Chaba Fadela
Encyclopedia
Chaba Fadela is an Algerian Raï
musician and actress.
Raised in a poor neighborhood, she starred in the Algerian film Djalti at the age of 14. She launched her musical career as a singer in Boutiba S'ghir's band and began recording with producer Rachid Baba Ahmed in the late 1970s. She was the first woman to defy the ban on women singing in clubs, and she quickly reached great success in Algeria.
She met and married Cheb Sahraoui
, and the pair began recording together as a duo, starting in 1983 with "N'sel Fik (You Are Mine)", which became one of the first international raï hit records. An album of songs from those sessions was released by Mango/Island/PolyGram Records in 1989. Fadela and Sahraoui toured internationally and recorded widely in the 1980s, with further success. While in New York in 1993 they recorded the album Walli with producer and multi-instrumentalist Bill Laswell
. They relocated from Algeria to France in 1994.
In the late 1990s the professional and personal relationship between Fadela and Sahraoui broke down, and since then Fadela has continued to work as a solo singer.
Raï
Raï is a form of folk music that originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s....
musician and actress.
Raised in a poor neighborhood, she starred in the Algerian film Djalti at the age of 14. She launched her musical career as a singer in Boutiba S'ghir's band and began recording with producer Rachid Baba Ahmed in the late 1970s. She was the first woman to defy the ban on women singing in clubs, and she quickly reached great success in Algeria.
She met and married Cheb Sahraoui
Cheb Sahraoui
Cheb Sahraoui is an Algerian Raï musician, the first to tour North America and the first to incorporate electronic synthesizers into his arrangements....
, and the pair began recording together as a duo, starting in 1983 with "N'sel Fik (You Are Mine)", which became one of the first international raï hit records. An album of songs from those sessions was released by Mango/Island/PolyGram Records in 1989. Fadela and Sahraoui toured internationally and recorded widely in the 1980s, with further success. While in New York in 1993 they recorded the album Walli with producer and multi-instrumentalist Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
. They relocated from Algeria to France in 1994.
In the late 1990s the professional and personal relationship between Fadela and Sahraoui broke down, and since then Fadela has continued to work as a solo singer.
Further information and main sources
- [ AMG entry]
- Further information