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fRoots, October 2001
Souad Massi comes from Algeria, an area that is already designated as hip by world music trendsetters. If she concentrates on her strengths, she too could be deserving of international recognition. I suppose you could classify this as Algerian folk/rock, integrating ouds, guimbris and local percussion with regular bass, kits and guitars. Some is straight acoustic, slow and mournful (the lugubrious oud-led Bladi is a particular ear-catcher), others more up and urgent like "Amessa", pulsed by a rattle of Arabic castanets and a hint of desert guitar. "Nekreh El Kelb" has some of that Mahgreb crossover Spanish flavour and a bit of gypsy violin. Over it all, a throaty, expressive voice that occasionally reminds me of Natalie Merchant in places. But it's a record of two halves: there's a point in the middle where it falls down somewhat and heads off into tracks that are too obviously mainstream rockist--nothing wrong with that in principle: they're just not very well executed, as is often the case when people play outside what's natural (and anyway, French attempts at straight rock were always fairly naff). It's interesting that they shunted these off past the point where impulse buyers will already have seized it off the listening posts. --Ian Anderson
© fRoots Magazine all rights reserved
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A heartfelt, courageous woman,
By A Customer
This review is from: Raoui (Audio CD)
Souad Massi's Raoui (The Storyteller) debut, steeped in soulful melancholy, spirituality and simmering angst, has renewed interest in Algerian folk music beyond the popular brand of rai music. The gritty-sounding Souad, 29, who holds an engineering degree, is looking toward an exciting new dawn. Souad, equipped with harsh lessons and valuable experience, wrote most of the work on Raoui during more than seven years of performing in Algeria. She played with a flamenco group before gaining wider exposure with popular rock band Atakor. A solo career presented struggles as the young female musician faced intolerance towards conscious themes and the idea of different (female) opinion in Algeria. Fundamentalist Islamic groups began targeting her for promoting the independent image of young Algerian women. That prompted outspoken Souad to make the move away from her home country. Three years have since passed since Souad made cosmopolitan Paris her new base. Between fine-tuning her quietly evocative music, sung in Arabic/French on her album, and dealing with challenging issues in her homeland, Souad has sustained a keen sense of reality while maintaining integrity and accessibility on virtually all fronts. As an album, Raoui, released in France last September, has achieved a great deal of word-of-mouth support plus critical acclaim. A patchwork of heartfelt music styles (folk, rock, chaabi) stitch Souad's sensitive tunes together with traditional rhythms helping lift the handmade moods to eloquent and distinctive levels. The warm and courageous nature of Souad's music is nothing short of mesmerising with folk-rock moods blending well with touches of flamencos, oud (Arabic lute), gumbri (Sahara acoustic bass) and karkabous (Sahara metal castanets). Producer Bob Coke (of Ben Harper fame) brings out the most of Souad's bare-bones feel and the grainy settings gives a well-rounded picture of this singer's artistic depth. The anti-war lyrics on Bladi (My Country), complete with marching band rhythms, fit nicely alongside intimate meditations like Matebkiche (Don't Cry) and Hayati (My Life), offering Souad's aching heart melancholy in each tender verse. The soul-stirring resonance in the music transcends effectively with the bitter-sounding Nekreh el Keld (I Hate This Heart That Still Loves You) showing a vivid scar of a lost-love. As a highly literate storyteller, Souad straddles the line between biting political commentary on Amessa (A Day Will Come) and there is optimistic for better days in Raoui (The Storyteller). The shivering strains of the oud gives an Arabic face to the Raoui recordings, but like countryman Rachid Taha, Souad isn't dependent on hit-making or tied to convention. By championing a roots-driven sound with contemporary versatility in the mixture, Souad wins you over in so many different ways. Her lyrics are insightful and her thoughtful artistry inspiring. When her Raoui album finally makes a worldwide release later on this year, everyone will be waiting.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New approach to Arabic Folk,
This review is from: Raoui (Audio CD)
This work by Souad Massi is a new approach to the Algerian traditional folk music. With the help of her guitar she manages to cross the border towards a more pop sonority, without ever losing the roots of her music.This is the album that brought her international recognition as a revelation on the world of folk music. Strongly recommend this one.
3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing to send a twinlock memo about,
By Edna Sweetlove (London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Raoui (Audio CD)
Certainly not as good as reviewers in the music press try to make out, dears. Edna thinks that Souad is a good-but-not-very-exciting "World" (hate that phrase) singer-songwriter and that she does go on a bit. Yes, it's worth a listen (some of the tracks give great French postcolonial chanteuse atmos) but don't expect to play it more than once in a blue moon, truth be told.
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