Photo Credits: Image Courtesy Of Calabash Music
Souad Massi
Algerian-born singer/songwriter Souad Massi was born into a musical family in 1972 and embarked upon serious music study while still a young girl, learning theory and studying both the Arab-Andalusian and Western classical canons. By her late teens, she was already a veteran performer, taking the stage alone with her guitar. A couple of early flamenco and rock-oriented experiments got her some attention but her frank lyrics eventually drew down official disfavor and cost her a day job in civic planning. She was on the verge of throwing in the towel when she was invited by local media star Allalou to participate in the Femmes d'Algérie ("Women from Algeria") Festival in Paris in 1999.
Her appearance there led to her debut solo release, Raoui, (2001). The album included "Noir Et Blanc," a French-language duet with Senegalese icon Ismael Lo, but was primarily devoted to showcasing her background and trajectory while preserving her gift for communicating with each listener on a one-on-one basis. While remaining firmly within the topical folk tradition of Tracey Chapman, and Joan Baez, the set also revealed a growing array of international influences; the singer's North African birthright still predominated, but styles like Indian film music, French chanson and American soft jazz had also begun to flavor her music.
On her next album, 2003's Deb ("Heart-broken" ) her espousal of social and political issues became even more focused and the soft-spoken but courageous singer applied her honeyed, sinuous voice to stories of love, family, and the universal longing for liberty. Her message was pertinent but not angry, committed but not fanatic, and poetic but not sentimental—presented with wisdom, restraint and sympathy.
Mesk Elil "(Honeysuckle") was released on 2005 and dominated the European world music charts. The album included guest turns by Kabyle native Rabah Khalfa, emerging Mauritanian star Daby Touré and Pascal Danaë, a French-born musician of Caribbean ancestry, with session player Mino Cinelu on percussion. The tunes had a jazzier, more sophisticated edge yet never wandered far from Massi's heritage. The extroverted, drum-laced "Ilhem" ("Inspiration") fronted by bell-like plucked strings, revealed a strong West African/Touareg inspiration, while "Khalouni" ("Let Me") was an infectious North African-Flamenco hybrid. But even amid this far-flung celebration of musical diversity, Massi's gloriously feminine alto and lush acoustic guitar kept her message of personal freedom and inter-cultural tolerance at center-stage.
Massi is now officially a Paris-based emigré but the Mediterranean sounds of her girlhood never fail to perfume her music. Although her family still lives in Algeria and there is always the possibility of fundamentalist reprisal, she continues to espouse humanitarian and feminist causes. She continues to explore her roots and to speak out in her frank, gentle and conciliatory manner, using music to quietly create a platform for positive change – Christina Roden
