Aziza Brahim
Encyclopedia
Aziza Brahim is a Sahrawi
singer and writer of lyrics.
, where her mother had settled in late 1975, fleeing from the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara
. Her father remained in El Aaiun
, where he died, and due to the conflict, she had never seen him.
At the age of 11, she received scholarships to study in Cuba
, as many Sahrawi students at the time. She wanted to study music, but was rejected. She left school and returned to the refugee camps in 1995, pursueing her musical career. Since 2000 she resides in Spain
.
. She joined then the "National Sahrawi Music Group", touring Mauritania
and Algeria
. In 1998 she contributed with two songs to the v.v.a.a. album "A pesar de las heridas". That year she toured Europe
with the Sahrawi group Leyoad, visiting Spain, France
and Germany
. In 1999 she went again to the refugee camps, recording a session for the Sahrawi National Radio with the Touareg music group of Tamanrasset. Between 2001 and 2003, she toured again in Spain, France and Germany with Layoad. In 2005, she collaborated with the Spanish latin jazz
band Yayabo. In 2007 she joined the group Gulili Mankoo, composed of musicians from Western Sahara and Senegal
, mixing their respective traditional music with blues
and rock
. In 2008 she released her first solo work, the EP
"Mi Canto". In 2009 she collaborated on a song of the v.v.a.a. rap
EP "Interrapcion - Crisol 09", and one song from her EP was featured in the compilation album "Listen To The Banned". Since 2009, Aziza Brahim is touring Spain and France with the Basque
txalaparta
group Oreka Tx, in the "Nömadak Tx en directo" tour.
Sahrawi
Most frequently in English language usage, the term Sahrawi is usually used in reference to populations from the disputed Western Sahara territory, sometimes with a nationalist connotation....
singer and writer of lyrics.
Life
She was born in 1976 in the Sahrawi refugee campsRefugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria
The Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, are a collection of refugee camps, set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria in 1975-76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Western Sahara during the Western Sahara War...
, where her mother had settled in late 1975, fleeing from the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
. Her father remained in El Aaiun
El Aaiún
El-Aaiún , is a city in Western Sahara founded by the Spanish in 1928. Administered by Morocco since 1976, El-Aaiún is the capital of what the Moroccan government call the region of Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, and POLISARIO call Occupied Territories...
, where he died, and due to the conflict, she had never seen him.
At the age of 11, she received scholarships to study in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, as many Sahrawi students at the time. She wanted to study music, but was rejected. She left school and returned to the refugee camps in 1995, pursueing her musical career. Since 2000 she resides in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Career
In 1995, she won the "1st National Song Contest", in the Culture festival of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic RepublicSahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about...
. She joined then the "National Sahrawi Music Group", touring Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. In 1998 she contributed with two songs to the v.v.a.a. album "A pesar de las heridas". That year she toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with the Sahrawi group Leyoad, visiting Spain, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In 1999 she went again to the refugee camps, recording a session for the Sahrawi National Radio with the Touareg music group of Tamanrasset. Between 2001 and 2003, she toured again in Spain, France and Germany with Layoad. In 2005, she collaborated with the Spanish latin jazz
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...
band Yayabo. In 2007 she joined the group Gulili Mankoo, composed of musicians from Western Sahara and Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, mixing their respective traditional music with blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. In 2008 she released her first solo work, the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
"Mi Canto". In 2009 she collaborated on a song of the v.v.a.a. rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
EP "Interrapcion - Crisol 09", and one song from her EP was featured in the compilation album "Listen To The Banned". Since 2009, Aziza Brahim is touring Spain and France with the Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
txalaparta
Txalaparta
The txalaparta is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone, similar to Romanian toacă. In Basque, zalaparta means "racket", while in the nearby areas of Navarre "txalaparta" has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely related to the sound of the...
group Oreka Tx, in the "Nömadak Tx en directo" tour.
Featured in
- 1998 A pesar de las heridas - Cantos de las Mujeres Saharauis
- 2003 Nayim Alal - Nar
- 2009 Interrapcion - Crisol 09
- 2010 Listen To The Banned
Awards and nominations
In 2009, she was nominated for the Freedom to Create Prize, that awards the power of art to fight oppression, break down stereotypes and build trust in societies, although she did not win it.Noted lyrics
Some of the lyrics of her songs are poems that she had heard from her grandmother El-Jadra Mint Mabruk in the Sahrawi refugee campsSee also
- Music of Western SaharaMusic of Western SaharaSahrawi music shares much in common with neighbouring musical traditions such as those of Mauritanian and southern Moroccan. The Tbal is the basic instrument of percussion, though the traditional string instrument called Tidinit, has largely been replaced by electric guitar.The first Sahrawi music...
- Nayim AlalNayim AlalNayim Alal is a singer, guitarist and writer of lyrics in Spanish from Western Sahara.-Life:He was born in a nomadic family at the Ued Hawa, near Smara in 1966. All his brothers and sisters do poetry, and his brother Mohamed Lamin and Nayim were musicians...
- Mariem HassanMariem Hassan-Life:She was born in 1958 in the Ued Tazua, 20 km. away from Smara . She was the third of a total of 10 siblings of a nomadic family. Although they weren't a Igaouen family, music and poetry was important in the family, as various relatives were singers, poets or dancers...