the only place on the net where you can find hidden music gems from all the world countries beyond the usual conventional routes! The Dugongo will guide you to the most remote corners in search of unconventional sounds, forgotten musical scenes and legendary artists, unknown outside their borders.
Gjurmët (trans. The Traces) was a Yugoslav new wave band formed in Pristina. The band is notable for being one of the first Yugoslav rock bands formed by Kosovo Albanians and the first new wave band from SAP Kosovo. Gjurmët was formed and led by Migjen Kelmendi (vocals, rhythm guitar). The band released only one self-titled album before disbanding in 1986. The band made three one-off reunions, in 1988, 2015 and 2019.
The band was formed in 1980 by Migjen Kelmendi (vocals, rhythm guitar), the son of the writer and journalist Ramiz Kelmendi, inspired by the expansion of the Yugoslav new wave scene. The lineup also included Armando Gjini (piano, synthesizer), Tomor Kurshumliu (vocals, bass guitar), Gazmend Hasbahta (lead guitar), Petrit Riza (drums) and Bekim Dyla (lead guitar). During the same year, the band recorded their first song, being the first new wave song recorded in SAP Kosovo.
In 1982 the band recorded the song "Karrigat" ("Chair"), which Radio Television of Pristina refused to play due to its political-related lyrics. Afterwards the band recorded "Mikrofoni" ("Microphones"), which also had political lyrics but was accepted by Radio Television of Pristina. In 1984 Armando Gjini joined the band as the keyboardist. During the same year, the band recorded the material for their debut album, which was released the following year as a self-titled album. The reason for the delay was the controversial album cover, which featured dancers performing the traditional Albanian "eagle dance", making the shape of a double-headed eagle with their posture. Eventually, the album was released by Radio Television of Pristina, on compact cassette only, featuring the band's photo on the front cover; in the image, Kelmendi is looking at his wrist watch as a comment on the release delay. The album featured a combination of new wave, post-punk, reggae rock and folk music.
In 1986, the band disbanded due to Migjen Kelmendi having been called for his mandatory service in the Yugoslav army. In 1988 the members of the band got back together, only to record one more song as a nod to their home city, "Heroi i Qytetit Pa Lum" ("Hero of the City without a River").
Gjurmët LP, second album of the band Gjurmët released in 2002. Kelmendi became a journalist and was head of editing for the program Contacto on Radio Television of Pristina (1988-1990), executive producer of Victoria Television of New York (1996) and of the Programme Albanian Satellite (1997-1999), and director of television of Radio Television of Kosovo (2000-2001). He was also the founder of the weekly magazine Epoca (1991) and of the literary magazine MM (1996), and is currently editor of the weekly newspaper Java, which he founded in 2001. He has written four books, including To Change The World: A Short History of The Traces, about his musical career. Kurshumliu got a degree in economy and worked as a counselor in the Executive Council of Kosovo. During the 1989 abolition of the autonomy of the Province of Kosovo, he was fired from his job and moved to London. Riza got a degree in law and continued his career after the dissolution of Gjurmët as a drummer for the band Haliband. Dyla got a degree in architecture. After the rise of Slobodan Milošević to power, he moved to Switzerland, residing in Geneva and working as a designer. Gjini continued his musical career as a composer, and after Milošević's rise to power moved to Croatia.
In 2002, a compilation album LP, featuring a collection of material the band had recorded in the course of the 1980s, was released. The album upon release also featured Migjen Kelmendi's book Gjurmët LP. In 2022 the album was made available at the Internet Archive.
The band reunited in 2015 to perform a concert in Palace of Congresses in Tirana, Albania, on December 29. The concert featured several guest singers from Albania and Kosovo, including the rapper MC Kresha, who, the day before the concert, released the song "Era", recorded in collaboration with Gjurmët. After the 2015 reunion, Gjurmët reunited once again in 2019 and made a concert in the Palace of Youth and Sports in Pristina, on June 12. The money from the concert went to the Prenk Jakova School of Music in honor of its 70th anniversary. Gjurmët also received the Key of Pristina for the concert by the mayor of the city, Shpend Ahmeti.
