Boldly Going Where Bagpipes Have Not Gone Before: Cheb Mami and "Azwaw 2"

Algerian musician and singer-songwriter Mohamed Khelifati, also known as Cheb Mami, brings us the random tune for today, called Azwaw 2. Singing in Algerian Arabic, as well as French and eastern Arabic, Cheb Mami started his musical career in Paris in 1985 after serving in the Algerian military where he entertained at bases. He is known as one of the popular Algerian musicians that helped rejuvenate the genre of raï music. However, his music also blends different traditions such as Turkish, flamenco and Greek music, as well as blending modern singing techniques with more traditional vocal styles. He may be best known among Westerners for his duet with Sting on the song Desert Rose. He also has had negative publicity in France and elsewhere due to accusations and eventual conviction in French courts of drugging and forcing his girlfriend to have an abortion. Sentenced to five years in prison, he served about a year before being granted a conditional release in 2011. Azwaw 2 can be found on his 1999 album Meli Meli, as a live track on his 2004 album Live au Grand Rex, and on the various artists compilation Putumayo Presents: Dublin to Dakar (1999). The song is notable for its use of Scottish bagpipes and violin to complement the traditional Algerian vocals and instrumentation.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheb_Mami

Emotional Devotional: Susheela Raman (with Cheb Mami) and "Nagumomo"

Acclaimed British/Indian musician Susheela Raman brings us the random tune for today, called Nagumomo. Raman's parents are Tamil from southern India who emigrated to London in the mid-60s, where Raman was born, then moved to Australia. Steeped in South Indian classical music because her parents were committed to keeping Tamil culture alive, Raman gave recitals and eventually started her own band concentrating on funk and rock & roll. She later moved into music based more on blues and jazz, then traveled to India to rediscover her music roots and explore Carnatic music. Returning to London, she began working with partner Sam Mills on ways to bridge Indian music with a wider Western audience. She released her first album in 2001, and has recorded five more since then. Nagumomo can be found on her debut album, Salt Rain, released in 2001. You can also find it on the various artists compilation CD Putumayo Presents: India (2009). The original song was written by South Indian mystic and poet-composer Thyagaraja and is a devotional to the Hindu deity Rama. Raman reinterprets the song in a jazz style. A nice bonus on this video is that she is joined on the song by Algerian artist Cheb Mami.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Raï to the World: Cheb Mami and "Viens Habibi"

Today's tune, Viens Habibi, is by Algerian raï singer Ahmed Khelifati Mohamed, better known as Cheb Mami. Mami sings in both Algerian and French, and his music is a mix of influences from Mediterranean and Western music, including Turkish, flamenco, Greek and Latin musics. A resident of Paris, he came to world attention when he sang a duet with Sting on the single Brand New Day. However, he has had a career punctuated by scandal, both for plagiarism in which he had to compensate singer Cheb Rabah in the amount of 200,000 Euros and his arrest in France in 2006 for abuse against an ex-girlfriend. He was supposed to serve five years in prison, but gained a conditional release in 2010. Viens Habibi can be heard on his 2001 album Dellalli, and on the 2005 compilation CD Putumayo Presents: North African Groove.

Catcher in the Raï: Cheb Mami and "Tayo Tayo Adiani"

Algerian raï has been a music of many surprises for me. I'll highlight a few of them here. First is the knowledge that raï is born of struggle and protest, much like western rock music. Largely developed as a combination of different types of music in the 1930s in Oran, Algeria, raï came up from below. Not officially acknowledged as music by Algerian governments that promoted Arabic classical music, raï was outspoken about social issues. Its name derives from a word that singers would use to signal that an opinion was being expressed. The government of Algeria, during French colonization and then after independence, saw raï as a threat to the political and social order, and would often ban it outright. Raï was blamed for several uprisings against the government. However, starting in the late 70s as Algerian governments began to relax their strictures on the music, the raï became more of a challenge to fundamentalist Islam. In fact, Islamic fundamentalists murdered a popular raï singer in 1994 for allowing himself to be kissed by women during a televised concert.

Second, raï is an amalgamation of a number of different musics, and in that way it is like a sponge, soaking up everything around it. Originating from music and songs, called zendanis, sung by poor people in the bars of Oran, it quickly incorporated elements of musics such as medh (songs of praise to Mohammed) and the music of cheikhas (songs with hedonistic lyrics sung by women in alluring dress) and often resembled a kind of Algerian cabaret aimed at the poor and working class. From there it began to pick up elements of Spanish flamenco, gnawa, and French cabaret. Unlike many other musics from Arab countries, women played a key role in raï's development and it also developed in conjunction with dancing. Raï continues to be a sponge. In the 70s, reggae added its voice to raï. As raï began to increase in international popularity, it began to absorb even more Western influences, such as funk, rock, hip hop and other genres in the 1990s. Some of the most interesting hybrids of raï developed as a result of this infusion of new styles, including folk raï, pop raï, and even the raï punk of Rachid Taha.

One might listen to one raï song and not realize that complex and interesting history. I sure didn't know the roots of raï, but having been raised during a time when music was a voice of protest, I can certainly appreciate the role it has played in Algerian society, both as a modernizing force and as the messenger alternately informing Algerians of their social situation and warning against governmental and religious oppression. One of the foremost voices in this latter stage of raï's development is that of a man often called The Prince of Raï, Cheb Mami. Cheb Mami is the stage name of Ahmed Khelifati Mohamed, who sang in a radio contest in 1982 at the age of 16. This was during a time of governmental oppression of raï and despite the fact that he was clearly the best, he was not allowed to win the competion. However he so captivated the audience that he was awarded second prize. It was there that he was discovered by a producer, and shortly after he began releasing cassette recordings. In 1985 he moved to Paris and began to develop his own style of raï, including incorporating elements of his musical idols such as Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and French rapper MC Solaar. Continuing the raï tradition of fusion with other musics, he also incorporates flamenco, Turkish and Greek music into his form of raï. After a 1999 duet with Sting in the song Desert Rose, he came to greater attention in America with appearances on many of the top late-night shows, morning shows, the Grammys and even the Super Bowl. He then released a very successful album, Dellali, produced by Nile Rodgers.

This song, Tayo Tayo Adiani, is from his 2008 album Douni L'bladi.