"Donia"
Sawt El Atlas

CD 68.814

The oriental sound of the new millennium is here! If you love traditional oriental music blending rai, reggae, funk and Latino beats, you mustn't miss Sawt El Atlas. And if you're not yet into that kind of music, you will be soon!
1996, after more than 200 gigs, they released their first CD, entitled Généraliser (Generalising). It was a lively album swept along by its Arabic-French lyrics, which were deliberately positive even when they attacked the precarious nature of everyday social integration:

"Que tu sois chômeur, balayeur, ingénieur que tu sois un blanc, un black, ou un beur Sache qu'il n'y a pas de différence, ni de préférence, ici on danse"

"Whether you're on the dole, a street sweeper or an engineer, Whether you're white, black, or Arab, Remember there's no difference, no preference: here, we dance..."

And when they hear clichés about the council estates, Sawt El Atlas reply: "We're an answer, not the problem...". 1999, Sawt El Atlas signed to Sony's Small label and in October, they released a new, enthusiastic and firmly mature album, mainly sung in Arabic, but with some French too. They began to record Donia in Paris, in the studio of Sodi, the producer of Les Negresses Vertes, Femi Kuti and I Am, but it was completed in Cairo, the crossroads of modern Arabic music.

Donia was mixed by Carmen Rizzo who has worked with Prince, Khaled and Zebda among others. The generous nature of singer-songwriters Kamel and Mounir, aged 22 and 21 respectively, has combined with their brothers' talent and the background of the other musicians to produce a perfect blend of oriental roots and modern groove. This time, the album's lyrics focus on the world's most universal theme: love. Donia's twelve songs are a hymn to love, respectively devoted to mothers, couples, people in general, life and God. All were written as original pop songs: the radio-friendly first single Ne Me Jugez-Pas (Don't judge me), the oriental jungle of Ness featuring Natacha Atlas, a long-time friend of the band, the flamenco leanings of Andalucia, the groove-reggae of Datna and the eponymous single, Donia...

Sawt El Atlas have a final comment. "We want to export this unusual oriental music. The album is dedicated to people who are short of exoticism and warmth. They may find themselves swept away when they listen to it..." Sawt El Atlas means "Voices of the Atlas" and Donia "world"... Obviously an international invitation!an international invitation!


Interview Sawt el Atlas


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