The North Africa Journal: Rainbow Nation Revisited: Innovative Approach, Outstanding Performance

Rainbow Nation Revisited: Innovative Approach, Outstanding Performance
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Nasima Alli on 09 July, 2009 05:55:00
 
I was a bit surprised that the album has not benefited from more publicity and
great promotion considering the quality of Idir’s work and that of the other
contributors to the album.
Being familiar with Idir’s early work, I was surprised to hear the difference
in style used in this latest installment of this genius musician and poet. The
surprise comes from the fact that artist has adopted a wide array of R&B and
hip-hop styles so unlike him and different from his earlier work. Obviously in
this album Idir uses the latest musical styles to communicate with the younger
generations, in particular the French and their minorities.  Cleverly, Idir uses
some of the best R&B talents of France to express his ideas around the changing
ethnic landscape of France, identity, human rights issues, and immigration.
Among those contributing are Nadiya (Nadia Zighem) singing “A Mon Pere,”
Mali-born Oxmo Puccino (Abdoulaye Diarra) featu
Review by Nasima Alli
alli@north-africa.com
Album: La France des Couleurs
Singer: Idir and others
Sony/BMG
Record Label: Saint George
Purchase here: La France des Couleurs
red in “Pelerinage,” and Rim'K featured in ‘D’ou je viens.”
Though at first I was surprised by the infusion of hip-hop style in Idir’s
work, I quickly realized that he has always been a master in blending other
musical genres with traditional Kabyle music to express whatever feelings he
has. In his very first and most famous album, A Vava Inouva, released in 1975,
one can recognize a great deal of Irish style in his delivery, coupled with
lyrics of traditional Kabyle story telling. Later he collaborated with Scottish
folk singer Karen Matheson and others such as Gnawa Diffusion, Manu Chao, Dan Ar
Braz, and Maxime Le Forestier, and in all cases, it worked magic.
The album gave the opportunity for Idir to write perhaps one of the most moving
tributes a father could give to a daughter. The tribute was in form of a poet,
with his daughter playing piano in the background. In an interview published in
Agraw.com, Idir said the idea came when he discussed the project with French
musician Grand Corps Malade. “I asked him to write a song about a Muslim
father putting aside dogma, tradition and religious clichés in an attempt to
lay himself bare and communicate with his daughter. That s where the idea for
Lettre a ma fille (Letter to My Daughter) came from. It s one of the most
important tracks on the album, a song that underlines the fact that you have to
have a secular element in society.”
Even if you don’t necessarily enjoy hip-hop or R&B, I can almost guarantee you
will enjoy “La France des Couleurs.” Even if French or Kabyle are alien
languages to you. Idir will undoubtedly remain one of Algeria’s most prominent
musician, folk singer and story teller. For the Algerians, and the Kabyles in
particular, he is also a one-of-a-kind cultural ambassador who can deliver
traditional stories through modern tunes.