Sunday, January 24, 2021

Cheb Khaled sings Najat Aatabou?

Over the last couple weeks, the K7MATIC blog has presented several tapes of the incomparable raï singer Cheb Khaled from the 1980s. I've been enjoying in particular the tapes from 1983-84. These albums are fascinating - existing on the cusp between the old full-orchestra style (with violins, accordion, electric guitar, etc.) and the newer electronic style that would come to prominence in the mid-late 1980s. 

I was delighted to hear the oud on a couple tracks from the album Salou Ala Nabi, which blogmaster Reda dates to 1984. 

As the album's final track progressed from a long oud solo into a mawwal and then into the song itself, I giggled gleefully as I recognized the song as "Samhi Liya Lwalida", which appears on Najat Aatabou's first album on Edition Hassania (which I believe dates to 1983 or 1984).

I'm pretty sure all the songs on Najat's album are of her own composition, so this appears to be Cheb Khaled covering Najat Aatabou. Far out!! (If somebody has different information about the song, please share it as a comment below.)

Check out all of K7MATIC's Cheb Khaled posts HERE. I'm particularly digging Atouni Waldi (1983) and Salou Ala Nabi (1984).

And of course you can still find my post/share of the Najat album HERE. Wow, this blog celebrates its 10th anniversary this coming spring!

3 comments:

  1. Hey tim im very happy that you like the post, and for the najat atabou's "samhi lia oualida" it's so obvious that her version the original and khaled version is the cover, everything in this song is maroccan from the style to the accent, that's nt the first time that khaled covered maroccan song's neither the last, khaled's "kutché" released in 88 is an rai electro cover from the maroccan band orchestre fayçal, there's a mutual influences between algerian and maroccan styles, anyway im very honored that quoted my posts in somehow i was inspired by you for lunghing my blog thnxx for all the work u have been doing the past 10 years and by the way hapy anniversary.

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    1. Hi Reda - thanks for the comment. I love the album Kutché! I didn't know that Orchestre Fayçal recorded the song before Khaled, but I can definitely hear Moroccan style in the song.

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  2. Truly this type of comments enrich the songs, and allow them to get all the flavor, when listening to one artist followed by the other, it leads me to think that even though it is the song of Najat Aatabou, both are inspired by Andalusian classical music, specifically the Gharnati style, I always liked that young Khaled fed on all styles, that made him the star of the Maghreb, another aspect perhaps not so positive, is his habit of signing, everything he sang.

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