Bledi

Les Boukakes – Bledi (Mosaic)
Reviewed by Sadie O., 10/18/06
Rock ‘n’ Raï! A bit harder edged than the pop Raï we’re more familiar with. Closest stylistic relative would be Rachid Taha, but the vocalist has a nicer voice (sorry, Rachid!) The musicians are from all over North Africa, currently living in France. Their name is a concatenation of two derogative terms towards their people, and “Bledi” means “my ‘hood” in Arabic, for what that’s worth.
I really hope the rest of you like this album even half as much as I do – I think it’s about as good as music gets!
All in Arabic, no FCCs as far as I know. It’s all fantastic; esp. 5 & 8.
1. ***starts with shuffling beat and electric guitars, volume grows slowly. Male singing in Arabic, with some extravagantly rolled “R”s. Urgent quality to the sound.
2. **bouncy midtempo beat with lots of hand drum and keyboards, less hard and sweeter.
3. **Low key and a bit dark, gorgeous vocals, builds into slightly uptempo rock ‘n’ belly dance with a touch of gnawa. Back to low key at ending.
4. ***slightly uptempo drum/keyboard-driven rock ‘n’ Raï, great energy and beat.
5. ****Starts with solo vocal, then complex hand percussion, great build in energy a minute or so in, then full-on rock gallop with bits of gnawa. Yay!
6. **Starts with extremely trad Arabic instrumentation, but with a bit of electronica in the back… Downtempo and downbeat, slinky groove.
7. ***Starts with dramatic chords, then rather uptempo keyboard-driven bop, definitely a hip-wiggler, but with a bit of mysterious vibe.
8. *****a bit uptempo, such a great beat it hurts – very funky but very Arabian. Great song!
9. ***Sweet oud and hand drums, a bit uptempo but a bit downbeat.
10. **Starts with long vocal Arab-style coloratura, then midtempo groove with some very flamenco-sounding bits and a bit of accordion. Somehow it works…
11. **almost sanctified intro with keyboard and vocals, then rather uptempo beat, going nicely funky halfway along.