Customer Reviews

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This CD is one of the best ever to come from Idir. While the majority of the songs are remakes of his originals, i.e, A Vava Inouva, sung with ethereal voiced Karen Matheson from the Scottish group, Capercaille, and Daghrib (Exile), sung with Ugandan star Geoffrey Oryema, the newer and original songs, like the haunting cry for Amazigh unity, Tizi Ouzou sung with Maxime Le Forestier and Kabyle chanteur, Brahim Izri, are superb in their own right. The significance of this album rests upon the fact that Idir, himself Kabyle, from the Djurdjura Mountains of Algeria, makes a stellar success reaching out to many different cultures and their music, thus becoming one of the first maghrebians to compile a CD with such diverse international ambience. This album is an embrace for all cultures that have touched the identity of Algerians, including Berber, West African, Arab, French and Spanish. By accepting and acknowledging the many different facets of our colorful and resonant background, Idir accomplishes defining an identity for not only those of us who are Algerian, but all who are a part of our global community.

This album is one of my favorite of all time. I originally bought it simply because it contained collaborations with Manu Chao, whose music is fantastic, and Zebda, an exciting group from Toulouse. The Manu Chao collaboration later resurfaced in a much weaker form as 'Denia' on Manu Chao's 'Proxima Estacion Esperanza'. The version here is just superb (probably my favorite Manu Chao song) and has an excellent French lyric about the position of women in Algerian society. Basically this Idir album puts the Algerian singer in collaborations with artists from hugely different musical backgrounds (Scottish folk, Flamenco, French Chanson, etc). A common thread is that most of the artists have a sense of dual identity- Idir himself is Algerian but lives in France, Geoffrey Oryema is Ugandan but forced into exile in France, Manu Chao is French but his parents were Spanish refugees forced to flee the Franco regime, etc. The result of these combinations is hugely original. Even if you don't understand the lyrics you'll want to try and sing along.

Before happening upon this CD at my book and music store (in California), I didn't know much about Idir... it was the little sticker that mentioned Manu Chao and Zebda that actually brought me to listen to it... I found I loved all the tracks and bought it without a second thought. 2.5 years later and an ocean apart, I am still enjoying the music-- every single track, and I proudly share it with everyone with an open ear for great music and rythm.

I was familiar with the beauty of Idir's most well-known song from over 20 years ago (A Va Vainouva) and was intrigued to find this disk: it is an exceptionally well-conceived and produced collaboration between Idir and a variety of top European artists. I found it an audio treat, and have been returning to listen again to selected tracks for the last six months! The homage to Mateb Lounes, an assassinated Algerian Kabyle musician and activist, is touching; the harmonies with the Scottish K. Matheson are lovely; the reggae-N.African fusion of "Gnawa Diffusion" is extraordinary. Just about everything else is equally rewarding, despite difficulties with Berber/Arabic/French lyrics. Happy listening! Don't hestitate to give it a try.

This CD is one of the best ever to come from Idir. While the majority of the songs are remakes of his originals, i.e, A Vava Inouva, sung with ethereal voiced Karen Matheson from the Scottish group, Capercaille, and Daghrib (Exile), sung with Ugandan star Geoffrey Oryema, the newer and original songs, like the haunting cry for Amazigh unity, Tizi Ouzou sung with Maxime Le Forestier and Kabyle chanteur, Brahim Izri, are superb in their own right. The significance of this album rests upon the fact that Idir, himself Kabyle, from the Djurdjura Mountains of Algeria, makes a stellar success reaching out to many different cultures and their music, thus becoming one of the first maghrebians to compile a CD with such diverse international ambience. This album is an embrace for all cultures that have touched the identity of Algerians, including Berber, West African, Arab, French and Spanish. By accepting and acknowledging the many different facets of our colorful and resonant background, Idir accomplishes defining an identity for not only those of us who are Algerian, but all who are a part of our global community.

L'extraordinaire voix d'Idir, jointe à des textes et des harmonies de qualité vont de ce CD un moment de bonheur. Dans la vague beur qui déferle actuellement sur la France Idir tient une place à part.Sa musique reflète son charme, sa sobriété et sa simplicité. A must to have!

Believe it or not, I learned about Idir from an article in The Economist, which described his music as 'beautiful', and indeed it is. While the sound is always unmistakably Arab, each track features a different guest artist from the usual musical countries like Ireland and west Africa, and the result is quite varied. Excellent stuff! I'll have to make a road trip to Paris to see him in concert.