Barbés is a piece of Africa stranded in the heart of Paris, at the foot of … Read Full Bio ↴Barbés is a piece of Africa stranded in the heart of Paris, at the foot of the Sacre Coeur. It is a neighborhood of couscous and chicken, of smoke-filled bars where dominos click on tabletops, of dish antennas transmitting floods of Middle Eastern music through TV sets. In Barbés, you could have met the late Cheikha Rimitti, the grand dame of raï, on the Rue Myrrha walking back to her hotel. Or a band hired to sing at a wedding stopping to pick up their musicians at a café- The Oasis, The Délice, or The Danton.
People from every corner of Africa have crowded into Barbés, a refuge for exiles that directed Larbi Dida's raï towards Fateh's shaabi, and that brushed Aziz's guimbri up against Youcef's bass. It is encounters such as these that led to the formation of the Orchestra National de Barbés. In English, the name means The National Barbés Orchestra, implying that Barbés is a nation unto itself. It is a sentiment that few who visit the neighborhood would dispute.
The story started in Belcourt, a working class section of Algiers, Algeria at the peak of the 1980 baby boom. Youcef Boukella's older brothers listened to rock and bossa nova, people watched Cairo film classics on TV and tuned to Kabyl folk music on the radio. Outside the Belcourt alleyways --pandemonium. Street peddlers, muezzins, Gnawa street performers, shaabi concerts, ghetto blasters playing reggae, funk and raï.
"My style of music goes back to my childhood in Belcourt," explains Youcef. In 1985 he was offered a slot playing bass for the first Arabic-language rock group, T34. But when Youcef heard what visiting jazz musician Jeff Gardner was packing, that's when he decided to pack himself up and leave home. Raï was all the rage when he arrived in Paris. He worked with Cheb Mami and Kabyl native Takfarinas at diaspora parties. Safy Boutella plunged him into the vortex of underground jazz. He honed his vision while waiting to record his first album "The Greeting of Peace". This was when his genius as a producer began to reveal itself (his production). Meanwhile, with former -Raïna Raï vocalist Larbi Dida, he recorded a four-title offering that foreshadowed his future approach.
Larbi Dida comes from the town of Sidi bel Abbes and is a founding member of Raïna Raï, the rock-raï group that shook up the Algerian rock scene by zeroing in on a roots-meets-electric sound. Recognized by the Algerian media as a historic breakthrough, this group was the first rock group to use raï in its repertoire. Ever since Larba Dida moved to Paris in 1989, his has been one of the great Arabic voices in the French capital.
Aziz Sehmaoui is another pillar upholding Youcef's vision. Raised in Marrakesh, this Sufi was nourished on a combination of Gnawa Arab-African beats and British-American pop performed in Morocco with various traditional and electric groups. (Association Ziriab, Lemchaheb and others). Like Youcef, Aziz attempts to weld the mystical power of healing rhythms with today's sounds. As the custodian of spiritual rigor and technique, he infuses the music with an aura of native authenticity molded by the luminous candor of his voice.
The band:
Medehi Askeur, Fateh Benlala, Ahmed Benshidhum, Yusef Bukella, Alain Debiossat, Jean-Baptiste Ferre, Fathellah Ghoggal, Olivier Louvel, Taufik Mimuni, Michel Petry, Asís Sahmaui, Kamel Tenfiche. Discography:
En Concert (Virgin 844 009 2, 1997)
Poulina (Virgin 847 553 2, 1999)
Alik (Wagram 3130492, 2008)
Rendez-Vous Barbes (Le Chant du Monde CMD 165, 2010)
People from every corner of Africa have crowded into Barbés, a refuge for exiles that directed Larbi Dida's raï towards Fateh's shaabi, and that brushed Aziz's guimbri up against Youcef's bass. It is encounters such as these that led to the formation of the Orchestra National de Barbés. In English, the name means The National Barbés Orchestra, implying that Barbés is a nation unto itself. It is a sentiment that few who visit the neighborhood would dispute.
The story started in Belcourt, a working class section of Algiers, Algeria at the peak of the 1980 baby boom. Youcef Boukella's older brothers listened to rock and bossa nova, people watched Cairo film classics on TV and tuned to Kabyl folk music on the radio. Outside the Belcourt alleyways --pandemonium. Street peddlers, muezzins, Gnawa street performers, shaabi concerts, ghetto blasters playing reggae, funk and raï.
"My style of music goes back to my childhood in Belcourt," explains Youcef. In 1985 he was offered a slot playing bass for the first Arabic-language rock group, T34. But when Youcef heard what visiting jazz musician Jeff Gardner was packing, that's when he decided to pack himself up and leave home. Raï was all the rage when he arrived in Paris. He worked with Cheb Mami and Kabyl native Takfarinas at diaspora parties. Safy Boutella plunged him into the vortex of underground jazz. He honed his vision while waiting to record his first album "The Greeting of Peace". This was when his genius as a producer began to reveal itself (his production). Meanwhile, with former -Raïna Raï vocalist Larbi Dida, he recorded a four-title offering that foreshadowed his future approach.
