AZIZA BRAHIM - Sahari

The cultural background of "Sahari" is reason enough to dwell on Aziza Brahim's new album. Born in refugee camps in Algeria, she moved to Cuba at the age of eleven thanks to a scholarship, later returned to the camps to devote more time to her passion for music, and eventually went into exile in Spain, where the singer settled in the city of Barcelona, fully integrated into a social environment that is both welcoming and, above all, culturally stimulating.

With this new album, the artist confirms her distinctive focus not only on the political and social issues that branded her adolescence, but also on a personal, ongoing pursuit of an ascetic, pure idea of beauty.

The strong bond between exiles and their homeland becomes, on "Sahari", a communal element that speaks to all those who have been torn from their history and their origins. This strength, and this ecumenical reach of Aziza Brahim's music, takes shape across the ten captivating tracks of an album that finds further appeal in its linguistic and stylistic cross-pollination.

The album moves forward without hesitation or the clichés of modern world music, combining the rhythms of saharawi tradition with electronics, yet never surrendering to the lure of modernity for its own sake ("Masaa Tufulati", "Mujayam"), welcoming influences from Western rock culture while still honoring the poetic fluidity of African music ("Leil" and the title track), and even giving in to the allure of reggae on one of the tracks sung in Spanish ("Las Huellas"). The expressive intensity of Aziza Brahim's voice reconciles these various elements, brushing against moments of genuine poetry in the wistful "Ard El Hub" and "Lmanfa", and in the innovative, ecstatic tone of the seductive rhythm of "Mujayam".

Abandoning live recordings in favour of a more carefully crafted approach to the arrangements - also the work of the talented producer Amparo Sànchez - ultimately proved to be an excellent choice. With “Sahari” the artist takes a further step towards artistic emancipation, one that deserves attention well beyond world music enthusiasts.

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07/02/2020