Abderrahmane Abdelli | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | April 2, 1958 Aafir, Algeria |
| Genres | World |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, composer, author |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Algerian mandole, bendir, darbuka |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Labels | Real World |
| Website | Abdelli.com |
Abderrahmane Abdelli (born April 2, 1958) is a Berber author, composer, and singer songwriter known for mixing the traditional North African music of his homeland with modern sounds.
Abdelli was born in Mechta Behalil, a hamlet in the Great Kabylie, Algeria, during the Algerian War of Independence. His family was displaced by the bombing of their village, Kennour, [1] part of the Tizi Ouzou Province, by the French airforce. After the war, Abdelli's family settled in the coastal town of Dellys. As a boy, Abdelli constructed his first guitar out of an empty oil can, a plank of wood and fishing line. [2] After learning to play the guitar, He was introduced to the mandol by Chaabi master, Chaïd Moh-Esguir. [2]
Abdelli made his musical debut in Dellys, Kabylie, during the 1974 Algerian Independence festival. [3] He won several contests in Algeria for amateur singers. [4] Abdelli produced his first album in 1984, but it saw little success. Two years later, he released an album that sold 12,000 copies, but never received payment from his record company Abdelli produced a couple of albums in Algeria, but moved to Belgium in 1984. It was there "he met producer Thierry Van Roy, who was so fascinated with Abdelli's music that he spent two years exploring the roots of the Berbers' musical tradition at the University of Algiers." [4] Since 1986 he has made his home in Brussels, Belgium.
Abdelli's most popular albums are New Moon [5] and Among Brothers [6] He has performed at major festivals in Europe, including WOMAD and the 0110 concert in Ghent. In addition to Europe he has toured in England, the US and Canada.
Abdelli's music reflects a heavy Algerian influence. As stated by World Music Central:
Abdelli's lyrics express strong and poetic images of his culture which is threatened from all sides. He expresses himself essentially by symbols which are parts of his traditional culture. He tries to make known the ancient Berber culture which, by its tolerance and openness, is an example to follow in our troubled world. [7]
Abdelli has collaborated with musicians from Europe and South America, often incorporating instruments such as the cajón (Peru), the tormento, the quena (Chilean), and the bandura (Ukrainian).
Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also called by their endonym Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs in the Arab migrations to the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their usage of Berber languages, most of them mutually unintelligible, which are part of the Afroasiatic language family. They are indigenous to the Maghreb region of North Africa, where they live in scattered communities across parts of Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and to a lesser extent Tunisia, Mauritania, northern Mali and northern Niger. Smaller Berber communities are also found in Burkina Faso and Egypt's Siwa Oasis.
Bobbejaan Schoepen was a Flemish pioneer in Belgian pop music, vaudeville, and European country music. Schoepen was a versatile entertainer, entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, guitarist, comedian, actor, and professional whistler, as well as the founder and former director of the amusement park Bobbejaanland. His musical career flourished from 1948 until the first half of the 1970s. He sold more than five million copies from his repertoire of 482 songs, which extended from Twang, cabaret, instrumental film music, chansons, country, to folk and vocal music. Born in Boom, Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium, he worked his way up from a working-class environment to become one of the 200 richest people in Belgium.
Medieval Muslim Algeria was a period of Muslim dominance in Algeria during the Middle Ages, spanning the millennium from the 7th century to the 17th century. The new faith, in its various forms, would penetrate nearly all segments of society, bringing with it armies, learned men, and fervent mystics; in large part, it would replace tribal practices and loyalties with new social norms and political idioms.
Kabylia or Kabylie is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of the Tell Atlas mountain range and is located at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea.
Kabyle or Kabylian is a Berber language (tamazight) spoken by the Kabyle people in the north and northeast of Algeria. It is spoken primarily in Kabylia, east of the capital Algiers and in Algiers itself, but also by various groups near Blida, such as the Beni Salah and Beni Bou Yaqob.
Berber music refers to the musical traditions of the Berbers, a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arabs in the Arab migration to the Maghreb. Their main connections are identified by their usage of the mostly mutually unintelligible Berber languages. Berber music varies widely across North Africa. It is stylistically diverse, with songs being predominantly African rhythms and a stock of oral literature.
Lounès Matoub was an Algerian Kabylian singer, poet, thinker who sparked an intellectual revolution, and mandole player who was an advocate of the Berber cause, human rights, and secularism in Algeria throughout his life.
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Hamid Cheriet, better known by his stage name Idir, was a Kabyle Algerian singer-songwriter and musician. Referred to as the "King of Amazigh music", he is regarded as one of the most significant modern day figures in Algerian and Amazigh culture, history, and struggle.
The Kabyle people are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, 160 kilometres (100 mi) east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber population of Algeria and the second largest in North Africa.
Marie-Louise-Taos Amrouche was an Algerian writer and singer. In 1947, she became the first Algerian woman to publish a novel.
Mouloud Mammeri was an Algerian writer, anthropologist and linguist.
New Moon is an album by the Algerian composer and singer-songwriter Abderrahmane Abdelli. It was released in 1995 by Real World Records. The album was produced in Brussels, with Abdelli recording his vocals before he was deported; the album was finished with local street musicians who played Algerian instruments.
Among Brothers is a World album released in 2003 by Algerian composer and singer-songwriter Abderrahmane Abdelli. The album was released by Real World Records.
The Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie, officially named the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie before 3 October 2013, is a Kabyle nationalist and separatist political organization seeking autonomy, self-determination rights of the Kabyle people, and ultimately independence of the Kabylie region from Algeria. It was founded by the Kabyle Berberist Ferhat Mehenni, now president of the Provisional Government of Kabylie in exile, after the "Black Spring" disturbances in 2001.
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