WOMAD

Akli D

From Algeria

That man Manu Chao seems to have each of his ten fingers in a different pie. Not content to be the world’s most cherished border-crossing troubadour or producer par excellence to swinging Malians Amadou & Mariam, he’s just completed his most recent musical adventure – overseeing the recording of the second album from Algerian singer-songwriter Akli D. Like many Algerians with something to say, a young and angry Akli D fled his homeland and took up residence in Paris, but his journey took him via San Francisco and Ireland where his ear for a fine tune meant he soaked up everything within earshot. Digging deep into tradition yet strikingly modern and immediate, Akli D’s music is informed as much by Western rock and reggae as it is by folk singers from his Algerian birthplace of Kabylie. It’s also a bag of songs that are shot through with a razor-sharp concern for the human condition, whether it’s the plight of Chechen children or those caught up in the endless battlezones of the Middle East. He’s a 21st-century troubadour, with a pricked conscience and an unerring commitment to spreading the word. For songs that combine humanity with downright grooviness, look no further.Catch this if you like… Rachid Taha or Orchestre National de Barbes