Med anledning av att årets Selam african festivals sista konsert – Khaled på Debaser Medis – så plockade jag fram en gammal godbit ur skivsamlingen – Kutché.

1989 jobbade jag i skivbutik, närmare bestämt på då enhetliga varuhuset PUB:s skivavdelning. PUB var på den tiden ännu koperationens flaggskepp och stolthet. Pensionärena åkte in till staden för att de varit koperationen trogna under ett långt liv. 1989 hade cd-skivan ännu inte gått om vinylen som viktigaste mediet för musik. 1989 var också ett starkt år för världsmusiken. Bland annat släpptes Kutché – ett samarbete mellan sångaren Cheb Khaled, han hade då kvar epitetet Cheb som han några år senare tog bort, och musikern Safy Boutella. Då lät det modernt och framåtblickande. Nu tjugo år senare låter speciellt ljudbilden rätt daterad – det är typiskt åttiotal, men inte så överlastat som mycket annan åttiotalsproduktion.

Vid lyssningen kontaterar jag att skivan fortfarande låter fräsch, det är enklare och rakare arrangemang, mindre funkigt och stort. Det är en för mig lite bortglömd pärla. Mycket syntar och även en del synttrummor tillhör det daterade i soundet, som ändå har stor charm. Dessutom får man de typiska raiingredienserna med stråk, darboukas och annat slagverk och oud.

Musiken var ny för många och genren som på vissa ställen i världen fått stort publikt genombrott i mitten av åttiotalet utvecklades mycket, Khaled var en av dem som gick i bräschen. Det hörs på Kutché, som har den där speciella energin som är typisk för nyskapande. Rekommenderas!

Roligt också att det står 100% RAI i rött märke på skivan!

A new reader left me a comment about music the other day.  I’ve haven’t written about it yet because during Ramadan it became glaringly obvious that almost all instruments are haram thereby making most music haram as well.  I’ve always preferred the noise of the television over the noise of a radio or CD anyway.  I remain a huge fan of Jay-Z because I just think it is wrong to just up and say I’m no longer a fan, but truth be told I don’t listen to his music anymore.  I know, I know, before you ask, yes I hear music while I’m watching television, but I’m working on that too! 

All that being said, here are some singers my husband suggested.  The first three are Moroccan singers, the others are popular Arab singers among Moroccans.

• Najat 3tabou
• Nass El Ghiwane
• Daoudi
• Cheb Khaled
• Cheb Hassni
• Cheb Mami
• Bilal

The View from Fez also just published a post about two award-winning Moroccan artists as well.

Try http://www.arabmusic.us/, and click on Morocco for country specific music, and search music  from other Arab countries as well.  I know that music is popular in Morocco and has various styles both traditional (Andalusi, Malhun, Gnawa) and modern (Moroccan rap, rai, and pop) in different regions, but my lack of interest in music means I haven’t spent much time researching, listening, or loving it.  Therefore, I ask other readers to leave comments on their favorite Moroccan and/or Arab music and any resources for accessing music online. 

I have a lot of pictures that might never make it to an actual story line so I thought I’d share some of them in a photo album post.  We have a point and shoot digital so they aren’t super artsy or always perfectly focused.  Enjoy!

Twin Tours, Casablanca

Halal Big Macs?  Oh yeah!

Okay, so this one actually appeared before, but Snop Doog and Wat-ng was worth posting again!

Spice store on the way to Al Manal Mall, Rabat

Dried fruit in Marakesh

Performers in Jemma El Fna, Marrakesh

Rainbow over Al Kamra, Rabat

Beggar band below our window, Winter 2009

Cheb Khaled performs in Al Kamra, May 2009

A bounty of madarins

A bounty of shoes for sale

Qalam wa Lawh School for Arabic Language

A boat in the water, Rabat

If cats would stay as cute as kittens, I’d be willing to get one

A slight obessession with close-up tile photos

Olivier Gachen

El rey del raï se paseó ayer por Barcelona, y su voz pudo oírse como un lamento esperanzador.

