Language:

Arabic

Genre:

Rai

Instrument:

Female vocals

Articles:
Interview with Cheikha Remitti

On the Internet
On North African culture/travel

Biografi

Definitely the first Lady of rai, Cheikha Remitti was born Saadia in the small town of Relizane in Oran. She was orphaned at an early age and as a young woman, made her daily bread by working as a dancer with a group of cheiks who performed rural music in the streets of Oran. She subsequently began to sing, performing husky and sensuous songs about the hard living and hard loving of the Algerian poor. Such songs were not new; indeed, they were a traditional feature of Algerian women's private wedding celebrations, but Remitti was one of the first to make the songs public and commercially viable, eschewing all the protocols of decency in singing of physical passion and lust. At first by word of mouth, Remitti's fame began to spread; she gained her name after buying her fans round after round of drinks to the call of "remettez" (fill them up) in a bar she happened upon during a rain storm. Remitti recorded her first records in 1936 and had to suffer criticism from the more orthodox of Muslims as well as the colonial French rulers and later from the Marxist government of post-Independence Algeria, although she had sung in support of the latter during their long struggle for national self-determination. Nevertheless, Remitti remained popular during her long years of active performing and recording. She enjoyed a revival of interest in the 1990s.

Relevant artists:
Khaled
Orchestre National de Barbés

RAI ROOTS  
Buda Records/1993-96

(In Norwegian only)

Selv om mange av dem benekter det, er det fra denne damen mange av Algeries rai-artister har stjålet sine låter. Siden 30-tallet har hun vært den ubestridte førstedamen av tradisjonell rai, og f.eks. Khaleds store hit "La Camel" er rappet direkte fra en av hennes gamle slagere. Dette har ikke gått rai-publikummet fullstendig hus forbi, og etter et visst påtrykk har Buda funnet tiden inne til å slippe frem røttene i deres utmerkede serie "The Voice of Maghreb". Dette er selvsagt prisverdig og helt klart med relevans i en rai-samling, men undertegnede finner dette litt FOR tradisjonsbundet. Jeg foretrekker uten å nøle de elektriske og synthetiske lydene av moderne rai fremfor dette, som er for de MEGET spesielt interesserte.

Arne Berg

GHIR EL BAROUD
Michel Levy/1993

This stunning nwe album (-) is the missing link between the urban styles like chaabi and the electronic rai of the younger generation.

John Storm Roberts, All Music Guide

SIDI MANSOUR  
Absolute Records/1996

La oss snakke litt om legender!
Det er 58 år siden Cheikha ("Gale") Rimitti debuterte på vinyl, og hva sies det da om at hun nå har vært i studio med Houari Talbi, Robert Fripp, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) og East Bay Ray (Dead Kennedys)? Nå er jo dette barnerumper i forhold, og kan heller ikke skryte av at en hel nasjon kjenner sangene deres utenat, slik algirske Remitti kan. Men de har likhetstrekk gjennom sin totale mangel på respekt for grenser; generasjons-, musialske, geografiske, og på dette albumet river de ned dem alle.
Ikke så å forstå at dette er et multikulturell "verdensmusikk", langt derifra! Dette er uforfalsket Rai, med stor, arabisk R foran, men likevel med en vri. Gitarene til Fripp og Ray lager helt nye toner til Rai, de, omenn ikke like vellykket ABSOLUTT hele veien. Bassen til Flea er derimot suverent tung og funky - den kler Rimittis arabiske sangstemme perfekt, og plutselig truer den gamle Dame posisjonen til både den ene og andre av de unge Rai-stjernene, der hun ubesværet suser avgårde mot stjernene. Bare Khaled låter SÅ moderne akkurat nå, og selv han skal passe seg litt. He-he, joda!

Arne Berg

SOURCES OF RAI  
Inst. du Monde Arab/1994-99

This CD consists of newly recorded songs from Cheikha Remitti's huge reportoir of 60 years(!) as a performing artist. As the title suggests, we here go to the roots, and the instrumentation is kept in traditional style, Remitti is backed by a trio consisting of drums, percussion and flute. Cheikha Remitti's voice goes through hearts and bones, no one remains untouched by this. But what does she really sing about? If you know arabic it is of course no problem. But with this listener the lack of translated lyrics is a considerable loss. Another problem with records of this kind, is that such a traditional and less varied instrumentation is too monotonous when the playing time is 1 hour and 10 minutes. It might be as rootsy and well performed as ever, this will still be for the specially dedicated.

L'ETOILE DU RAI
Culture Press/2000

TRAB MUSIC
Culture Press/2000

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