Myslovitz is the most popular rock band to emerge from Poland in the late Nineties. They took the name from the city where they were born, Myslowice, making it the new capital of the local alternative scene. Guitarist and vocalist Artur Rojek started the band in 1992 as "The Freshmen", taking the initial name from the 1990 film The Freshman, starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, indicating a fascination with cinema that would become a characteristic feature throughout the band's career. In 1994 they changed their name to Myslovitz. The band's early phase was characterised by a somewhat debonair punk attitude, as Rojek admits:
"I started Myslovitz in 1992. I was twenty then and I had no idea how to make good music. Surely, I was a big fan of a few British groups (Ride, Stone Roses, My Bloody Valentine, Housemartins) but I couldn't play the guitar at all. After several months of rehearsals […] I decided that I should cover the holes in my musical education by […] chaos (the bigger the better)."
Even so, they soon caught the media's attention, winning several important competitions for young musicians. This enabled them to make their first professional recordings in the studio of Radio Lodz. In 1994, Myslovitz were signed by MJM Music Pl and recorded their self-titled debut album with British producer Ian Harris, who had previously worked for, amongst others, Joy Division, New Order, and The Exploited. Upon its release in 1995, the album received euphoric reviews and was declared "Debut of the Year" by several music magazines. Some critics compared it to Oasis, who were at the peak of their popularity at that time. In 1996, Myslovitz were joined by a third guitarist and keyboarder, Przemek Myszor, and released the second album Sun Machine on Sony Music Polska. The album spawned two somewhat beatlesque airplay hits - Z twarzą Marilyn Monroe ("With a Face Like...") and Peggy Brown, the latter being a cover version of a fellow Mysłowice rock band, with lyrics originally by the Irish "national bard" Turlough O'Carolan (in a translation by the Polish lyricist and translator Ernest Bryll).
The following year, the third album Z rozmyślań przy śniadaniu ("From meditations over breakfast") was released, displaying a tendency towards a more "polished" sound and more introspective lyrics. Also, Myslovitz's now typical fascination with cinema began to take centre stage with numerous allusions and hints in the lyrics and track titles, and a certain "cinematic" atmosphere in the music itself. The band's interest in cinema also showed in their contributions to soundtracks. In 1998, they recorded the unconventional track To nie był film ("That was no film") for the Polish movie Młode wilki ½ ("Young Wolves ½"). The lyrics referred to a wave of violent crimes committed by juvenile delinquents, which was controversially discussed in Polish mass media in the mid-1990s. The explicit depiction of violence in the lyrics and the accompanying video clip (which later won a Fryderyk award as "Video of the Year") caused further controversy and led Polish broadcasting networks to boycott both the song and the clip. Also in 1998, Myslovitz had their first appearances abroad with shows in Sweden, Germany, and the United States.
The final breakthrough for the band came in 1999 with their fourth album entitled Miłość w czasach popkultury ("Love in The Time of Pop Culture"), which went platinum (i.e. 150,000 copies sold) soon and has by now achieved "double platinum" status in Poland. The single Długość dzwięku samotności ("[The Length of the] Sound of Solitude") became the biggest hit for the band so far. If "Miłość..." had been produced by an English band, today it would be considered a classic of the late Britpop era, as it contains some amazing songs. "Chłopcy" is introduced by a refined stratification of riffs and guitar effects, "Długość dźwięku samotności" is a touching love song with lounge-pop sounds, "Gdzieś" has some nice rhythm tricks and an explosive chorus, "My" is a softly depressive midtempo pierced by some subtle feedback noises, "Noc" is a celestial crescendo guided by acoustic guitars and percussions.
In 2000 Myslovitz again contributed to soundtracks, writing and recording the song Polowanie na wielbłąda ("Camel Hunting") for the movie The Big Animal (Duże zwierzę) by the legendary Polish actor and director Jerzy Stuhr, and the single plus another two (previously unreleased) tracks to director Waldemar Szarek's movie "That's Us" (To my). In 2003 Myslovitz continued their cooperation with Stuhr, creating not only the title song for his movie "Tomorrow's Weather", but also appearing in walk-on roles - as neophyte monks. In 2002, the follow-up to Miłość..., entitled Korova Milky Bar appeared; the title being an allusion to Stanley Kubrick's classic screen version of Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange. Strikingly, the melancholic elements took over almost completely, with both music and (sometimes sarcastic) lyrics creating an overall downcast mood. Nonetheless, the album sold even more copies than its predecessor had in the same amount of time, with the singles Acidland and Sprzedawcy marzeń ("Dreamsellers") repeating the success of Długość... three years earlier.
The reason for the new material's popularity, as some critics surmised, was that its atmosphere closely conformed to a presumed resignative-recessive mood within Polish society at large - which guitarist Przemek Myszor seemed to confirm in an interview for the Montreal Mirror: "For us, the Korova Milky Bar [from Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange'] is a place where something different may happen to your mind. It's a place like today's Poland. You know, Poland is a place where very strange things happen to your mind. It's a country full of crisis and everything around you is very sad, very dark, very fucked. There is an economic crisis here. People don't have money, politics are fucked. The lyrics on our record are sad because of this. We sing a lot about being in a strange state of mind". With Korova Milky Bar, Myslovitz appeared at several festivals throughout Europe, including the big, traditional German festival for Alternative acts (Bizarre) and the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival. Also, they supported Iggy Pop and the Simple Minds on their European tours that year. Also, they received an MTV Europe Music Awards in Barcelona for Best Polish Act, having been nominated twice in previous years. In November 2002 Myslovitz signed a new contract with EMI's Polish outlet Pomaton. The first album to be released on the new label was an English-language re-recording of Korova Milky Bar, which was released in 27 countries (including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Spain, Russia, Turkey and South Africa). In addition to the Korova... material, this version also included English versions of older tracks. "Długość dzwięku samotności" now became a single as "The Sound of Solitude"' (an earlier English version, somewhat awkwardly but more correctly entitled "The Length of The Solitude Sound", had been a Polish b-side). A video clip for this song was directed Janusz Kamiński, the Polish Hollywood cinematographer who had won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography with Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, and had declined an offer from Martin Scorsese in order to work with Myslovitz. Kaminski declares himself a "fan" of Myslovitz, saying "I only work for Spielberg and Myslovitz [...] Money is not a factor in this. What one doesn't do for one's idols!" The clip got frequent plays on MTV Europe and the album received positive reviews in the European music press, particularly in Germany. However, radio airplay was sporadic and largely limited to Alternative programmes (such as John Peel in the UK), as a consequence, Myslovitz so far failed to enter the upper reaches of the charts outside Poland.
Also in 2003, Myslovitz performed with Travis and Skin (of Skunk Anansie fame) on The Road to Edinburgh, where they received another MTV Europe Music Award for Best Polish Act. The same year, Sony Music domestically released an obligatory end-of-contract compilation album, entitled The Best of. The lead single Kraków was an older song re-recorded with 1970s Polish folk rock stars Marek Grechuta and Anawa. In the summer of 2004 Myslovitz were touring Europe again, starting with a concert for the German public radio and television broadcaster WDR on the eve of EU enlargement. Apart from headlining smaller venues and playing festival slots (including the largest Swiss open-air event in St. Gallen, they again opened for Iggy Pop & The Stooges on their European dates, as well as for The Corrs in the UK and mainland Europe. In December 2004, EMI released Myslovitz's most recent album entitled Skalary, mieczyki, neonki ("Angelfish, swordtails, neon tetras") - an out-of-schedule release with outtakes from the Korova Milky Bar recording sessions; longform, psychedelic-experimental and downbeat instrumental soundscapes took center stage. Skalary... earned Myslovitz comparisons to Radiohead and Pink Floyd. At the time, the band had finished recording of their new album Happiness Is Easy; it was released in May 2006. Myslovitz's success arguably contributed to a revitalisation of the Polish alternative rock scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which spawned bands such as eM, Kombajn do zbierania kur po wioskach, and Lili Marlene. In April 2012, frontman and co-founder Artur Rojek left the band after twenty years to pursue a solo career and continue work as creative director for the annual OFF Festival. Rojek was replaced by singer Michał Kowalonek, who left the band in 2018 (exactly six years to the day of Rojek's departure).
Polikalepo Likuvalu (aka Poli Lautaka) born in the town of Alo in the small Pacific island of Futuna is surely the best known artist from Walis & Futuna. Obviously in this small pacific state there were no music industry, so in order to record his music he moved at the end of 70 to New Caledonia, where a small cassettes music industry and a numerous comunity of Futunians were present. It is impossible to retrieve his discography, but surely he recorded several albums, acquiring a great popularity all over pacific islands, especially among futunians emigrates.
He is still active and loved nowadays as you can see from the views on Youtube of his songs.
I uploaded the only album i was able to retrieve and surely it is good one. From 1981 "Folklore de Futuna" it is an interesting mix of traditional futunian folk and western singer-songwriter music. The production and the recording is of course amateurish, but anyway acceptable.
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (30 September 1946 – 29 June 1993),[3] better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe, know also as “Cantante de los Cantantes” (Singer of the singers) is considered to be possibly the best and most important singer and interpreter in the history of salsa music because he helped to establish the popularity of this musical genre in the decades of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. His personality, style and the qualities of his voice led him to a successful artistic career in the whole field of Latin music and salsa during the 1970s and 1980s. The cleanness and brightness of his voice, coupled with impeccable diction and the ability to sing long and fast phrases with total naturalness, made him one of the favorite singers of the Latin public.
(with Willie Colon)
Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelo Abajo barrio of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended Escuela Libre de Música de Ponce, known today as the Instituto de Música Juan Morel Campos and, inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo, developed an interest in music. He moved to New York City on 3 May 1963, at the age of sixteen. Shortly after his arrival, he worked as the singer in a sextet formed by Roberto García. During this period, he performed with several other groups, including Orquesta New York, Kako All-Stars, and Johnny Pacheco's band.
In 1967, Lavoe joined Willie Colón's band as its vocalist, recording several hit songs, including "El Malo" and "Canto a Borinquen." Lavoe moved on to become a soloist and formed his own band performing as lead vocalist. As a soloist, Lavoe recorded several hits including: "El cantante" composed by Rubén Blades , "Bandolera" composed by Colón, and "Periódico de ayer", composed by Tite Curet Alonso. During this period he was frequently featured as a guest singer with the Fania All Stars recording numerous tracks with the band.
In 1979, Lavoe became deeply depressed and sought the help of a high priest of the Santería faith to treat his drug addiction. After a short rehabilitation, he relapsed following the deaths of his father, son, and mother-in-law. These events, along with being diagnosed with HIV, drove Lavoe to attempt suicide by jumping off a Condado hotel room balcony in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He survived the attempt and recorded an album before his health began failing. Lavoe died on 29 June 1993, from a complication of AIDS.
Today we bring you 'Comedia', his best album with musical content rich in Latin rhythms and everything that identifies us as owners of this blessed land, as it is: Latin America.
Héctor Lavoe was known the famous "Singer of the Singers", but in 1977 he was not yet known by that artistic name, so this album that we have brought you on this occasion has a deeper history and Like Chaplin , Lavoe went into self-imposed exile in 1977 due to serious depression problems, which led him to leave the stage after his great successes between 1970-1976. But one of the best ways to rekindle that flame of the great musician that Lavoe was, it was, of course, music. This is when Willie Colón arrives to show off all his skills as a producer, achieving a complete facelift of his former partner in “misdeeds” with his orchestra between 1967-1973. In this album we find wonderful songs and we walk through genres such as Bomba, Samba, Bossa Nova, Bolero, Guaguancó, Son Montuno and some flashes of Jazz under the arrangements of Willie Colón, José Febles, Luis "Perico" Ortiz and Edwin Rodriguez. Nowadays, a classic such as "El Cantante" by Ruben Blades and arranged by Colón is still heard. Colón himself was the one who contacted Blades, since both had been working since 1975 and by the end of 1977 they were working as an official duo (of his works we can remember the wonderful “Siembra” from 1978, an album considered the best in the history of salsa).
“El Cantante” was definitely an immediate success on all Latin music charts in the United States and Latin America, becoming the song that would consecrate Héctor Lavoe and lead him to be a music legend. Lavoe adopted it as his own and imprinted all his feelings on it, an autobiographical lyrics by Blades for himself, but Héctor could see how his life was reflected in such a composition, achieving a classic, where he ends up imposing his best phrases for posterity.
Then we can find songs like “La Verdad” written by Yin Carrizo, also arranged by Willie Colon , full of Samba and Son Montuno, the explosive “Bandolera” composed by Victor Cavalli and arranged by the late José Febles , with a majestic piano solo by Gilberto “Pulpo” Colón and the explosive voice of Lavoe in his soneos. The heartbreaking bolero “Because I met you” arranged by Edwin Rodriguez. And the well-remembered “Songoro Cosongo” arranged again by the mythical José Febles , a song where you can see that Lavoe came from the old school.
This album was recorded in the studios of La Tierra Sound Studios in New York, in which musicians participated in addition to those already mentioned above, such as: Salvador Cuevas , José Rodriguez , Reynaldo Jorge , Jose Mangual Jr , Eddie Montalvo (Except in "El Cantante ” and “La Verdad”), Milton Cardona (Only in “El Cantante” and “La Verdad”) José Signo , Steve Berrios (Only in “El Cantante” & “La Verdad”) and Eddie Natal. It was mixed entirely by Willie Colon himself , except for the song "Bandolera" which was mixed by Jon Fausty . The album's original photography was by Yoshi Ohara and original design by Michael Ginsburg/Gazebo Group with art direction by Alberta Dering.