Fue en el Teatre Grec de Barcelona, como parte de la programación del Festival Grec. Un gran acierto. Ayer sí que podía decirse, sin miedo a caer en tópicos, aquello del “marco incomparable”. Un público devoto esperaba paciente al rey, iban cargados de banderas, bufandas, y símbolos. Los exiliados estaban, por un día, en su patria. Khaled, entre canción y llanto, entre música y alegría lo mismo cubría la espalda con una bandera de Argelia que con una bufanda de Marruecos. Abundó el público magrebí, entregado por completo a los encantos del maestro, y deseosos de bailar raï de autoafirmación. Todo y con eso, la mayoría del público era autóctono, y poco ducho en la lengua árabe. Por lo que se echó un poco de menos alguna palabra en castellano o catalán. Tuvimos que esperar dos horas de concierto para terminar oyendo de la garganta de Khaled un “escúchame” en medio de la aclamadísima Aicha. No debe tomarse esto como una crítica, apenas un leve lamento. La voz portentosa del rey, los once músicos que le acompañaban, y unos ritmos que se instalaban directamente en los brazos y las caderas compensaron de sobras el detalle.

Una sola crítica, y no para Khaled, sino para la organización de El Grec. Cierto es que el Teatre Grec es un escenario para estar sentados, pero no puede llevarse el orden y la seguridad a la paranoia. Lo de la seguridad de ayer rozaba la escena absurda de una mala comedia americana. El público entregado bailaba, bailábamos, y lo hacíamos de pie. Menos mal que cuando en vez de cuatro, fuimos cientos, quedó claro lo inútil de hacernos sentar. Otro análisis merecería la seguridad en el escenario. Más de 15 enamorados del rey del raï accedieron al escenario a ofrecerle banderas y besos. Muestras de amor incondicional que Khaled recibía con agradecimiento y paciencia, pese a lo bruto de la seguridad que intentaba –sin éxito- evitarlas. La seguridad se vio desbordada por lo que fue, tomando prestadas palabras de Ismael Serrano, “una dulce guerrilla urbana”. Sorteaban la seguridad para conseguir plantar un beso en la mejilla de de Khaled, del rey que les da a los olvidados de la cultura himnos de los que sentirse orgullosos.

http://khaled-lesite.artistes.universalmusic.fr/

A Cheetah inaugura aqui no blog a sessão “Rapidinhas”. Toda quarta-feira, notas curtas, vídeos, flyers de festas amigas e por aí vai.

Brazilian Star Wars – Mashup by FAROFF

Major Lazer feat. Mr. Lexx & Santigold – Hold the line

Ps: Já falamos deles aqui, mas o videoclip oficial do primeiro single não poderia ficar de fora. Aguardem maiores infos sobre o Major Lazer aqui na Cheetah.

Songoro Cosongo nessa sexta, no Circo Voador

Songoro Cosongo – Merengue de inverno

Songoro Cosongo – Chorumbia

Ps: O Cosongo é uma big band de músicos latinos e cariocas radicados na Lapa, bairro do Rio aonde tudo acontece. Um sopro de latinidade que merece ser degustado por todos!

URBe 6 anos – a festa!

Ps: Festinha de comemoração do site do nosso grande amigo e 4º elemento da Cheetah, Bruno Natal. A macaca não o convida (o dia virá) pra discotecar na festa, mas ele sabe que é amado por todos.

Magic System & Cheb Khaled – Même pas fatigué

Ps: Um pouquinho de coupé decalé para este finzinho de tarde. Um dos hinos da macaca que muito em breve marcará presença na próxima mixtape da Cheetah

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Uma arara selvagem e exótica contou a Cheetah que a Banda Calipso se apresenta na Fundição Progresso, dia 21 de agosto.

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Talentul este rasplatit cu apreciere , adevaratele capodopere vor supravietui mereu . Avem Cheb Khaled cu Aicha (varianta live in Algeria), mai multe detalii despre piesa vezi aici . RESPECT !!!

Download Cheb Khaled – Aicha (original)

I’ve been wanting to post this song for some time. It reminds me of the very first time I went to Morocco with my friend Justine. It was such a thrill and we got into all sorts of trouble. It is always helpful to meet friends along the way and we were so fortunate to have studied in Spain with a solid crew of Moroccans. This song totally holds a special place in my heart!

