CHEIKHA RIMITTI

About Me

"It's as happy as funk is and as deep as blues is Being the heart of all hopes and all melancholies, raÃ¯ music knows whom is keeping its soul." (Nourredine GafaÃ¯ti).RIMITTI was born French, in the early 1920's, near Sidi Bel-AbbÃ¨s, in Algeria.She has become an orphan very young, had a hard and soon dissolute life, hanging around from one neighbourhood to another, sleeping in the hammams and even merging with illegality sometimes. When she was twenty years old, she became close to a musicians' troop, the Hamdachis, with whom she shared a troubadour's life, singing in many cabarets et often dancing until her feet could not bear her anymore. In those times, dreadful epidemics spread through the country (Albert Camus told this story in his novel taking place in Oran, "The Plague") and put the emphasis on the daily sordid difficulties. Rimitti drew her inspiration from those desolation scenes and improvised her first verses : her repertoire is mainly based on that which has been lived. "It's misfortune that has educated me, words sing silent in my head until I sing them loud, no need to take neither a pencil nor a notebook." From those days, she prefers to keep memories of celebrations : "I celebrated the Saints in Relizane, Oran and Algiers Celebrations longed a week and people came from all over the country. We invited the greatest singers, like Oum Keltoum and Cheikha Fadela The Great Not only was I singing, but I also was riding horses during the fantasia, with a rifle in each hand, and I was shooting to the sky. Soldiers clapped their hands and the prefect himself congratulated me a few times"Her first recording was made in 1952, when Pathe Marconi released a single including the famous "Er-RaÃ¯ Er-RaÃ¯", but it's in 1954 that Rimitti became an absolute reference with her song "Charrak GattÃ " : her contemporaries heard in this song an attack against the taboo of virginity ("he crushes, whips and beats me [] I say that I'm going away but I still spend the night / pitiful me, I've taken bad habits"). One should remember that Rimitti has begun, in the 1940's, singing how hard it was to be a woman and introducing the notion of a sexual pleasure. But her thematic goes far beyond that : she explored all forms of love, celebrated friendship, tried to explain what it was to become an alcoholic, regretted the obligation to migrate and scolded the moralists. She, who dared singing an ode to the Emir Abdelkader in the Jewish coffee shops, in the middle of the Liberation's War, was going to suffer from great accusations, flying from the censors of the National Liberation Front. Her poetry forces her out of the country in the 1960's : this "national excommunication" being then a disproportionate and cynical answer from the new regime entitled itself "national liberation", but that was still deeply stamped with religious traditionalism.Since those times, she has written more than 200 songs, constituting a real "sing tank" for her successors, including Cheb Khaled whom has covered "The Camel", for instance. For every raÃ¯ musician, she is like a queen, THE Great Lady. All singers of the new generation venerate her and see her as "The Mother Of The Genre" (Rachid Taha dedicated her a song, "Rimitti"). A true legend has been built around this woman whom has been haunting the collective imaginary of the Maghreb, for more than half a century. Re-discovered a few years ago by the new generation, Rimitti is a visionary woman. Her songs, hammered out, and her words, rapped out for more than fifty years have never been closer than they are to the reality of 1990's bloody Algeria, the decade of all dangers (especially for the women, for whom Rimitti has sung aloud in the most audacious and lucid way)."In between times, the West has succumbed to her languorous, sweet but harsh voice, added to a great art of dancing" (R.Mezouane).According to how prestigious concerts took place in big cities and worldwide capitals (New York, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Geneva, Madrid, Milan, Berlin, Cairo), Rimitti has become the main ambassadress of RaÃ¯. She has been awarded with the Great Prize of Disc of the Charles Cros Academy, in 2000. But she claims no title but the one of "Cheikha" (the Senior). And even more than a title, "Cheikha" is the sum of her life, the summary of her story, the one of a French-Algerian early rebel.But yet, Rimitti does not want to get old Her heart and soul are as alert as ever, and she always acts as a representative of avant-garde. Introducing a modern band (bass, drums, keyboards and brass) playing along with traditional instruments (bendire, tar, gasbÃ¢ and gallal), Rimitti showed a new way, valuable as much for raÃ¯ as for all Arabian styles of music.Refusing, since her beginnings, the way of the variety raÃ¯, that has been taken by the "Chebs' generation", she preferred to explore the diversity of raÃ¯. She collaborated with Robert Fripp and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppersin the "Sidi Mansour" LP in 1994, and that inaugurated a new electric form of raÃ¯, with a climax in the 1980's.Resolutely progressive, she provides the transition from a traditionally based raÃ¯ (allowing trance to take place) to an improved and refined raÃ¯, which rhythms and tones are more modern. She draws the lines of a raÃ¯ that can be heard as a major musical style. A style that melts up the African influences of Gnawas and the Arabian-Andalusian harmonies of the ChÃ¢abi music with often improvised coarse lyrics of this Algerian Soul.Today, "N'Ta Goudami" is released, in the continuation of "Nouar" (2000). This new LP proves once again the diversity of Rimitti's Art, shows us the way to follow, and imposes her once more in her lifetime as the Diva Of RaÃ¯.