TRACKLIST
A1El Cantante 10:17
Written-By – Ruben Blades
A2Comedia3:21
Written-By – José A. Espinosa
A3La Verdad 5:30
Written-By – Yin Carrizo
A4Tiempos Pasados 4:23
Written By – D.R.
B1Bandolera 9:32
Written-By – Victor Cavalli
B2Porque Te Conoci? 4:45
Written By – D.R.
B3Songoro Consongo 7:46
Written-By – Eliseo Grenet, Nicolás Guillén
Credits
Voice - Hector Lavoe
Backing Vocals - Héctor Lavoe , Willie Colón , José Mangual Jr. , Milton Cardona (On " El Cantante " and " La Verdad ") and Eddie Natal
Trombones - José Rodríguez and Reinaldo Jorge
Trumpets - Luis “Perico” Ortiz (Trumpet solo on « Bandolera ») , José Febles and Lew Soloff (Trumpet solo on « El Cantante »)
Bongo - Jose Mangual Jr.
Conga - Eddie Montalvo (Except in " El Cantante " and " La Verdad ") and Milton Cardona (In " El Cantante " and " La Verdad ")
Drums - Jose Signo (Except in " El Cantante " and " La Verdad ")
Timbales - Steve Berrios (In « El Cantante » and « La Verdad ») and José Mangual Jr. (In « Tiempos Pasados »)
Percussion - Steve Berrios (On " El Cantante " and " La Verdad ")
Piano and Electric Piano - Gilberto “Pulpo” Colón Jr.
Bass - Salvador Cuevas* Acoustic guitar - José Febles (Only for the song « Past Times »)
Violin - Alfredo de La Fe
Producer - Willie Colon
Musical arrangements – Willie Colón , Luis “Perico” Ortiz, José Febles and Edwin Rodríguez
Symphonic Arrangements - Marty Sheller
Sound Engineer – Jon Fausty, Mario Salvati and Irv Greenbaum
Musical mix - Willie Colón and Jon Fausty (For « Bandolera »)
Original Album Photography - Yoshi Ohara
Original LP Cover Design - Michael Ginsburg/Gazebo Group
One of the most brilliant and original characters on the Indonesian scene, Djauhar Zaharsjah Fachruddin Roesli, better known as Harry Roesli, will make an infinite number of albums in the second half of the seventies that earn him the deserved epithet of Frank Zappa of Indonesia. More than in the music itself, the similarities between these two great artists can be found in the overwhelming creativity and originality and in the sarcastic approach in the lyrics and music. Among indonesian artists Harry is one of the most authentically Indonesian and his music is the one that pays less debt with the West. This is why he could also be the most difficult artist to assimilate.
Roesli debut in 1973 with the release of the first and only Philosophy Gang record, a seminal record for the development of Indonesian prog but quite immature and which still paid debt to Western music. After the Philosophy Gang chapter, Harry begins a very long solo career, a bit discontinuous, but in which he will reach peaks of absolute excellence.
First, in 1973 he founded the Ken Arok theater company, carrying the musical work of the same name around until 1975, when he disbanded the company to go to Holland to study composition at the Rotterdam Conservatory. In 1976 the album "Ken Arok" was released, testimony of the homonymous musical work and manifesto of the poetics that will characterize his subsequent production. "Ken Arok" definitely breaks with the previous album, it is a real rock opera in Indonesian sauce. Elements of the Indonesian tradition begin to make their way into Roesli's music. Although still a little bit unripe, the result is surprising!
With the subsequent "Titik Api", in 1976, the definitive turning point takes place, Harry almost completely abandons Western stylistic features and begins an experiment in an attempt to blend traditional Indonesian pentatonic music with Western diatonic music (an approach that will be taken in ways other than Gurh Gipsy). Roesli and his band wonderfully combine Indonesian traditional music and their instruments with classic rock instruments: bass, guitars, drums and keyboards. In particular, the latter and how they naturally blend with the dynamics of gamelan, are the hallmark of the Indonesian artist's music. Older brother of "Ken Arok", the album "Titik Api" sublimates Roesli's poetics and becomes the absolute pinnacle of his discography and Indonesian prog in general. In “Titik Api”, unlike almost all the Indonesian prog albums of the period, there is no trace of bands like Genesis, Yes, Uriah Heep, Pink Floyd or other English prog groups; Roesli defines his style in a unique and original way as no one else has ever succeeded and will succeed in the musical panorama of the archipelago!
