July 13, 2010

Swingy Berber Boho Jazz: Hindi Zahra

I've been impressed with how many artists with Middle Eastern and North African roots the radio program The World has been featuring lately. From contemporary Tunisian oudist Dhafer Youssef to the versatile Venezuelan-Lebanese singer Elizabeth Ayoub (who does country music in Arabic!) but I was really taken with boho French-Moroccan chanteuse Hindi Zahra, who fuses Berber music and lyrics with jazz and funk. They've got a great short interview with her talking about the similarities between James Brown and Berber music ( yes, yes! just listen...)


Layers of Moroccan percussion, that haunting ingenue voice and a visually arresting video (along with what looks like a tuxedo-turned-matador jacket lost in the Amazonian jungle) come together to make this swingy, singable clip (I can't embed it, so you'll simply have to click the link, but here's a preview):


It's a seamless, eclectic mix all her own.

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