I promised myself that I would see Cheb Khaled perform once in my life. I would have liked that time to have been in Paris but alas I got to see him in Stern Grove, San Francisco. Amazing!

Now that the sun’s out and the 60’s/70’s it’s time to rotate in some new, more fun songs. Here’s a sampling of some enjoyable, recent additions to my playlist.

Some lovely R&B/Electro tunes from Boomkat:

Run Away:

Don’t B So Shy:

A jazzy, ethnic tune from Cheb Khaled called Alech Taadi. If it sounds familiar, it was used in the taxi chase scene of The Fifth Element.

Some fun singles

Jager Yoga by CSS:

Circus by Britney Spears:

In his black jeans and striped shirt, Khaled resembles the stocky boss of some Algerian trucking company. You’d never guess that he is “the king of raï”, and one of the greatest celebrities of the Arab world. Khaled is the man who brought north-African music to a new audience in Europe, shaking up the pop scene in France and becoming as influential as Bob Marley in the process.
–Robin Denselow

Cheb Khaled, dubbed the King of Raï, is perhaps the most prominent star of this wonderful Algerian musical phenomenon known as Raï (which means “opinion”). On the surface, and in numerous videos, Raï appears to be little more than party music, a pop variety from North Africa, with little overt sense of being subversive, critical, or even particularly opinionated despite the literal meaning of its name. As it turns out, that is a superficial and distant reading of a phenomenon that might be better compared to rap:

American rap and Algerian raï are both styles born out of a strong local culture which use the language of the street to express opinions about street life. They value lyrical improvisation and “borrow” musical ideas from many sources if and when necessary. They antagonize the values of “decent” society and the cultural mainstream. They are the musical styles most favoured by the dispossessed in their respective countries, by those who have little to lose and a lot to say. And for both, their paths to international fame have been littered with controversy and misunderstanding. Just as folk who live comfortably within the cultural pale in America wince when they hear words like “bitch” and “uzi” coming from the mouth of a rap artist, so the cultural muftis of the Maghreb turn red when they hear tales of drunkenness, despair, sex, and hedonism from the lips of a teenage cheb. [Morgan, 1999, p. 413]

The raï phenomenon is part of a Mediterranean mélange that defies easy categorization. In fact, raï has varied and transformed so much over the decades that it is hard to delimit its boundaries: there is no fixed subject matter, no typical or emblematic instruments, and even the gender of the performers has shifted from female dominance in its early history, to male dominance in the present. Nor is it fixed to any one place any longer, having become a transnational phenomenon that emerged from a locale that, of course, was itself at the crossroads of numerous Mediterranean cultures, ranging from Arab to Berber, to Jewish, French and Spanish. The one, enduring and distinctive feature of raï is its situational quality of opposition to whatever dominant regime is in place that dictates limits to people’s freedom, whether that be the French colonial regime, the post-independence regimes, Islamic fundamentalism, or anti-Algerian discrimination in France. Women, passion, dance, and alcohol are now characteristic features of the raï message, and not surprisingly some raï performers have been beaten and assassinated in Algeria, and Cheb Khaled also fled Algeria for France.

Cheb Khaled was born in Oran, Algeria’s second largest city, which is also the often cited birthplace of raï which emerged in the 1920s. Oran is a port city, in northwestern Algeria, and that fact is itself significant because as a port city it drew in influences from the wider Mediterranean world, and from the rural interior of Algeria. Oran was a place for the dispossessed, the displaced, and the transient, and raï was played in nightclubs, brothels, and taverns, by and for distillery workers, peasants, and prostitutes. Originally, as mentioned before, women were the dominant performers. With stricter Islamic guidelines coming into place during the war for independence, and especially after, women were gradually displaced by men. Raï went underground again soon after independence, then was virtually nationalized as part of the national patrimony and was accompanied by a boom in cassette sales, and then was driven underground once again with the Islamic resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s.

The first video below is of Khaled performing the song that made me fall passionately in love with Raï, and since the sound is a little low, I recommend turning up your speakers. Those who can read Portuguese will benefit from the subtitles that translate the song.