In addition to these two works, between '76 and '79, Harry will release an infinite number of albums: "Gadis Plastik" and "Tiga Bendera" ('77), "Jika Hari Tak Berangin", "Daun", "Ode To Ode "and" LTO "in '78 and" Kota Gelap "in '79. In addition, the two records resulting from the collaboration with the vocal ensemble Kharisma.
With "Tigra Bendera" we return a little more to Western music, but the result is still great. There are now references to Pink Floyd, Santana, ELP and especially Gentle Giant, with extensive use of the typical counterpoint of the English band. The following "Gadis Plastik" is a little less progressive and a little more pop, with funk and bluesy streaks, the latter due to the harmonica of his faithful collaborator Harry Pochang (former member of the Philosophy Gang). The 1978 records, albeit inferior, present interesting ideas, continuing along the lines of “Gadis Plastik”. An exception is the splendid EP "Daun" which is certainly the most progressive and not surprisingly published by SM. Between '77 and '78 the two collaborations with the vocal ensemble Kharisma (in which a very young Fariz RM also participates in the drums) also stand out, discs always poised between melodic and more experimental solutions and where in some points involuntarily recalling also the Magma. In particular, the second shows us the most experimental and ingenious Roesli that we had left in Titik Api and Ken Arok.
To close the golden cycle is "Kota Gelap", a disc, not exceptional, with more hard rock ideas that closes the most creative and prolific period of the Frank Zappa discography of Indonesia. He then definitively concentrated on his studies, returning to the land of Holland. He will then work for soundtracks, will engage politically and disseminate Indonesian music, but will no longer produce works up to this period.
Hamid Cheriet (Kabyle: Ḥamid Ceryat; 25 October 1945 – 2 May 2020), better known by his stage name Idir, was an Algerian Kabyle singer-songwriter and musician. Referred to as the "King of Amazigh music", he is regarded as one of the more significant modern day figures in Algerian and Amazigh culture, history, and struggle. Along with musicians like Ferhat Mehenni and Lounis Aït Menguellet, Idir helped popularize Kabylian folk music. Initially training to be a geologist, his interest for music was piqued when he was called to sing on state radio as a late substitute. After finishing his compulsory military service, he moved to France in 1975 and embarked on his career in music. Idir took a hiatus during the 1980s before returning in 1993. He was a passionate advocate of the Kabyle and Berber cultures.
Idir was born in Aït Lahcene, Aït Yenni, Tizi Ouzou Province (part of French Algeria at the time), on 25 October 1945.He originally studied to become a geologist and worked at an oil and gas field. In 1973, he was asked to be a late substitute for Nouara on Radio Algeria. He sang "A Vava Inouva", a lullaby that incorporated the "rich oral traditions" of his Berber culture. Although the song became popular, both in Algeria and abroad, Idir did not learn about this until after he finished his military conscription. In 1975, he left for France to begin working on his debut album, also titled A Vava Inouva. The title track was translated into seven languages and became a major success. Idir would later comment how "the song had chosen [him]". The song A Vava Inouva – inspired by a traditional story about a young girl trying to save her father from danger – carved out a new juncture at the intersection of several pathways. These included worldwide movements of decolonisation, revalorizations of cultural heritage, and new technologies like the cassette tape. Idir also sought recognition of his Tamazight language and Amazigh culture, in opposition to Algeria’s dominant Arabo-Islamic ideological orientation.
These pathways came together in A Vava Inouva. It turned out that Idir’s return to the village was inspired by what he saw happening in the world. A Vava Inouva is built around the sung refrain of a story that grandmothers had long told throughout Kabylia. Idir set the well-known refrain between new verses penned by Ben Mohamed. In typical village scenes the grandmother spins her tale, surrounded by family members engaged in their own activities, snow falling softly outside. When the song hit the Algerian airwaves, it was electrifying: a friend reported seeing people walking backwards down an escalator to hear it playing over a store’s ground-floor speakers.
It was also the first Algerian song to play on French national radio, in 1975, coinciding with the first visit of a French president (Valéry Giscard d’Estaing) to Algeria since Algerian independence in 1962. From there, the song took off, reportedly selling some 200,000 copies by 1978. It would be translated into over a dozen languages and taken up by groups around the world.
