vrijdag 15 januari 2010

Arabian Beauties


When listening to the very gentle and subtle album by Hindi Zahra (born in Morocco, living in Paris) I was thinking of other female singers of Arabian descent who sing (partly) in French. Hindi only uses a few French words (alas) and sings mostly in English or berber, but singers like Algerian Souad Massi (pictured), Moroccan Sapho and Natacha Atlas (born in Bruxelles, but with North-African roots) recorded songs completely in French. Covers, but also original material. The mysterious and melancholic qualities of Arabian music mix great with French chanson (or pop), you can even sing a classic like Ferré's Avec le Temps in Arabian, like Sapho did. Or turn Francoise Hardy's Mon amie la rose into arabesque (danceable Arabian pop).

I guess there are more (recent) examples, please drop suggestions in the comments.


Hindi Zahra - Beautiful Tango (demo version)
Natacha Atlas - Mon amie la rose
Souad Massi & Marc Lavoine - Paris
Sapho - Avec le temps (Arabian version)

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