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North Africa: Rocking el Casbah

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Geography and history have left North Africa with an impressively mixed up musical culture. It's way too much of an oversimplification to say that Algerian music, for example, is a straightforward mix of traditional Arabic and southwestern European styles. It also includes elements of salsa and reggae, Jewish folkloric music, American rock 'n' roll, Euro club fare, and more.

The undisputed giant of North African music is the ever-sunny Khaled, whose French-Algerian roots tangle freely with global sounds, and whose music has become the very definition of raï. His name may be bigger than that of Rachid Taha, who's oriented toward edgier, rockier sounds. But the two shared a stage with a third star, Faudel, in the massively popular 1, 2, 3 Soleils (a 1998 concert, then CD and DVD), which reached legions of fans and cemented these two veterans, plus the youthful Faudel, as the modern-day pillars of French-Algerian pop.

Reviewed below are two recordings from Taha and Khaled which are both vastly superior to the aforementioned Soleils, which suffered from homogenized production—plus a broader sampler of North African grooves.

Rachid Taha
Tékitoi
Wrasse
2005

Ask Rachid Taha whether he considers his music raï, and you'll get a quick answer. No. He's a rocker. And despite the fact that he has shared the stage with Khaled and Faudel, his music differs from theirs in several fundamental ways. Taha's outgoing rebellion is much darker, rawer, and more visceral. His lyrics, in Arabic, French, and Spanish, question politicians and hypocrites, ponder meanings of love lost and found, and level the difficult lessons of the past with the potential of the future. His music, more irregular and blocky, prominently displays a punkish "I'll do what I want" energy.

But damn, this guy knows how to work a groove. The opening title track (a duet with Christian Olivier which translates roughly to "Who the hell are you?") blasts off with a shuffling guitar-driven riff, trading back and forth with rhythmic, rap-like vocals, and eventually building into a ripe frenzy. If these three minutes of testosteronized bump-and-grind don't get you at least thinking about bodily motion, maybe it's time to adjust the volume knob.

The distorted, dark-edged "H'asbu-hum" ("Ask them for an explanation") takes no prisoners—Taha's voice is raw and desperate, and he's surrounded by an army of pounding drummers—but it's still pretty catchy in its own twisted way. More gentle and romantic sounds follow with the seeking "Winta"; pure drama and techno bounce with "Nah'seb"; and an echoing club remix vibe with "Voila Voila" (in Spanish).

Taha's Arabic take on "Rock el Casbah" will no doubt twist the ears of those already familiar with the Clash's version, and it stands roughly equal in stature to the original, which is no small thing. Tékitoi also includes a bonus DVD with a 45-minute film, ¿Kienes?, that features tour/interview/concert footage from Mexico. It's interesting enough to spin once, but you'll want to get back to the music in pure form.

Visit Rachid Taha on the web.

Khaled
Ya-Rayi
Wrasse
2004

After a dip or two on record, the undisputed king of raï returns to full, undiluted joyous form on Ya-Rayi. It's been thirteen years since Khaled made his European (and world) breakthrough with his self-titled masterpiece, glowingly produced by Don Was and Michael Brook. While the recordings that came out in the interim have certainly had their high points, they've been a little uneven, and frankly cheesy at times. Ya-Rayi, quite refreshingly, is solid from start to finish.

The key with Khaled's boyish energy and perky vibe seems to be enveloping it in a musical context that keeps it shifty and fresh. The lush textures of "El-H'mam" wrap his lilting voice in an Arabic orchestra of strings, horns, and percussion—he sails high, twists deftly through his trademark trills, and gives it up to the ladies on the choruses. The balance is so right and seemingly effortless that it just floats through the air and embraces you with life-giving energy. (Credit young Algerian producer Farid Aouameur with helping make that happen.)

The compressed wah guitars that open the next track, "Lemen," herald a full-on soul funk explosion that takes its time to bounce left and right, pausing to regroup midway through and heading out the door with booty-shaking madness. Unstoppably brilliant. Other songs also dig the funk, notably the title track, incorporating a pretty wide instrumental palette. Lyrical Cafe Oran pianist Maurice El Medioni graces the more spacious, organic "H'Mama" and delicately swaying "Mani Hani."

Note: several different versions of this recording are out there with bonus tracks and/or bonus DVD, but as of this writing (April, 2005) no American release has hit the streets. This readily available "plain vanilla" French-language version with eleven solid tracks and a remix works just fine.

Various Artists
North African Groove
Putumayo
2005

This danceworthy mix collects a dozen songs with suitably expansive influences from Arabic music, flamenco, Afro-Cuban styles, Euro-club pop, and beyond. Universally upbeat and propulsive, this is music for the heart as much as the feet; you'd have to be dead set against the backbeat not to find it moving one way or another. This can be considered a companion recording to Putumayo's similar and equally solid 2001 Arabic Groove compilation, though the two overlap only with the common inclusion of a track each from Khaled.

The French-Algerian star is in fine form here with the title track from his new Ya-Rayi album, where guitars, strings, horns, and keyboards thicken up the sound but a regular, insistent beat reinforces the groove. Raï's young French prince and heir apparent, Faudel, also shows up with a very poppy "Si Tu le Veux," more Paris electro than Oran insouciant, but mixed up enough between the two to stay interesting.

Afro-Cuban piano and percussion meet up with riffing minor-key melodies on Morocco-born raï singer Rhany's successful multi-cultural fusion, "Un Mot de Toi." Libya's Cheb Jilani, who's done pretty well in the Arab world, mixes up instruments and pulls a few classic riffs out of the bag on his thickly-produced and lightly funky "Bahebbak"; Egypt's Mohamed Mounir bounces out like a back-to-the-future '70s disco acid flashback on "Hanina," and you have to have some respect for the retro thing to really sink in deep.

Visit Putumayo on the web.


Related article
Algeria: Rai or Not, Here We Come


Track listings

Tékitoi: Tékitoi; Rock El Casbah; Lli Fat Mat!; H'Asbu-Hum; Safi; Meftuh'; Winta; Nah'Seb; Dima; Mamachi; Shuf; Stenna; Ya Rayah; Voila Voila. DVD: ¿Kienes?, a 45-minute film directed by Pascal Forneri and Chrisophe Acker (4/3 screen format; NTSC all zones; English and Spanish subtitles).

Ya-Rayi: Mani Hani; Ya-Rayi; Zine Zina; El-H'Mam; Lemen; Yema Yema; Ya Galbi; H'Mama; Ensa El Hem; Hagda; El Ghira; El-H'Mam (Imhotep remix).

North African Groove: Jomed - Montuno Noreño; Samira Saeid - Aal Eah; Amr Diab - Nour El Ain; Faudel - Si Tu le Veux; Rhany - Un Mot de Toi; Amina - Dis-Moi Pourquoi; Cheb Jilani - Bahebbak; Hamid Baroudi - Sidi; Khaled - Ya-Rayi; Cheb Mami - Viens Habibi; Mohamed Mounir - Hanina; Eastenders feat. Shady Sheha - On the Ride.

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