Jalouse

Cheba Djenet, Jalouse (Jealous) (Sunhouse Records, 2010)
Reviewed by Abu Ramses

ALL TRACKS FCC CLEAN

Debut album of Cheba Djenet “the princess of rai” - a challenge to a still mainly male-dominated form. A nasal mezzo-soprano singing mostly in Algerian Arabic, with some French. Most tracks are solo. Djenet represents the 3rd (or 4th?) generation of this form – more influenced by global musical currents, more melodic, mixes North African and Latin beats. Lots of accordion, now considered a “traditional” North African instrument. Each track begins with “Editions Sunhouse presente, Cheba Djenet” & the track title (in French or Arabic). Annoying, but it does tell you who’s in on the instrumentals.

Try 1, 3, 8, 9

Tracks
1. Chta Sralek – Mid-tempo, Latin beat, sweetest vocal on the album - 6:06
2. Jalouse (Jealous) – Up beat, Arab pop dance style, lot of French words - 5:44
3. Ya lbared – Big instrumental ensemble, mid- to up tempo; eastern beat on dumbek in the foreground - 6:17
4. Kedab (Liar) – Slow to mid-tempo, Latin beat while keyboard riffs evoke her Algerian roots - 5:28
5. Yama Lhnina – Up tempo, dance beat, big instrumentation, accordion solos & chorus on the bridges - 5:37
6. Machi Mlyoum (Go from Today) – North African-style percussion and musical riffs with violin solos; many instrumental collaborators – 5:47
7. Sabra Alih (“I’m patient for him??) - Fast-paced dance beat start to finish (a bit boring, but good percussionist), accordion and (smaller) keyboard solos - 5:42
8. Darli Sadka – Up beat, great mix of western and eastern instruments with Arabic phrasing and ornamentation. This is mostly for the instrumentals -5:37
9. Chayfni Hayt Ksir (See my short life??) – Fast-paced, eastern percussion beat, wild accordion/keyboard solos, backup girls (ma x 5) - 5:34