Released
1997
Reviewed by
Kim Alexander
Label
Contact
Barraka
Visit
Sapho
Last Edit/Update
04 April, 1998
Sapho
Digital Sheikha
Track Listing
1. Sois plus radical
2. Je t'avoue
3. Laouah
4. Sahla 1+2
5. Petit Démon
6. Ya Habib
7. Ce spectacle
8. Dabayji
9. Endi ou Hida
10. Shalini
11. Titiha
12. Amuenty
13. Radio Bébé
"What exactly is a Sheikha? In Morocco or Algeria, it's a kind of "woman of ill-repute" or outcast who sings at weddings and feasts, with heavy make up, gold teeth, who drinks a lot and smokes dope. They shake their hair to the beat, move their sensual bellies to please women and men; sing about love and other realistic themes from the daily life. At feasts, they are well accepted and admired for their freedom and independence acquired in an islamic country; in their private lives however they seem to suffer a certain disgrace from societies attitude toward them, which forcess them to live often together and hidden, rejected by their families and relatives. With "Digital Sheikha" Sapho gets closer to her Moroccan roots and background, where Bill Laswell introduces his subtle basslines, intercultural fusion understanding and imaginative mixing on four deep tracks!" -- (Barraka Promotional Data).
And Sapho is just that, exciting, devout, and brings out the essence of
the Islamic sounds on this release. With an electro-disco beat, and the very much so
Moroccan influencs, Sapho brings out an intensely indigenous blend of
fast paced tempos, vocals, themes and melodies of exotic middle eastern
based compositions. One can only wonder if Sapho might be strongly
considered to be one of those more radical subversive's in her native lands? Does
this release actually get air-play there?? It doesn't seem that a country as
strongly set in the Islamic Ways would want a female singing her songs from a cd titled:
Digital Whore! Sapho must be a pretty gutsy gal to be taking ancient
Islamic traditions, singing and infusing them into modern-day electronic music. Excellent
release for those of you who enjoy the more traditional yet modern "digital"
sounds stemming from Islam.
Sapho's voice is very
good, quite diverse, and ranges from near operatic to traditional Islamic in terms of
quality. There are a great deal of diverse sounds on this release that include traditional
middle eastern cries, drums, wavy calls to the religious ones, clicks, chants, bass,
electronic injections, strings, winds and many more. The musicians, their sounds and
instruments involved in this release, include the following fine artists:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sapho -- Vocals and Keyboards.
Bill Laswell -- Basslines, Loops and
Effects on tracks 1, 3, 5, and 8.
Zahera and Hallillfa -- Bendir, Tarija.
Cheb Qchatar -- Guitar, Bouzouki.
Jalal Hamdaoul -- Keyboards, Darbukka.
Nouffel H. -- Oud.
Aziz Heditan -- Violin.
Bombax, and Fido K. -- Programming.
Pat Jabbar -- Programming and Keyboards.
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