Singer Profile: Takfarinas Dreams of World Harmony Through Music

2005-04-18

Rai's international popularity often overshadows other musical styles native to Algeria. Yal, which combines traditional Berber song styles with elements of modern music, is one such style. Yal was conceived by Hassen Zermani, who records under the name Takfarinas. His popularity rivals that of rai artists like Khaled and Cheb Mami. Like those two, Takfarinas is based in Paris, where he dreams of world harmony through a universal musical genre that appeals to everyone.

(Kabyle.com; PopMatters.com; Tinder Records)

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"Here's what I mean by yal music," he said in a 2004 interview. "It's being in harmony with all the different tastes of the general public. My music is like a bouquet of flowers with many colours and scents that different people appreciate differently."

Takfarinas was born in Tixerane, a Kabyle village in one of Algiers' Berber suburbs. His grandfather was a well-known singer in the area. At the age of six, he built his own guitar from a motor oil can, a wooden stick and bicycle brake cables. Upon realizing his son's talents, his father bought him a new guitar and encouraged him to practice.

Traditional singers of the time such as El Hasnaoui, Slimane Azeem and Mhemmed El Anka inspired Takfarinas. Like many of his rai counterparts, he was also influenced by French artists such as Jacques Brel and Edith Piaf , as well as American singers like Stevie Wonder.

He recorded his first album on cassette in 1976 in Algeria. In 1979, he immigrated to France because of the deteriorating political situation in his country. He grew as an artist in Paris and developed his own musical style, which he termed yal music in 1999 after the syllable "yalala-yalala," found in almost all Kabyle songs. Yal was a sound totally his own: a fusion of traditional elements, rock, funk and rhythm and blues. "Yal" the album was released in 1999.

Though Kabyle music is often loaded with political messages, Takfarinas' yal takes a lighter and more personal approach, dealing with the problems of exile and universal issues such as love and unemployment. The diversity of his topics underscores his attempt to reach a wider audience. The aspiration is seen in the fact that many songs contain French in addition to Amazighe, with English also used on occasion.

Like many France-based Algerian singers, Takfarinas tries to transcend his national identity. "I was born in Algeria, I live in France, my identity is music, my country is the Earth," he says.

His music, which borrows from a multitude of genres, attests to that universality. Though Kabyle in essence, his albums are an eclectic mix of funk, flamenco, reggae and French pop. The song "Zaama Zaama" (Yal 1999), a big hit in France, is sung in Amazighe with a French chorus. "Ayessiyi," which is from the same album, is a catchy funk tune with Amazighe rap in the middle.

Even his instruments speak to universality. Takfarinas created an acoustic mandolin, which he calls a "tafka," with two necks to produce both feminine and masculine sounds. The instrument was eventually replaced with an electric half drum mandolin with two fingerboards.

A major turning point in Takfarinas' career was in 1987 when he performed at Paris's prestigious Olympia Music Hall. The 1986 single called "Way Thelha" (She is So Beautiful) already had him playing sold-out concerts in Algeria.

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The "Romane" album in 1994 and "Salamet" in 1996 were dedicated to Algerian artists assassinated or kidnapped by Islamist extremists. "When you kill an artist you kill the sentiment of humanity… you kill the voice of the people," Takfarinas said.

His latest album, "Honneur aux Dames" (2004) (Honour to Women), continues in the tradition of yal by joining several styles such as funk, reggae, rock, rap, and chaabi (traditional). Speaking of the album, Takfarinas said, "Women represent to me dignity, honour, hope and resistance. As I say in one of the songs, a woman gives like a nourishing earth."

With his latest album, Takfarinas hopes to further popularize yal music and reach a global audience. But his goal, like his music, never betrays his strong attachment to his home country of Algeria, which is the first leg of every international tour he embarks on. The tours also often include Morocco and Tunisia.

But his first and foremost commitment remains to the music style he founded: yal.

"For yal music, I am ready to give the best of myself."