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