Dec 15/07
Saharawi Saturday
I feel compelled to write again about Mariem Hassan. She’s really amazing.
I posted her song, La Tumchi Anni, when I featured the Rough Guide to African Blues a little while back. I’ve since bought her 2002 release, Mariem Hassan con Leyoad.
She’s one of the principal musical voices of the Sahrwai people from Western Sahara, or the Saharawi Democratic Arab Republic, as they and 76 other nations call/recognize it.
When she’s not belting out tunes, Hassan works as a nurse in the “occupied Sahara”.
This quote from World Music Central sort of sums things up: “Before the war, we did songs of love and beautiful things but the war and the lack of our land made us talk of more important thingsabout the kids, the martyrs, the war.”
You can learn more and buy this album at Calabash, National Geographic and Stern’s. There’s even a fan blog about her here.
Tags: algeria, blues, saharawi, western sahara
A couple tracks from another recent Rough Guide release:
There hasn’t been enough North African music on Benn loxo. Living in Paris it’s hard to avoid the sounds of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia- the languages, concerts, restaurants, cultural centers and quartiers are all around me. Several prominent North African musicians live full or part-time in Paris. L’Institut du Monde Arabe is one of my favourite contemporary Parisian buildings. Tajine and couscous are standard fare.
I’ll continue on my Algerian kick today with some beautiful music by
I liked that Maurice El Medioni track from yesterday’s post so much that I picked up more of his music today.
I don’t want to seem like a