03
Rachid Taha: Kienes?
| It has taken three years of hard touring to show 'Made in Medina' to the world, with a global trail of both prestigious and eccentric gigs: Istanbul, Mexico City, Saigon, Phnom Penh, Sydney, Adelaide, WOMAD festivals here and there. During those nomadic years a new album was already brewing. "I dreamed of singing my nightmares," says Taha. The apocalyptic vision of a society careering into a wall was the impetus for a marathon of questioning; his motives, other people's motives, the dirty victory of experience over innocence, the root causes of the virulent anger and chaos that grips our world. That's what makes 'Tékitoi' Taha's most harrowing and yet fascinating album to date. And in the midst of it all there's 'Rock El Casbah', an homage to the late great Joe Strummer, a man's whose unvarnished honesty and lack of text-book punk cynicism made him hero, to Taha and to many others. Since his debut in 1982, Rachid has never ceased to show his true colours. Against the winds and tides of the media, the young 'rock bear' has never denied his convictions: in the midst of provocation and controversy, so many others sacrifice their ideals - not Rachid Taha. Let's face it, there's always something to celebrate, even in the darkest hour. www.rachidtaha.com |
 |
 Wrasse Records / Filter Music |
