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Modern music with links to Algeria
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Daily Local News, Modern music with links to Algeria >>
Rachid Taha's music is a raw, energetic blend. Tonight, he'll be in Philadelphia's Kimmel Center for one of just four U.S. shows.
His primary influence is Algerian rai, along with rock and British punk.
There isn't only rai," Taha said. "My music has always been more influenced by chaabi, an old style of North African pop, which I've always loved because of its poetry and rebelliousness.
"In fact, Algerian chaabi originally comes from Morocco, but you have to realize that, at one time, those two countries were one," he said. "The border between them was a colonial concoction. You can say that Andalusian classical music is the tree, and chaabi, rai and what have you are the branches."
On his album "Rock el Casbah: The Best Of," one of the key songs is "Ya Rayah," an old song written by the Algerian Berber legend Dahmane El Harrachi.
When asked if he felt a link to the musician because of the parallels in their lives, Taha replied, "Absolutely. Dahman El Harrachi was our Woody Guthrie - a singer for the working man. I identified with his anger, his frustrations, the same way that many immigrant working people did.
"His main strengths were his humor and festive approach to music, while simultaneously maintaining a profound understanding of life and its challenges. I try to emulate his approach to music."
With regard to the punk element, Taha wrote "Rock el Casbah," an Arabic version of The Clash favorite, as a tribute to the band's late frontman, Joe Strummer. Taha was so concerned about staying faithful to the original lyrics that he hired an Arabic professor to make sure that the lyrics were exactly right
Creating a musical bridge between Clash-style punk and Cheb Khaled-style rai did not pose any problem.
"I grew up in that maelstrom of musical influences," Taha said. "My father listened to rai and my friends listened to rock. We worked in factories and we were angry. We went to weddings and we laughed and danced. It was all mixed together, so -- no difficulty. And, as for Khaled-style rai, I'm older than him, so I knew rai before he did."
Even though rai music in immensely popular in North Africa and around Europe, it has never caught on with American audiences.
"Maybe rai will become popular in America," Taha said. "Some people think it's too late, but I'm not sure that's true. I hope it'll be sung by someone that has a strong message to communicate. Maybe it'll be me. Who knows?" 07/10/08 >> go there
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