Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha (Algeria)

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Sep 21 - 11:25 PM

Sadly, Rachid Taha died of a heart attack in 2018.

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: Hornpipe
Date: 01 Sep 21 - 11:34 PM

Thank you for renewing this thread. Rachid Taha’s version of “Ya Rayah” is wonderful, but I think I actually prefer the original version by the late Dahmane El Harrachi, which is on YouTube. Actually I love both versions. I’m going to have to go listen to them right now.

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: Helen
Date: 31 Aug 21 - 09:59 PM

Brilliant!!

I missed this thread the first time around. Thanks for reviving it. I'll check out all the links.

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Aug 21 - 11:56 PM

In this essay (NOT an interview), a North American anthropology professor
tackles the myth and hype around the popular music
from Oran, Algeria, and how it was promoted before the year 2000
on both sides of the Mediterranean.

Khaled and the myth of rai, by Ted Swedenburg

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Aug 21 - 11:43 PM

If the link works, it will take you to something rare:
an English-language journalist interviewing
Khaled Hadj Brahim himself.
No doubt through an interpreter, but still.
The interview is from 2011, so ten years ago.   

Independent: Khaled promotes his album 'Liberté'

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Mar 16 - 07:34 PM

Rachid Baba Ahmed, I believe, is the name of the record producer who was killed outside his shop in the streets of Oran.

Subject: Rai - Khaled Hadj Brahim
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Mar 16 - 06:21 PM

One of these is a leap-year baby. Khaled "Cheb Khaled" Hadj Brahim was born on 29 February 1960.

I think that means he just had Birthday Number Fifteen. He laughs about his leap-year birthday in the interviews I have read. No, I do NOT read Arabic. I read French; Algeria was a French colony (les "pieds-noirs"). That's why France has so many French citizens of Algerian descent, and why singers of rai, and Khaled in particular, have such sizeable followings there.

Frankly, it is sobering and startling to me that he is still alive. As someone's earlier post pointed out, making rai music can get you killed. Such happened to one Cheb Hasni, one of the rai singers; and then there was the record producer, not a singer himself, but he produced records for Khaled, for Cheb Sahraoui and Chaba Fadela (who are married to each other); he too was killed.

Khaled, however, got out with life and limb intact. He fathered a child or two, each with a different mother. Then he met a North African girl from a nice family, and did the whole formal respectable thing, having his family ask her family if she could be his wife....there was a "mariage en blanc" which got covered in the picture magazines with lots of photos. At last report, his family was not only outside of North Africa, but outside of France, even: he moved his household to someplace like Luxembourg, because he had enough wealth to afford it, and because it was safer for the children and their mother. Career-wise, though, his home base was Paris.

I have not heard recordings of his for years. It would be nice to believe that he can sing the way he did when he was young. This is, however, a burn-the-candle-at-both-ends kind of man. In a recent interview he said he had stopped smoking, not for the sake of his own voice, but for the sake of his two daughters! His boozing is notorious as well, and on some back-street cassette recordings he is audibly drunken.

Hadj Brahim adores African-American music of all stripes, from Ray Charles to James Brown. You can hear evidence, in some of his singing, that he must have worn their records out listening to them.

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: Will Fly
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 07:06 AM

Just checked out Souad Massi on Spotify. Lovely music - many thanks for the reference.

Will

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: NormanD
Date: 17 Apr 09 - 07:00 AM

I think that Khaled still lives outside Algeria, because of the past history of death threats made against him by right-wing Islamists, but it has not stopped him performing there. He openly supports peace, tolerance, and personal emancipation (especially for women) and other things that "Sharif don't like...".

Another great Algerian / Berber performer is Idir. I saw him a few years back, a previous unknown to me. There was a huge, screaming, enthusiastic response and support from a young crowd for this quiet-looking bespectacled, singer / guitarist who sat on his stool and rocked the place apart. Here's a YouTube sample: Idir
A lot more "folky" than Khaled, etc - you can see the way North African music has influenced Spanish.

Another beautiful singer is Souad Massi who, like Khaled, has been forced to live away from her country. She is a singer / writer / acoustic guitarist, and her music would be very accessible to many people from Mudcat. I seem to have lost my YouTube link, so can't reference a sample, but do please check her out.

Norman

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: Will Fly
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 07:23 PM

Sorry, Rafflesbear - should have added that Khaled's music didn't actually miss the UK. He was quite a cult hit here at the time of the "Later" programme. But I think you're right in the case of the others that you mentioned.

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: Will Fly
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 07:20 PM

I loved Khaled from the moment I heard him on Jools Holland's "Later" programme - many years ago now. Aicha and Didi are great tracks, for example. I believe he's domiciled in Paris now, having encountered political troubles at home - anyone have any up-to-date info?

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: NormanD
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 05:42 PM

Rachid Taha: "Rock El Casbah"

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: NormanD
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 05:32 PM

Rachid Taha is the one I go for. His version of The Clash's "Rock The Casbah" (yes, an ironic political slant) is stunning. He is very inspired by The Clash, musically and politically. Do check out his two albums "Diwan" and "Diwan 2", his versions of older Algerian classics that inspired him. Interestingly, his long-term record producer has been Steve Hillage, who used to be part of the psych - trippy band, Gong.

These guys are at the pop / rock end of the market - in fact, they are the market. I would imagine that about as many Algerians listen to their "folk" music as do English people here - that is, a pretty small proportion of the listening / music-buying population. But the various Chebs write and perform music that reflects their national culture, and still manage to take on aspects of European / Western music that don't dilute it.

Thanks for starting this thread, Rafflesbear - it's good to see some discussion about music from the rest of the non-English-speaking world.

Norman

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: frogprince
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 04:34 PM

For the most part, it just sounds to me like darn good sweet soft rock performed by Algerians. A ways in the vocal, at least, gets somewhat more ethnic. Whatever you call it, I'd call it good rousing fun.

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: Rafflesbear
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 04:09 PM

Apologies - first link was meant to be this one

123 soleil

Subject: RE: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: Rafflesbear
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 03:50 PM

Am I on my own thinking this is superb ? - Here's a couple more to try

Ya Rayah

Abdel Kader

I'd love to see these guys at Broadstairs

Subject: Rai - Khaled, Faudel + Taha
From: Rafflesbear
Date: 15 Apr 09 - 06:11 PM

Rai music from Algeria completely missed the UK - maybe because it was not in English and we have a low tolerance to foreign languages - but look at the crowds on these YouTube videos

So what's the point of the thread? - just to put it before you and see what the reaction is. It's big band music and debateable if it's folk music (here we go again) so over to you - what do you think ?

123 soleil

Aicha