Song of Love: Rachid Taha and "Kelma"

The random song for today is by Algerian artist Rachid Taha. Kelma first appeared on his 1995 CD Olé, Olé and then on his 1997 CD Carte Blanche. Now based in France, Taha's music is influenced by rock, punk, electronica and Algerian raï and has been described as "sonically adventurous." He first became exposed to music through his Algerian culture, but moved to France as a child where in his teens he worked menial jobs during the day but DJ'd at night playing Arab music, rap, funk, salsa and other music. He also soaked up raï, which was a music of political protest in Algeria during the 1980s. He co-founded a rock band in 1981 and became lead vocalist. Later in the 80s he went solo, and in 1989 he recorded with producer Don Was playing Arabic style beats, but didn't achieve much success with American audiences. In 1998 he recorded his breakthrough album Diwan, which were remakes of songs from Algerian and Arab traditions. He is known for playing the mandolute, essentially a fretted oud. He is described as an eclectic artist who is gregarious, quick with a smile, and who loves to party through the night. He also claims he is the inspiration for The Clash's Rock the Casbah.

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.