Some collaborations are carefully planned, while others seem to emerge naturally from the places where they are created. The Mirage of Ceuta belongs to the latter. Recorded live during the 2024 Gnaoua Festival in Essaouira, the album captures an unfiltered meeting of traditions, where American and Danish improvisers step into the rhythmic world of Moroccan Gnawa without disturbing its spiritual foundation.

Made possible by the Third Way Cultural Alliance, what emerged from spontaneous creative sessions and encounters with local musicians became The Mirage of Ceuta — a collage of sound layered into a dreamscape.

The stunning collaboration centres on the trio of avant-garde bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, composer and vocalist Randi Pontoppidan, and trumpeter/producer Paul Giess, with Matthew Jernigan on drums and Mohamed Wakrim and Maryam Bouzid on voice and Guembri.

Today we’re premiering the entrancing fourth track ‘The Kind Craftsman Appears’ from the forthcoming album, which arrives on August 21st.

The song is anchored by the earthy pulse of the Guembri, creating a cyclical groove that feels timeless rather than repetitive. Wakrim’s Guembri flows with deep, woody, ancient blues, and his hypnotic tones dissolve the boundary between voice and instrument. Around it, Giess’s restrained trumpet layers the piece with airy melodic responses.

Rather than presenting East and West as opposing ideas, ‘The Kind Craftsman Appears’ reveals how attentive listening can unite distinct musical languages. It is an absorbing glimpse of their upcoming album, in which improvisation, ritual, and shared curiosity coalesce into a compelling conversation.