El Haj Abdelkrim Rais is one of the greatest artists and prominent figures in the world of arab-andalusian music.

El Haj Abdelkarim was born in the city of Fez,in Morocco, in 1912. He started learning music at a young age under the supervision of the great master Mohamed Benabdeslam Al Brihi. A few years after Albrihi’s death, El Haj Abdelkarim paid him a tribute by founding a musical band composed of 20 musicians and giving it the name of Al Brihi.

In 1969, he participated in the Arab Music Congress of Fez as an Expert. Later on, Abdelkarim released two titles, the first in 1982 inspired by the poems of Al Haik, and the second in 1985 which was a western version of Al Nouba (Gharibat Al Husyan), realized in collaboration with his student Mohamed Briouel.

In 1982, he created a band which held his name and which got very famous in France.He is best known for using only instruments with strings on his quest to restitute the Arab-Andalusian music and preserve its traditional frame and characteristics. El Haj Abdelkrim is distinguished from the contemporary artists like Moulay Ahmed Loukili or Mohamed Ben Larbi.

Indeed, Haj Abdelkrim did not hesitate to use instruments like Nay (flute), ‘qanun’ (table guitar), or the Rabab. El Haj Abdelkrim died in 1996 leaving behind him great pieces of art like ‘Bitayahi Sadri’, ‘Qidam Ramli Almayati’, ‘Tawashih Sebaat Lenoubati Hijazi Almashriqui’ and others.