After releasing the album Ay Arrac Nneɣ, he took a break from writing music throughout the 1980s. Idir re-entered the music industry in 1993 when he released the album Les Chasseurs de Lumières ("The Light Hunters"). He became known as an ardent advocate of the Kabyle and Berber cultures. In 1995, he performed together with fellow Berber Lounès Matoub, who was murdered three years later. His 1999 album, Identités, featured him singing with Manu Chao, Dan Ar Braz, Maxime Le Forestier, Gnawa Diffusion, Zebda, Gilles Servat, Geoffrey Oryema, and the Berber National Orchestra. It was ultimately a widespread success. Idir's release of the album La France des Couleurs ("France of Colors") coincided with the 2007 French presidential election, in which Idir championed multiculturalism and immigration. He released his final album, Ici et Ailleurs ("Here and Elsewhere") in 2017. The following year, he returned to his native Algeria after being away for 38 years, since 1980. He held a concert there in support of the Algerian protests that eventually led to the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Idir died on 2 May 2020 in Paris at age 70. He had been suffering from pulmonary fibrosis and was hospitalized two days before his death. News of his death was first announced on his official Facebook page, apparently posted by his children. A message of condolence conveyed by Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the President of Algeria, via Twitter praised Idir as "an icon of Algerian art" and stated that the country had "lost one of its monuments".
Idir participated in many concerts supporting different causes. For example, on 22 June 1995, more than 6,000 people attended a concert for peace, freedom, and tolerance performed by him and his friend, singer Khaled, initiators of the association "La France, la Vie" ("France and Life"). Idir also took part in the concert in memory of Lounès Matoub, the Kabyle singer who was assassinated in 1998. In 2001, Idir defended his national identity once again at "Le Zénith" in Paris at the "21st Berber Spring", a celebration of Berber culture. On 8 July that year, he organised a special fund-raising concert to support the population in Kabylie, at a time when anti-government riots were taking place in the predominantly-Berber region. Idir was joined by a number of stars and thousands of French fans who turned out to "Le Zénith" to support the population in Kabylie. In Algeria, Idir’s songs gave Kabyles a sense that their culture counted: that Amazigh customs and traditions were not backward or outmoded but could form a part of a modern Algerian nation. The songs helped lay the foundation for the widespread revalorisation of this heritage in later decades. At the same time, they created a sense of rootedness and a feeling of home for the many Algerians living in the diaspora.
Si Lemhaf is a tunisian musical and visual project created in 2009 by the electronic producers Mehdi and Mondher, both are born in Tunis and moved to Munich, Germany in 2004 to accomplish their studies and enlarge their knowledge and musical talent. The project consists of Si Lemhaf’s music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a real “Teddy Bear” as a mascot. LEMHAF is an old tunisian word and means “Smart, astucious, like a fox” .. later on,the word “Si” (means Mister) has been added to Lemhaf. Si Lemhaf = Mr. Smart , refers to the Teddy Bear.
Mehdi, is Singer/Songwriter and composer.
Mondher is Guitarist,composer and plays percussions, and also affords the Live Backing Vocals.
Together they produce, mix and arrange their own releases. Moreover the LIVE BAND of Si Lemhaf has 4 other members:
Drums : Rami Ramirez
Lead Guitar : Aymen Scoola
Bass Guitar : Aymen Bach
DJ/Fx : Spi
Through combining elements of Synthie pop, Pop Rock, Electronic, Hip Hop and Dubstep with tunisian lyrics, posted in a form of appropriate and creative animation videos, Lemhaf gained in tunisia a large online following with their groundbreaking Facebook Fanpage. With the support of their excited fan base, they were able to quickly reach the presence of their music in all local Media in Tunisia. Their first breakthrough was with the song “Dephasé” in 2010, 6 months after the appearence of the “Si Lemhaf” project. 2 Albums have been released within the first 2 Years of the appearence ( “7ess” 2011 and “Kharej Mel 7it” 2012 )
In September 2011, after a serie of successful evocative songs posted during the tunisian revolution, the duo was invited to take part on a song on the initiative of the United Nations Development UNDP. The purpose of this song was to support the electoral process and to invite young people to mobilize for their future and get involved in the Tunisia of tomorrow. Beside the great performance, the song was composed and arranged by Mehdi and Mondher and has received great reviews and opened several new doors for them. December 2011, the band was chosen and assigned by the Coca Cola Company and SFBT group to write, compose and perform a song to support the tunisian national football team in its qualification during the 2012 CAF Africa Cup. The video to the hymn “Kharrej Legrinta Elli Fik” was shot in a mercurial atmosphere of tunisian football fans and with the friendly participation of several national team players having fun and singing with Si Lemhaf. The video posted on YouTube has reached over one million clicks within a few days, to be the worldwide most shared video in the social media networks for two weeks.
