Sapho
Sapho was born in 1950 to Jewish parents in the predominantly Islamic country of Morocco (Marrakesh, to be exact). When she was 16, her family emigrated to France, although Sapho continued her studies at a boarding school in Switzerland. By 18, she was living on her own in Paris, taking acting lessons, and playing guitar and singing on the streets.
A short time later, a musician friend convinced her to audition for the famed music school, Le Petit Conservatoire de Mireille. Sapho soon abandoned her acting studies in favor of music. A demo tape that was shopped around led to a signing by RCA, who released Le Balayeur du Rex in 1977 to little notice.
After a brief stint as a French journalist in New York, it was back to Paris, then to London to record her second album, Janis, released in 1980. Now fully back into music, Sapho released three albums over the next three years before taking another brief break to concentrate on a book of drawings that was eventually published.
Sapho returned to music in 1985, with Passions, Passons, which saw her leaving the rock sound of her previous albums to embrace the Middle Eastern sounds she had grown up with; leading to a series of concerts at Le Bataclan, where she began performing her arrangements of songs made popular by the great Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum.
The next few years saw Sapho branching out further: she published two novels, was involved with making a film about the Intafada, and performed in a Threepenny Opera, all the while still performing and recording her own music. Starting in 1992, she focused on the music of Oum Kalthoum, releasing a full album of that material, and touring the world, even performing in Jerusalem in 1994. Her next album, Jardin Andalou (1996), blended rock with Arabic and Andalusian elements. This was followed by Digital Sheikha, a more dance-based album for the Swiss Baraka label. In 1999, La Route Nue des Hirondelles was released, along with her third novel, Beaucoup Autour de Rien. She transformed La Route Nue des Hirondelles into a stage show, which she toured for the next couple years while also continuing with the Oum Kalthoum material. Returning to recording, Orients was released in 2003.
© Sean Westergaard /TiVo
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Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Live Au Bataclan
Electronic - Released by Celluloid on Feb 21, 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Digital Sheikha
World - Released by Barraka El Farnatshi on Dec 1, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le Paris stupide
French Music - Released by LASIDO on May 31, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jalousie, amour, mort (J.A.M)
French Music - Released by EPM Musique on Dec 10, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sapho chante Barbara
French Music - Released by LASIDO on Oct 26, 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ferré Flamenco (Sapho)
Pop - Released by Basaata productions on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Velours Sous La Terre (Sapho)
Pop - Released by Musicast on Oct 31, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jardin Andalou
French Music - Released by Celluloïd on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sheikha Tracks Remastered
World - Released by Barraka El Farnatshi Prod. on May 26, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Barbarie
French Music - Released by Parlophone (France) on May 31, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le balayeur du rex
French Music - Released by LASIDO on May 31, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La route nue des hirondelles
Pop - Released by Celluloïd on Mar 20, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Passage d'enfer
French Music - Released by Parlophone (France) on Apr 5, 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lala Imilia (Fous moi la paix le barbu)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Epm on Nov 19, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tôi Là Người Việt Nam (Remix)
Electronic - Released by Metaplay on May 28, 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -