Born in 1951 in Essaouira, Mahmoud Gania came from one of the great Gnawa families. A respected singer and guimbri player he was one of the most prolific recording musicians in Morocco. From the 1970s until his death in 2015 he released many albums for a variety of Moroccan labels as well as recording with artists as diverse as Pharoah Sanders, Peter Brotzmann, James Holden and Floating Points.