Tresors Du Chaabi Algerois (Various Artists)

Following the example of the Argentine tango created, in the sufferings, by the "small people" of the poor districts of Buenos Aires, of the Portuguese fado carrying the melancholy of those who took the sea, of the flamenco expressed between rage and grace or of the American black blues and it's accents of revolt, the chaâbi sprang, at the beginning of the twentieth century, in the low casbah of Algiers. Inspired by the andalusian one of which it adopted certain melodic structures, it deviates however from it on the thematic and rhythmic level (with the Kabyle contribution) while being distinguished by a phrasing and a particular tone. The texts, based on proverbs of yesterday and maxims of today, evoke situations close to reality and the concerns of the people while the instruments (mandole, banjo, piano...) indicate modernist intentions. Literally, the term chaâbi means popular and, in fact, it refers without exclusion to all popular arts, including regional musical genres. Here, it designates a mode of popular expression specific to Algiers.