Larbi Dida comes from the town of Sidi bel Abbes and is a founding member of Raïna Raï, the rock-raï group that shook up the Algerian rock scene by zeroing in on a roots-meets-electric sound. Recognized by the Algerian media as a historic breakthrough, this group was the first rock group to use raï in its repertoire. Ever since Larba Dida moved to Paris in 1989, his has been one of the great Arabic voices in the French capital.
Aziz Sehmaoui is another pillar upholding Youcef's vision. Raised in Marrakesh, this Sufi was nourished on a combination of Gnawa Arab-African beats and British-American pop performed in Morocco with various traditional and electric groups. (Association Ziriab, Lemchaheb and others). Like Youcef, Aziz attempts to weld the mystical power of healing rhythms with today's sounds. As the custodian of spiritual rigor and technique, he infuses the music with an aura of native authenticity molded by the luminous candor of his voice.
The band:
Medehi Askeur, Fateh Benlala, Ahmed Benshidhum, Yusef Bukella, Alain Debiossat, Jean-Baptiste Ferre, Fathellah Ghoggal, Olivier Louvel, Taufik Mimuni, Michel Petry, Asís Sahmaui, Kamel Tenfiche. Discography:
En Concert (Virgin 844 009 2, 1997)
Poulina (Virgin 847 553 2, 1999)
Alik (Wagram 3130492, 2008)
Rendez-Vous Barbes (Le Chant du Monde CMD 165, 2010)
Chorfa
Orchestre National De Barbès Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Orchestre National De Barbès:
Alaoui Loukan ydirou 3lik bab hdid nkzah ou njik yalhbib Loukan ydi…
Dor biha Dour biha ya chibani dour biha Dour biha tekhdem 3lik wa…
Mimouna Ya Mimouna dhyaf rabbi idha kablou el oueldine ya khouya ya…
Mimouna (Live) Ya Mimouna dhyaf rabbi idha kablou el oueldine Ya khouya ya…
Salam 3ouhdhark asavoun ntnach ourthekid akadoumiw maghouzif la3me…
Savon 3ouhdhark asavoun ntnach ourthekid akadoumiw maghouzif la3me…
Savon (Live) 3ouhdhark asavoun ntnach Ourthekid akadoumiw Maghouzif la3me…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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Kadem Mohammed
"Sadati" means gentleman, and "Chorfa" means "noble, wise old people" referring to the parents (and old members of a village), He is saying : "ya sadati ya chorfa"
(Oh noble gentlemans),
Dayf Lah w Dayfcoum
(i came to you as a guest),
rani atchane jit nechrob
(i'm so thirsty, & i came to drink),
Mel hawd li andkoum
(from your fountain)
[being the guest means coming to ask the hand of the girl he loves, thirsty : means thirsty for love, and fountain reefers to the girl he loves]
, This music is originally from "Tuareg people" like the group "tinariwen", what is known by those culture is that they really conservator and respectful at the point that they can't even say : i wanna marry your girl (verbally) lol, so they have to come up with metaphors like in this song... i recommend also : tinariwen, beautiful music.
Kaled Ben
La richesse culturelle et musicale en Algérie est incroyable 🇩🇿🇩🇿🇩🇿
Wolf
Algerian culture and Algerian music is just fun and all just happiness viva Algeria 🇩🇿
Ammar sounboul
بطبيعة الحال
Kaled Ben
Absolutely 🇩🇿🎵🎶
Mokhtar merine
La culture algérienne n'en finira jamais d'étonner bravo les gars
Ben Simpsons
j'adore ces mélanges musicaux que l'orchestre national de barbès manie avec autant de génie! vraiment, bravo!
bhopale1
Just beautiful !!! What a harmony, I don't understand the language but I think I'm the biggest fan of these guys, anyway who need a language when you enjoy wonderful music, and music is universal language so just enjoy👍👍 thanks for uploading such a nice video. Thanks
Kadem Mohammed
"Sadati" means gentleman, and "Chorfa" means "noble, wise old people" referring to the parents (and old members of a village), He is saying : "ya sadati ya chorfa"
(Oh noble gentlemans),
Dayf Lah w Dayfcoum
(i came to you as a guest),
rani atchane jit nechrob
(i'm so thirsty, & i came to drink),
Mel hawd li andkoum
(from your fountain)
[being the guest means coming to ask the hand of the girl he loves, thirsty : means thirsty for love, and fountain reefers to the girl he loves]
, This music is originally from "Tuareg people" like the group "tinariwen", what is known by those culture is that they really conservator and respectful at the point that they can't even say : i wanna marry your girl (verbally) lol, so they have to come up with metaphors like in this song... i recommend also : tinariwen, beautiful music.
bhopale1
Thanks very much for the translation, what a polite way to address your elders, thanks again
bhopale1
Kadem Mohamed I did managed to watch a video of Tinariwen their performance at "WOMAD" 2004 in England and more, they are amazing. Thanks again