Never mind the war on terrorism, what about the war on fear, complacency, ignorance, racism, poverty and lies.
That's a struggle that Rachid Taha has been fighting for the past two decades and more, ever since he was a tear-away punk immigrant from Algeria gobbing metaphorically and no doubt literally at the good burghers of Lyon in France. His band, Carte de Sejour (the French for 'residence permit'), proved that rock power, punk attitude and Arabic roots could get along famously if mentored by a passionate, razor-sharp and mouthy soul like Taha.
Being proudly North African on the one hand and truly rebellious on the other has always meant struggle on many fronts and Rachid Taha has spent his whole career lobbing musical molotovs at the latent and, as recent event have proved, not so latent racism of the French in the form of classic songs like 'Voile Voile’ and 'Douce France' whilst berating his fellow North Africans for lack of ambition, obsession with tradition, cabaret complacency and enslavement to rai.
'There isn't only rai,' Taha said recently. 'My music has always been more influenced by chaabi (old style pop, mainly from Algiers & Ed) which I’ve always loved because of its poetry and rebelliousness.'
After leaving Carte de Sejour at the end of the 1980s, Taha teamed up with the British producer and trance meister Steve Hillage to record a series of classic albums including 'OlÈ OlÈ', the most recent 'Made in Medina' and the classic 'Diwan', which features Taha's monster hit cover of 'Ya Rayah', an old song written by the Algerian Berber legend Dahmane El Harrachi. With its expert blending of North African roots, rock and house inspired electronica, 'Diwan' is nothing less than a template for the future development of North African music.
Above all Rachid Taha is a great showman, delivering rude-boy witticisms and hilarious insights with sweaty passion whilst his band fire off raucous rock riffs and snakey Arabic melodies. It's a clear case of never mind the world music bollocks, here’s Rachid Taha.
Courtesy of WOMAD.
Taha's Politically minded songs defend democracy and tolerance. His first solo album Diwân explored mixing his songs with traditional Algerian and Arabic music. His Rock roots were still predominant, however, as he gained recognition from rock musicians around the globe, performing with Robert Plant, Brian Eno and Patti Smith.
His music has appeared on films, such as "Black Hawk Down" and "The Future Is Unwritten".
