Amazigh songs from the Middle Atlas are based on traditional music from the mountainous region of Khenifra in Morocco. They are also referred to as sheikh music and date back to the 1950s. Hammou Oulyazid was at the forefront of this style. The iconic instrument of this style is the lotar, a large, impressive Berber lute created in the 1970s by a man who is now considered the greatest musician of this style – Mohamed Rouchia.

In 2016, bandleader and oud player Léo Fabre-Cartier met master lotar player, singer, and composer Younes Baammi, a student of the renowned Mohamed Rouicha, in Khenifra. This encounter gave rise to the sextet Araw N Fazaz, a new face of Amazigh music from the Middle Atlas.  Unlike many better-known Berber groups, they rely on instrumental precision without losing any of their spontaneity. The ensemble combines male and female vocals, percussion, Moroccan lutes, and European violins, which the player holds vertically, as is customary in countries of the East.