Oh Traveler: Rachid Taha and "Ya Rayah"

Today's random tune is by the late Rachid Taha and is called Ya Rayah. Based in France, Taha's music was 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, called Carte Secours, in 1981 and became lead vocalist. Later in the 80s he went solo, and in 1989 he recorded with producer Don Was. However, playing Arabic style beats 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 was known for playing the mandolute, a fretted oud. He is described as an eclectic artist who was gregarious, quick with a smile, and who loved to party through the night. He also claimed he was the inspiration for The Clash's Rock the Casbah. Taha passed away at the age of 59 from a heart attack in September of 2018. Ya Rayah can be found on his 1993 album Rachid Taha, on his 1998 album Diwân, on the 2001 album Rachid Taha - Live, on the soundtrack to the 2013 movie Cheba Louisa, and on a number of various artists compilations. The song is a chaâbi song that addresses a traveler.

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.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachid_Taha