Khaled — El Arbi (“The Arab,” performed live in Brazil)

Khaled — El Arbi (higher quality audio)

Cheb Khaled — dekou dekou
(Great burning passion in this song, and a melody and instrumentation that I suspect will class this particular expression of raï as “traditional.”)

Cheb Khaled — Aicha
(One of his greatest international hits.)

Shifting, flexible, borrowing, moving…enduring. Perhaps this is one of raï’s important lessons of mutability within continuity. I will leave the final word to a scholar whose work very effectively sums up the longevity and impact of raï:

Raï is compelling and challenging in all its facets: ideology, lyrics, and music. In its rebellion against the establishment, whether Algerian or French (Western), raï artists negotiate and appropriate issues regarding tradition, originality, authenticity, universality, identity, and sexuality. As a musical genre and a cultural youth movement, raï has had to travel through the tremulous terrain of cultural transformation and adjustments. Through the process, it has gained support and opposition from a variety of groups both inside and outside Algeria. Its reception in Algeria is unique: some groups use it as a tool of resistance while the government promotes it as a part of its national and cosmopolitan heritage. An artist like Khaled, for example, emerges as a hero and an enemy, Arab and French, a rebel and a model citizen. With its infectious groove, rebellious nature, and appealing popularity, raï most likely is here to stay; to document, to contest, to bridge gaps, and to participate in the creation of a better future for its Algerian citizens and music fans all over the globe. Raï artists reveal their social, political, and moral identity through lyrics of pain, anger, frustration, sexual desires, and quest for freedom. In the process, they will continue to challenge laws, shatter conventions, and overcome standard musical national classifications, further articulating complex issues of authenticity, identity, and social boundaries. [Al-Taee, 2003, p. 23]

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Music will continue to be an important part of the Open Anthropology Project, and this post on Raï joins others on calypso; rapso; more rapso; chutney soca; reggae; bollywood; ‘gangsta rap’; Aboriginal Canadian hip hop; Navajo Nation steelpan music, and Aboriginal Australian reggae; country and folk; and even rock.

Sources and Further Reading:

• Al-Taee, Nasser. (2003). “Running with the Rebels: Politics, Identity, and Sexual Narrative in Algerian Raï.” Echo: A music-centered journal, 5 (1) Spring.
• “Arabic-Speaking Pop Stars Spread the Joy,” by Jon Pareles, The New York Times, February 6, 2002.
• Gross, John; McMurray, David, and Swedenburg, Ted. (2002). “Arab Noise and Ramadan Nights: Raï, Rap, and Franco-Maghrebi Identities.” In Jonathan Xavier Inda and Renato Rosaldo (eds.), The Anthropology of Globalization, pp. 198-230. London: Blackwell.
• ” ‘I was spat at and called a traitor’ -Khaled,” by Robin Denselow, Dawn/The Guardian News Service, December 12, 2004.
• Khaled (from Wikipedia)
• Khaled Liberté — Site officiel: news, videos, photos, discography, biography (French)
• Khaled Mania — unofficial/fan site: news, videos, photos, discography, lyrics, etc. (English)
• “Khaled — Algerian Rai Music,” by Paul Tingen, SOS: Sound on Sound, October 1997.
• La musique Raï: short history, overview, in French, from an Algerian-focused site.
• Morgan, Andy. (1999). “Algeria — Rai: Music Under Fire.” In Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, Richard Trillo, Orla Duane, and Vanessa Dowell (eds.), World Music: The Rough Guide, pp. 413-424. London: Rough Guides/Penguin.
• Raï (from Wikipedia)
• “Raï – Rebel Music from Algeria,” James Han, January 28, 2008.
• Skilbeck, Rod. (1995). “MIXING POP AND POLITICS: The Role of Raï in Algerian Political Discourse.” Paper presented at the Australasian Middle East Studies Association conference at Macquarie University, Sydney on September 22, 1995.

Cheb Khaled & IAM in the pyraimds – Cairo – Egypt (the mother land) .. great concert .. best back ground

Heute: Cheb Khaled mit “Aisha”