Mazouni
Un Dandy En Exil - France/algerie 1969/1983 (2lp)
Mohamed Mazouni, born January 4, 1940, began his singing career chosing bedoui as a style (a Saharan genre popularized among others by the great Khelifi Ahmed). But above all, the general public discovered him through a performance at the Ibn Khaldoun Theater, broadcasted by Algerian radio. At that time, he had no idea that he was about to become an idolized star within the immigrant community. While in France, Mohamed learned about this atmosphere of immigrant culture of exile more and more. Fully immersed in it, he soaked up the songs of Dahmane El Harrachi, Slimane Azem, Akli Yahiaten or Cheikh El Hasnaoui, but also those from the years of twist and rock'n'roll as embodied by Johnny Hallyday, Les Chaussettes Noires or Les Chats Sauvages, not to mention Elvis Presley and the triumphant beginnings of Anglo-Saxon pop music. Between 1970 and 1990, he had a series of hits. Mazouni, a dandy shattered by his century and always all spruced up who barely performed on stage, had greatly benefited from the impact of scopitones, the ancestors of music videos - those image and sound machines inevitably found in many bars held by immigrants. His strength laid in Arabic lyrics all his compatriots could understand, and catchy melodies accompanied by violin, goblet drum, qanun, tar (a small tambourine with jingles), lute, and sometimes electric guitar on yé-yé compositions. Like a politician, Mazouni drew on all themes knowing that he would nail it each time. This compilation, the first one dedicated to him, includes all of his never-reissued hits with, as a bonus, previously unreleased songs.