★Kuroneko
Long Courrier
Few lovers stay together for life-and beyond. Just as rare are the artists who manage to keep alive the burning flame of their creative desire. Areski Belkacem is one of those who nurtures in his heart a fire that never dies out, a passion that burns just as intensely for music as it does for his beloved. As long as the message eventually reaches its intended recipient, he cares little for how long the journey takes.
His new album, Long Courrier, is proof of this: twelve unreleased songs that …
Baraka 1980
After the groundbreaking Comme à la Radio, energized by the free jazz tumult of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Brigitte Fontaine and Areski Belkacem produced six albums together or separately between 1972 and 1977. While French pop of the time was marked by lush orchestrations, Fontaine and Belkacem’s songs were often recorded live, typically accompanied only by guitar and percussion, or performed a cappella. This minimalist approach focused attention on the subversive poetry of the lyrics and the…