~ NEWS ~

Cheikha Rimitti : rai music legend diesCheikha Rimitti, the legendary rai music star, died suddenly today (Monday 15th May 2006), victim of a heart attack. She was 83 years old. Rimitti, known as "the mother of rai", was still an active performer and recording artist - indeed, her latest album 'N'ta Goudami' ('Face Me') was released just last week and she was to have appeared at the BBC Proms season in August. Cheikha Rimitti - who was born in Tessala, a small village deep in the countryside of western Algeria, has long been a legend to whom all the younger rai singers have owed their freedom of expression as well as their linguistic and moral rebelliousness, not to mention a significant proportion of their repertoire.In a recording career that stretched back to 1952, Cheikha Rimitti was among the most crucial artists in North African culture, perhaps even the most popular singer among the poorest people. Her songs focussed on the struggles of daily living, on the pleasures of sex and love, on alcohol, friendship and war, all performed in the everyday language of the streets.Rimitti's talents were recognised in every continent, and praised at festivals from Tokyo to Toronto. In 1994 she collaborated with Robert Fripp and Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers on the album 'Sidi Mansour', produced by Fripp, which nudged the creative boundaries of the rai genre out further than ever before. She always avoided the spangly cabaret pop approach to rai so favoured by the younger generation. Rimitti was nothing less than the incarnation of Algeria's long lost lust for life. Like some dauntless liberated aunt at a dysfunctional family feast, who sings, laughs, chides and surveys the psychological torture going on all around with her knowing eye, Rimitti continued to remind her fellow Algerians that spiritual faith can co-exist with a love of life and physical pleasure. Her final album, 'N'ta Goudami', also made rai history as Cheikha Rimitti, once officially banned in her native Algeria, took the defiant step of recording it at the Boussif studios in the western Algerian seaport of Oran, the city where rai music was born over a century ago.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/29/2006
Band Website: rimitti.com/
Band Members:

VARIOUS
Influences:

THE STORY OF "RAI"

RaÃ¯ (Arabic: ) is a form of folk music, originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African-American and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s and has been primarily evolved by women in the culture. The word "RaÃ¯" is Arabic for "opinion".Singers of raÃ¯ are called cheb (young) as opposed to cheikh (old) the name given to Chaabi music singers; the tradition arose in cities like Oran and elsewhere in Tlemcen, primarily among the poor. The word raÃ¯ means literally opinion but is colloquially used as an expletive along the lines of oh, yeah!. Traditionally sung by men, at the turn of the 20th century, female singers became common. Oran is a seaport in Western Algeria, known since the Spanish invasion centuries ago; Spanish troops kept women there to entertain the troops, and the city has kept a reputation for hedonism ever since. In the early 20th century, Oran was divided into Jewish, French, Spanish and Arab quarters.By independence in 1962, the Jewish quarter (known as the Derb), was home to popular musicians like Reinette L'Oranaise, Saoud L'Oranais and Larbi Bensari. Sidi el Houari was home to Spanish fishermen, many refugees from Spain who arrived after 1939. These two quarters were the centers for musical innovation, and the French inhabitants of the city went to the Jewish and Spanish areas for music. The Arabs of Oran were known for al-andalous, a classical style of music imported from Southern Spain after 1492. Hawzi was popular between the wars, and the biggest stars were female singers like Cheikha Tetma, Fadila D'zirya and Myriam Fekkai. Melhun poetry with accompaniment was also popular, sung by male singers in long, white jellabas and turbans (known as cheikhs) who played guellal drums and gaspa flutes. This genre was known as bedoui (from its origin among Bedouin chants) or gharbi. Lyrics came from the poetry of masters like Mestfa ben Brahim and Zenagui Bouhafs, and performers included Cheikh Hamada, Cheikh Mohammed Senoussi, Cheikh Madani, Cheikh Hachemi Bensmir and Cheikh Khaldi. Senoussi was the first to record, in 1906.French colonization of Algeria changed the organization of society, producing an urban poor of uneducated men and women. Popular bedoui singers mostly collaborated with the French colonizers, though some, like Cheikh Hamada were exceptions. The problems of survival in a life of poverty were the domain of street musicians who sang bar-songs called zendanis. Many of these songs included exclamations of raÃ¯! and variations on it, which implies an opinion is being expressed.In the 1920s, the women of Oran were held to strict code of conduct. Many of those that failed became social outcasts and singers and dancers. They sang medh songs in praÃ¯se of Muhammad and performed for female audiences at weddings, circumcision feasts and other ceremonies. These performers included Les Trois Filles de Baghdad, Soubira bent Menad and Kheira Essebsadija. Another group of female social outcasts were called cheikhas, who were known for their alluring dress, hedonistic lyrics, and a form of music that combined that of the cheikhs, meddhahates and zendani singers. These cheikhas sang for both men and women, and included Cheikha Remitti el Reliziana, perhaps the most famous cheikha. Other performers included Cheikha GrÃ©lo, Cheikha Djenia el Mostganmia, Cheikha Bachitta de Mascara and Cheikha a; Ouachma el Tmouchentia. The 1930s saw the rise of revolutionary organizations, many with a Marxist goal, which mostly despised these early roots raÃ¯ singers. At the same time, the great voices of Arab classical music were gaining popularity across North Africa, especially Umm Kulthum.RaÃ¯, al-andalous and the Egyptian classical superstars' style was combined in the 30s to form wahrani, a style popularized by Blaoui Houari. Wahrani was very popular, as were American jazz and French cabaret singers like Edith Piaf, especially into the 1940s. Musicians like Mohammed Belarbi and Djelloul Bendaoud added these influences to other Oranian styles, as well as Western piano and accordion, resulting in a new style called bedoui citadinisÃ©. Full-scale revolution began in the mid-1950s, and many of these stars, including Houari and Ahmed Saber, supported the Front de LibÃ©ration National. After independence in 1962, however, the new Marxist government of the BoumÃ©diÃ¨nne regime, and President Ahmed Ben Bella, did not tolerate criticism from Saber and other musicians, and many were arrested. RaÃ¯ and Oranian culture was suppressed.In the 1960s, American rock and roll and soul music was popular, and Algerian bands like The Vulures and The Students arose. The French YÃ© YÃ© craze was also popular, and two of the most influential musicians of the later 20th century began their career. Bellamou Messaoud and Belkacem Bouteldja modernized the raÃ¯ sound and began gaining mainstream acceptance by 1964. Chaba Fadela and Cheb Khaled also began their careers during this period, as raÃ¯'s popularity was growing across Algeria. Recording technology began growing more advanced, and more imported genres gained popularity as well, into the 1970s, especially Jamaican reggae performers like Bob Marley. Fadela's 1979 "Ana ma h'lali ennoum" is considered the beginning of modern pop raÃ¯; the song was a hit across Algeria, and set the stage for raÃ¯'s domination of national listeners. International success had begun as early as 1976 with the success of Ahmad Baba Rachid.In the 1980s, raÃ¯ began its period of greatest popularity. In 1986, the first state-sanctioned raÃ¯ festival was held in Algeria, and a festival was also held in Bobigny, France. Cheb Khaled was the first international superstar, though his popularity did not extend to the United States, Latin America and certain other areas. His 1988 KutchÃ© album did the most to popularize him and the whole genre of raÃ¯. Other prominent performers of the 80s included Houari Benchenet, RaÃ¯na RaÃ¯, Mohamed Sahraoui, Cheb Mami and Cheb Hamid. International success grew in the 1990s, when Cheb Khaled's 1992 Khaled was a major French hit and also saw success in India and elsewhere. With Khaled no longer in Algeria, new stars began singing lover's raÃ¯, a sentimental, pop-ballad form best-known for stars like Cheb Tahar, Cheb Nasro and, especially, Cheb Hasni. Later in the decade, funk, hip hop and other influences were added to raÃ¯, especially by performers like the French star Faudel and raÃ¯-rock fusionist Rachid Taha.
Sounds Like: Over a 50 year period she recorded over 400 cassettes, 300 singles, 50-something 78rpms and the handful of CDs. A selected CD discography can be found below: Sidi Mansour (1994) Ghir al Baroud (1996) Cheika (1996) Trab Music (2000) Nouar (2000) L'etoile du Rai (2001) Live European Tour 2000 (2001) Salam Maghreb (2001) N'ta Goudami (2006)
Record Label: BECAUSE / SONO
Type of Label: None