BESEDILA ... LYRICS ... PAROLES
RACHID TAHA
Tekitoi?
Barclay/Universal, 2004
»Who stares from cover: Terrorist or Christ?« they are asking. »Today they wouldn't make difference,« answers the apparition with martyr's aura. What haven't accomplished albums Made in Medina and Live, was now done by Tekitoi (Who'r you? or Shkoon enta?): Rachid Taha at last generally got rid of label rai, pressed on him at home and in the world ever since Three Suns with Khaled and Faudel (before that the labels were beur punk, chaabi fusion, french variete, dance underground etc.). Even more: in England they now promulgate him as the only and the last rocker. Rachid of course never was rai (of course among other maghrebi stylems he did already also use this one, yet rarely and generally protogenre, old rai of cheikhas and cheikhs), there is no doubt that since forever he is primary rocker, about the last and only we could discuss ... He’s glad too that now finally they speak more about his music and less about it as sociological phenomenon, while interestingly in his discourse he keeps harping on politics – and as usually rarely talks about music he does. So what – the music speaks per se, no?
Of course music speaks also about politics and the phenomenon of Other (without whom we are nothing as “you are me and I am you”) as we can gather from title, cover and lyrics, which are – how praising – translated wholly. Less we can gather about Rachid’s past poetics of words for presumably this time he is more straight and less methaphorical in his speech to allow us to understand him at last. Musicaly we can faster than ever gather the reminiscences from Rachid’s ancient punk era with Carte de Sejour, of course tempered with twenty year’s experience and masterfully dressed.
The marriage between North Africa and Europe, between arabian poetic and rock sensibility (and reversed) is very successful this time too, yet slightly differently than usual: first of all egyptian classical-musical orchestration (qanun and strings, recorded in Kairo, percussion of Hossam Ramzy) dominates and colours the majority of songs, much less noticable and present are ingredients of maghrebi genres (Mamachi excluded), represented by bendir and gasba plus conditionally mandoluth; besides that the sound spreads on Mediterranean in widest sense, let’s say Hasbuhum has a tang of Balkan, while Winta with slavic melos features georgian singer Kaha Beri. And not least, while arabic sonorities and instruments are still alloyed, compounded, conglomerated with rock ones, they are also in juxtaposition, collation, still in perfect dialogue, correspondence, interlace, yet with a dierhesis; same goes for Rachid’s hyperexpressive rock vocal in relation to music. If I paraphrase: “You’re indeed me and I am you, yet also you’re you and I am I, while you are me and I am you.”
Perhaps because the album was taking shape differently than previous ones and in desire to approach live sound? Longtime companion and producer Steve Hillage (while signed as co-author prior too) usualy interferred more or less at the end, while this time album came into being in collaboration from the very beginning, among other Steve went to record to Egypt, while Rachid occupied himself basicly with rocker’s riffs and quitars, who are played in turn by Steve. Album was recorded also in London and Paris, with plenty of collaborations by numerous other musicians: song Dima is co-signed by Brian Eno, title-one by Christian Olivier from Tete Raides, who also co-sings it, all three mentioned are also choruses of Rock El Casbah.
When I reviewed Made in Medina, I wrote also, “sometimes one could wish for less softness - which can taint the general impression - and for more constructive anger”. Tekitoi repairs both: is badly angry and the softness is grind off in harsh rock and ortoarabic sound. In sum, the general impression is better than ever, even if here and there a pestering trifles can be heard. Neverthless - for me, for now – new album doesn’t surpass Medina. Why? I got too fast too fed up with the french rocking of the title one, and even if there is some pearls and perhaps also a jewel (Safi), no song atteins the peerless Garab from Medina and also doesn’t surpass few others, rather opposite. Otherwise great and also brave adaptation Rock el Casbah perhaps really gives impression that The Clash were those who were adapting, yet also this one I’ve already heard too much, formerly and lately. To conclude: perhaps from “angry optimist” (as Taha calls himself now in comparison with prior “joyous pesimist”) we haven’t yet got all that he is capable of, as I pessimistically expected, perhaps we can expect even more – next time (if I join him in optimism).
TC Lejla Bin Nur
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