Tags    chaabi, algerian chaabi, algerian, algeria

Length    1hr 16min (16 tracks)

Published    January 11, 2012

Chaabi is a traditional music of Algiers (capital city of Algeria). Originally from the Casbah, Chaabi first appeared in the late 19th century. Chaabi simply means "folk" in Algerian.
A typical song features mournful, Arabic/Berber vocals, set against an orchestral backdrop of a dozen musicians, with violins and mandolins swelling and falling to a piano melody and the clap of percussion beats. Chaabi shares many set themes with Flamenco - love, loss, exile, friendship and betrayal.

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12 comments on El Gust☪ (View all)
 

Great! But who are the artists?

captainbildad
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All songs are played by El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers. Theses are classics, composed by olders artists (pioneers?) of Chaabi music.
This Algerian chaabi ensemble have drawn inevitable comparisons to the Buena Vista Social Club, which, given the story, are somewhat valid. Chaabi (an Arabic word meaning ‘for the people’) was a once vibrant and very popular music in Northern Africa, in music schools, parties and bars of occupied, post-WWII Algeria, where its Spanish, Middle Eastern and North African lineage infused with the Mediterranean soundtrack of that era — jazz, snatches of tango, a little boogie-woogie.
The orchestra began when pianist Abdel Hadi Halo tracked down graduates (all aged 60 to 90) of his chaabi pioneer father El Hadj El Anka’s music school, and brought them together in Algiers. Produced by Damon Albarn, Abdel Hadi Halo & the El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers is a subtle and seamless blend of North African, French, Andalucian, and Latin American influences. Rhythm reigns supreme, with the small army of oud, qanun, bendir and derbouka meshing with accordion, violins, flute, and, of course, piano as various singers lay bare their souls.

Diil&Van
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