccan roots and currently lives in Marrakech.
“Each time that I tattoo I’m inspired,” she said. “It’s more like a hobby for me than a job.”
Hilali showcased her designs at the festival and gave live tattoos to guests. Her tattoo designs emphasize fine lines, geometric lettering, and a combination of old school and new school art.
“They’re a lot of artists today,” she said. “It’s the first time that I get to know a lot of artists in the same place. I like the vibe, it’s very good and very positive.”
The festival showcased several DJ performances.
For attendees who wanted a less-permanent form of art on their bodies, artist Matthieu Dins who goes by Moksart had a stand Saturday night where he drew live art on people with paint markers.
Originally from France, this was Dins’ second time in Essaouira, and the second time he’s done bodypainting at a festival.
“Essaouira is really nice,” he said. “The energy is really good.”
It’s no coincidence the festival was held in Essaouira — a city known for its music, art, and culture. Each year, the city hosts the Gnaoua music festival which attracts about 500,000 participants. Echoing this, Solal Experience opened Friday night with a performance of Gnaoua music.
“The base of Solal is DJs, but it’s good that they’re doing some Gnaoua music too because Essaouira is well known for Gnaoua,” Gnaoua master Abdelmalek Kadiri, who performed on Friday night, said.
A host of visual artists participated in the festival.
Among the visual artists, there were also a lot of craftspeople and artisans that featured their goods at the festival.
Third-generation owner of arts and crafts store Bokado Othman Elbaz said Solal was his first festival experience.
The Essaouira-based shop was opened by Elbaz’s grandfather and sells patchwork clothing, spices, medicines, and herbs, among other things. The name Bokado comes from the French “bon cadeau” which means “a nice gift.”
“We mix the old generation ideas with our generation now,” Elbaz said.
In addition to DJ performances, the festival featured Gnaoua music.
Another entrepreneur, Mounia Jaider from Casablanca, featured her hair products and scents at Saturday’s event.
“It’s the first time I’ve done an exposition for my brand at a festival,” Jaider said.
Jaider is an influencer on Instagram, but decided to open Jaider Beauty last November after getting a lot of questions about how she does her hair.
Her secret is a hair oil recipe from her grandmother that she’s now decided to package and sell for others to try. This was her first time visiting Essaouira.
“It’s my first time, but it’s beautiful,” she said. “It’s calm. There’s less stress than Casablanca.”
Guests were able to experience a host of musical, visual, and culinary experiences.
Culinary art was also on display with Chef Ayyoub El Ouadi’s dinner creation featuring a plate of deliciously prepared fish, potatoes, and nachos. The centerpiece was an Instagram-worthy fish burger that flaked in the mouth.
“It was a long day today,” El Ouadi said. “The whole day my team was working here to make the plates.”
The chef is from Essaouira, and like many of the other artists, this was his first experience working at a festival. He said he started cooking because his mother was a good cook.
The festival lasted between April 28-30.
A couple of celebrities also made an appearance at the event, including Star Academy star Sofiane and rapper Abdelazize Ouenza.
Sofiane is a singer in France but has been in Marrakech for 15 years.
“For [Solal Experience’s] first time, it’s really good,” Sofiane said. “I like the energy that’s here.”
After releasing his new single Mriski on Friday, Ouenza was also invited to attend the festival.
“There’s a lot of good people, beautiful people,” he said. “I’m glad to be here.”
Ouenza said he is planning to release his full mixtape in the third week of May.
“It’s a big move for Moroccan music and Moroccan rappers,” he said.
Guests at the Solal Experience festival.
As for Solal and what’s next, this may not be the last time the festival takes place. Toledano said that he was already thinking of ways to make Solal a monthly event, with a bigger festival once a year.
“I’m happy to have all these people here tonight,” he said. “That makes me want to keep going and make it better and create different artistic events that never happen in Morocco.”
