Samba Touré, Aziza Brahim, Wahid Paradis

19:00 Siti Muharam (Concert)
20:30 Aziza Brahim (Concert)
22:00 Wahid Paradis (DJ Set)

Unfortunately, the originally planned concert with Siti Muharam will not take place. Instead the audience can look forward to Samba Touré at 19.00. The rest of the programme with the concert by Aziza Brahim at 20.30 and a subsequent DJ set by Wahid Paradis will take place unchanged.

Concerts Paulette Nardal Terrasse (in case of rain: Miriam Makeba Auditorium)

Samba Touré

Samba Touré was raised in Dabi, a small village in Mali's Tombouctou region, where he grew up surrounded by music and began his career as a singer. Later he moved to Bamako, discovering popular music from Zaire. During this period he began singing and playing guitar in the Farafina Lolo band, with his brother Bouri on drums and Baba Simaga on bass guitar.
Touré developed a deep appreciation for the music of Ali Farka Touré, who developed and introduced the desert blues style to a global audience. Inspired by him, Touré began converting techniques from acoustic string instruments to the electric guitar and in the 1990s, the two toured together across Europe and the US. In 2003, taking the advice of Ali Farka Touré to create music that emphasizes his sonic ancestrality, Touré created his debut cassette Fondo, which became a huge success in Mali.
Baarakelaw, Touré’s seventh release, set to be released in autumn 2024 by Glitterbeat Records, seamlessly blends blues-rock, psychedelic elements, and ballads. Touré dedicates these songs to homage, dignity, respect, compassion, and good-natured humour, celebrating the ordinary people often overlooked in Malian society. Representing diverse ethnicities and regions, Touré’s music carries a powerful message of peace and unity.

He previously collaborated with Aziza Brahim on her album Abbar El Hamada (2016), commemorating the 40th anniversary of Western Sahara’s illegal and unjust occupation.

Aziza Brahim

Aziza Brahim’s life has been heavily shaped by the displacement and political oppression that ensued after Morocco’s 1975 invasion of Western Sahara. Brahim sought refuge in Cuba as a young teenager, where she discovered her passion for songwriting, later moving to Barcelona, where she is based today.

Her music is a powerful and nuanced blend of various musical cultures, incorporating elements from West African, Iberian, Mediterranean, and Afro-Cuban traditions. Drawing from her Sahrawi heritage, she often infuses her compositions with the hypnotic sounds of haul, serving as a means of cultural expression and identity affirmation. As a songwriter, singer, and instrumentalist, Brahim is a prominent and articulate spokesperson for the Sahrawi people and their ongoing struggle for recognition and justice.

Mawja (2023), her fifth studio album, resonates deeply with her roots. ‘Mawja was the word my grandparents said when they tuned on the old portable radio we had in the house’; says Brahim. In her work, the journey through origins, memories, displacement, injustices, and resistance are all elements that, through poetry and music, are catalysed.

Wahid Paradis

Wahid Paradis showcases musical brilliance with his extensive collection of vinyl gems, renowned taste, and impeccable DJing skills. He curates immersive atmospheres that captivate listeners from start to finish, effortlessly connecting the opulence of a golden age of Arab music with the synths of Italo disco, funk, and beyond. Individuals are encouraged to listen and feel, his sets often generating an energy that ignites impromptu dance gatherings.