In 2012, Mehdi and Mondher joined the youth network Y-peer as embassadors from Tunisia. With it’s membership, the musicians will officially represent the network and promote the key themes among teenagers (which are responsible attitude towards their health, HIV/AIDS, how to protect themselves from drugs, say “no” and be able to resist peer pressure). In this context and on behalf of UNFPA, Si Lemhaf produced a song for Y-PEER “Hekayat Fi Bladi” with the collaboration of Karim Kamel (Egypt Embassador), Dani Dimitrovska (Macedonia Embassador). The song was recorded in July and filmed in November 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. Besides that, Si Lemhaf have worked on productions for other Artists like Phenix, Bendir Man and Sabri Mosbah . Late 2012 hey have participated as jury in a talent casting organized by DanUp. they choosed AZIZA as a winner and produced her first single “enjanna7 wentir” in collaboration with Bayrem Kilani, the song was released on 21.03.2013 and gone on top of the most played songs in the national Media.
March 2013, bad luck for the band, Mehdi had to deal with facial palsy illness for an indefinite time, they had to cancel their schedueled second live tour. However they had thereby much more opportunities to spend time in studios for experimentation and recording their third album “Ak7el wa7mer”. The duo is also credited with producing songs that are considered as “The birth of the tunisian Pop Music”, they were pioneers at bringing the electronic genre to the forefront of the tunisian culture .. and they intend to stay that way, positive and innovative !
Abdel Halim Hafez, known as "The Nightingale", was an iconic Egyptian singer and actor. His immense popularity has inspired a religious-like devotion by many Egyptians who still celebrate him every year. He starred in some of the most memorable movies in the 1950s and 60s, the golden age of Egyptian cinema, including Dalila, the first color film in the Middle East. Abdel Halim was not just a singer; he played several instruments, including the piano, oboe, guitar, and oud. His songs are known worldwide. In fact, you might recognize one of his melodies, “Khosara”, composed by Baligh Hamdy, which was sampled by Jay-Z in 1999 in his song "Big Pimpin," and resulted in a copyright lawsuit.
Abdel Halim was born in El Sharqia, north of Cairo. Both of his parents died while he was young, leaving him an orphan and impoverished. He also contracted a waterborne parasitic disease in childhood, bilharzia, causing health issues that plagued him his whole life. Despite his early difficulties, Adbel Halim's musical abilities became apparent from an early age, and his talent were carefully nurtured by his older brother. At 14, became formal training at the Arabic Music Institute in Cairo. Abdel Halim continued teaching music and singing in clubs until he was discovered by a radio executive in the early 1950s. Despite his fame, Abdel Halim's humble beginnings made him relatable to many Egyptians; a true man of the people. He was the voice of the revolution, in fact, his rise to fame coincided with Egypt’s 1952 revolution, and he sang many popular patriotic songs. His music inspired nationalistic pride and support for the leader of the revolution and future president, Gamal Abdel Nasser. His songs were also sung in Tahrir Square during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
Throughout his career, Abdel Halim did not only sing songs for his beloved country, but he also performed uplifting music dedicated to countries like Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, and Palestine, endearing him to the Arab people. Not only were his songs and films immensely popular, Abdel Halim's musical style greatly influenced Arab music. The lyrics of his songs and performance style focused on emotional impact rather than technical singing ability, preferring live performances over studio recordings.
Hafez funeral
Abdel Halim passed away at only 48 years old, due to complications from his chronic disease. All of the country was grieving and his monumental funeral engulfed the city of Cairo. However, this wasn’t the end for Abdel Halim. Just as his songs and movies were remembered and continued to be played throughout the country for generations, Abdel Halim’s legacy lived on...and grew. Today, Abdel Halim's loyal fans continue to visit his tomb every year on the anniversary of his death. Abdel Halim is remembered as more than a pop culture figure; he is greatly respected and venerated as one of the greatest Egyptian artists. There are even miracles attributed to him. This yearly pilgrimage is a testament to Abdel Halim’s powerful legacy, and importance to the people of Egypt and the Arab world as a boy who grew from poverty to become the voice of a newly-established nation.
"Mawood" from 1971 is the first long-form song of a legendary series, this is a milestone in his career. A majestic artwork which is able to break down any barrier, this can be appreciated by lovers of both ethnic and classical music, but also by the most demanding popular music listeners.
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