Massi has always loved weaving genres together: bathed in popular Algerian songs (châabi) and the poetry of Aït Menguelet, champion of the Kabyle resistance, the Algiers- born singer adds tou...
Massi has always loved weaving genres together: bathed in popular Algerian songs (châabi) and the poetry of Aït Menguelet, champion of the Kabyle resistance, the Algiers- born singer adds touches of reggae and hints of fado, as in Oumniya (which addresses the pain of betrayal), which opens this album of thirteen songs, most of them sung in Arabic and written by Massi. She has added to this North African folk music an Arab-Andalusian violin (Mokrane Adlani), reinforced the acoustic guitar with a mandole (Mehdi Dalil), and the derbouka (Rabah Kalfa) with Latin drums (Adriano Tenorio).
Oumniya (my wish) marks the great comeback of Souad Massi, the Algerian chaâbi-folk icon. This sixth album is decidedly modern, with themes anchored in current events. Algeria, politics, love, freedom and emancipation are all topics that feed this sensitive artist.