Rachid Taha

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Has anyone heard of him? The reviews I"ve read of his new album really intrigue me.

― Michael Copeland, Thursday, 7 April 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

some opinions on him here:

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Thursday, 7 April 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

I still stand by what I said in the previous thread. Taha is one of my favorite artists anywhere right now, and Tekitoi? has held up just fine over the past six months.

The NY Times A&E section did a long piece about him in early March, which was both informative (about his politics, personality, background, etc.) and (in my view) completely OTM in its embedded review of Tekitoi?. I can't link to it, but it's probably somewhere on his website.

― John Schapiro (Vornado), Thursday, 7 April 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

He seems to be the only Algerian rocker who gets English language press attention. Could he be the only one? There must be others, I think. I've heard plenty of different Algerian rai artists, but this is different. Nitpicky me still finds Tekitoi uneven--some great cuts, some samey sounding ones, some bombastic metal I could do without.

― steve-k, Thursday, 7 April 2005 19:46 (twenty years ago)

Yeah Steve, I think Tekitoi's a slight slide backward from Medina, though I like Rachid when he's bombastic.

If you haven't seen him live, check him out on tour this summer. I caught him a few years back in Mpls and it was a blast--total high energy, trashy but well-exectured, taking in everything from metal to house.

Cheb Mami (bleh!) seemed to be getting the big push from Mondo Melodia back when Sting discovered North Africa a few years back.

― Keith Harris (kharris1128), Thursday, 7 April 2005 20:04 (twenty years ago)

Cheb Mami gets (or got) a fair amount of press, too, much more than Taha until right now. Hakim as well, at least in the VV. But you can't beat the left-humanist-Arabic-commentary-on-9/11 angle: it's not like we're not hungry for it, or that there's lots of competition.

I've been looking for other Arabic rockers and haven't found anything remotely like Taha. Maybe that's because he really isn't an "Algerian rocker"; he's really a French punk with an English rocker/collaborator using various types of North African music as a roots reference. Someone like Cheb Mami is an Algerian pop-rai singer first, who incorporates bits of rock or dance music to freshen up what he's doing. Nothing wrong with that, but Taha is much closer in spirit to Anglo-American rock groups who use blues or country as a reference. I suspect Steve Hilliage has a lot to do with the sound. Also, Taha is a lot more politically explicit than most Arab music gets to be (although still a bit roundabout by Western standards -- no naming names).

I can see thinking Tekitoi? is a step backward. It is more retro than Medina -- less variety, a lot less club music, more arena rock riffs. Neither record lacks a few boring tracks (but neither has many of them, either). Medina is more fun, Tekitoi? a bit deeper (and you can't beat the left-humanist-Arabic etc. . . .), and the sound is great -- more warmth in the ouds, more bite in the guitars, more ping in the blips, more grit in the vox. I'm glad I get to hear 'em both.

― John Schapiro (Vornado), Friday, 8 April 2005 11:25 (twenty years ago)

I somehow missed 'em when he came to the DC area in the past, and like his older stuff more, so hopefully I'll be able to check him out this summer.

So let me rephrase my question, are there any other France-based Algerians incorporating middle eastern and North African sounds with rock? The pop-rai stuff as noted above is very different. I think Jace Clayton/Dj Rupture posted a rai mix and/or talked about the uneven quality of rai on his blog recently.

― steve-k, Friday, 8 April 2005 12:00 (twenty years ago)

eight years pass...

So our own Captain Jay Vee is in Paris and guess who he just randomly ran into at a cafe, he sez:

http://instagram.com/p/YdgEtry4c0/#

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 23 April 2013 20:42 (twelve years ago)

Cool

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 24 April 2013 14:51 (twelve years ago)

Yeah was totally random and we chatted for a moment. Exchanged music as well! Awesome.

― That elusive North American wood-ape (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 24 April 2013 16:18 (twelve years ago)

five years pass...

RIP :(
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/sep/13/rachid-taha-obituary

― willem, Thursday, 13 September 2018 14:25 (seven years ago)

I nitpicked him a bit upthread but still liked the guy and it's sad to see him gone at 59.

― curmudgeon, Thursday, 13 September 2018 15:03 (seven years ago)

Yeah it's a pity since he was so young... but not a surprise because he was a mess (too much alcohol and coke... you have to be Keith to survive that kind of mix for decades !)

― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, 14 September 2018 08:47 (seven years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.