"Who are you?" asks Rachid Taha on the title track of an LP that raises awkward but vital questions about racial, political and personal identity in the post-9/11 world. Born in Algeria, raised in Paris, Taha began in French punk band Carte de Sejour but has since emerged as the chef de bande of a cross-cultural musical movement that does for North Africa what Manu Chao achieved for the Latin/Caribbean diaspora. Potently produced by Steve Hillage, authentic Arabic sounds swirl around pounding rock rhythms, heard to particularly fine effect on "Rock El Casbah", a stirring bilingual homage to Joe Strummer.
“Who are you?” asks Rachid Taha on the title track of an LP that raises awkward but vital questions about racial, political and personal identity in the post-9/11 world. Born in Algeria, raised in Paris, Taha began in French punk band Carte de Sejour but has since emerged as the chef de bande of a cross-cultural musical movement that does for North Africa what Manu Chao achieved for the Latin/Caribbean diaspora. Potently produced by Steve Hillage, authentic Arabic sounds swirl around pounding rock rhythms, heard to particularly fine effect on “Rock El Casbah”, a stirring bilingual homage to Joe Strummer.
