Tunisia: Dhafer Youssef
There was recently a fine display of street dancing by visitors hailing from across North Africa at London’s Southbank Centre. In Tunisia, breakdancing used to be an illicit form of protest – or at least an expression of dissatisfaction, given that it was outlawed under the old regime. But since the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, the hip-hop-related dance has taken on an altogether more celebratory symbolism. (Interviews with the participants can be read here). The soundtrack to the event was curated by Tunisian musician Steve Abidove and included this beautiful piece by Dhafer Youssef.
Egypt: Omar Khorshid
The peerless Sublime Frequencies label has a number of great releases coming up this autumn and winter, including an astounding live recording of the legendary guitarist Omar Khorshid and his group while on tour in Australia just months before his death in 1981. On this track, Khorshid locks horns with his percussionist on an improvised rhythmical battle in which the guitarist abandons his normal surf-guitar style to start chucking like Nile Rodgers. The double album is out on 28 October. If you’ve got a few minutes free, check out this amazing clip of Khorshid in a nightclub in Beirut, from the 1972 film Guitar of Love.
Niger: Mdou Moctar
Anyone lucky enough to have caught Mdou Moctar’s trio on their recent European tour couldn’t have been anything but blown away by the experience (he’ll be touring in Europe again in late October). If you can’t see him live, however, you should be able to satisfy yourself with the issue of his debut album, Anar, a raw, futuristic affair with spaced-out, auto-tuned vocals, broken beats and FX plugins. (Niger isn’t, geographically speaking, in North Africa, but the Tuareg are the Tuareg whether they live in Niger, Mali or Algeria. Modern Tuareg music doesn’t respect borders and, in this case, neither should we.)
Morocco: C-Production
More North African oriental trap for the playlist, this time from C-Production (AKA Badr), who is part of the Moroccan diaspora in the Netherlands. C-Production, who was born in Kenitra in northern Morocco, excels in twisting Berber rhythms to dancehall, grime and trap production methods.
Turkey: Selda and Boom Pam
If you happen to be travelling to Le Guess Who? festival, in the Netherlands, to witness such delights as Swans, Autechre and Savages, make time to catch Turkish psych-rock legend Selda Bağcan, backed here by Boom Pam. They’re a great band in their own right and, as this 44-minute live clip attests, crowd go nuts when the main attraction comes on stage at 14 mins 43 seconds. Anyone who wants to know more about this massively talented musician could do much worse than get their hands on Finders Keepers’ compilation Selda, which is a great introduction to her work.
