Cheikha Remitti
The unrivaled queen of Algerian rai music, Cheikha Rimitti was one of the most beloved and controversial singers of the Islamic world, challenging deeply ingrained notions of sex, politics, and femininity with such candor and ferocity that she was ultimately forced into exile. Born May 8, 1923, in the western Algerian countryside of Tessaa, she was orphaned as an infant and given the name Saadia, spending her adolescence working as a domestic. At age 15, she joined a troupe of traveling musicians known as the Hamadachis and became an accomplished dancer. In time Saadia became a singer (or "cheikha") as well, and though illiterate, she possessed a remarkable gift for wordplay, updating traditional Algerian folk songs with contemporary dialogue and slang. Sometime during World War II, she began billing herself as Cheikha Rimitti, adapting the surname from a conversation with a French bartender during which she proved unable to pronounce the word "remetezz." As Rimitti's fame grew, so did her notoriety. Her songs captured in vivid detail the struggles faced by Algerian women, with a recurring theme of escape by any means necessary, whether emigration, drinking, or sex. In 1952 Rimitti signed to the Pathe Marconi label to cut her debut single, "Er-Raï Er-Raï," and quickly emerged as a superstar. With the 1954 release of "Charrak Gattà," she became a lightning rod for controversy throughout North Africa for openly advocating sexual liberation and encouraging young women to lose their virginity.
When Algeria's first independent government ascended to power in 1962, Rimitti's songs were denounced as "folklore perverted by colonialism," and she was banned from appearing on television and radio. The censorship forced her to relocate to France, where she continued writing and recording to the delight of the fast-growing Algerian immigrant culture. During a brief Algerian tour in 1971, Rimitti was critically injured in an automobile crash that killed three of her backing musicians. The experience resulted in a 1975 pilgrimage to Mecca, after which she abandoned cigarettes and alcohol but continued her musical career. By the 1980s rai was the music of choice for a new generation of disenfranchised Algerians, and Rimitti was hailed as "La Mamie du Rai" -- that is, the mother of modern Algerian pop. As artists including Cheb Khaled and Rachid Taha covered her classic compositions, Rimitti's international profile grew exponentially, and she toured as far as Japan and Canada, in 1994 teaming with producer Robert Fripp for the LP Sidi Mansour, widely cited as a watershed in rai's creative evolution. In the summer of 2001, she made her U.S. debut at New York City's Central Park Summerstage, and in 2005 made her first trip back to Algeria in more than a quarter century to record the acclaimed N'ta Goudami. Just two days after performing a sold-out Paris date, Rimitti died of a sudden heart attack on May 15, 2006; she'd celebrated her 83rd birthday a week earlier.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo
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Live European Tour 2000
World music - Pubblicato da Gafaiti il 26 lug 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Trab Music
World music - Pubblicato da Charly Records il 12 set 2000
La discografia ideale di Qobuz16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Il était une fois le Raï
World music - Pubblicato da MLP il 1 gen 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sources of the Raï (Algeria) (Live)
Maghreb - Pubblicato da Institut du monde arabe il 1 gen 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ghir El Baroud
Maghreb - Pubblicato da MLP - History il 17 ott 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Queens of Raï, Vol 1 of 2
World music - Pubblicato da MLP il 1 gen 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Aux sources du raï (Musiques et chants d'Algérie)
Maghreb - Pubblicato da MLP - History il 1 gen 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Trab Music
World music - Pubblicato da Gafaiti il 12 set 2000
La discografia ideale di Qobuz16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Moul el noutir (Live)
Maghreb - Pubblicato da Boussif Miloud il 16 mag 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best of Cheikha Remitti Vol 1 of 3
World music - Pubblicato da MLP il 1 gen 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best of Cheikha Remitti Vol 2 of 3
World music - Pubblicato da MLP il 1 gen 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le meilleur
Maghreb - Pubblicato da MLP - History il 18 mag 2003
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Le Maghreb en musique
World music - Pubblicato da Gafaiti il 21 lug 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'étoile du raï
World music - Pubblicato da Gafaiti il 1 gen 2000
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Cheikha Remitti, Vol. 1Algeria
World music - Pubblicato da Edition de la paix il 17 mar 2013
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Best of Cheikha Remitti Vol 3 of 3
World music - Pubblicato da MLP il 1 gen 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ain Kahla
Generi vari - Pubblicato da Edition Master il 28 set 1985
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Goudi Maya Ya Twila
Generi vari - Pubblicato da Edition Master il 20 lug 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J'en Ai Mare (Live)
Generi vari - Pubblicato da Edition Master il 15 nov 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo