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Describe the atmosphere and live music at a local pub, restaurant, festival, church or temple, club night.... inspire other people to check it out!
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Musician: Abdelkadar Saadoun
Location: London
Instruments: Voice/ Derbouka/ Bendir/ Mandole
Music: Algerian / 搁补茂
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HOW I CAME TO THIS MUSIC听听听听听听听听听听WHERE I PLAY听听听听听听听听听听A FAVOURITE SONG |
  
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 听听Listen (2.43) to Abdelkader Saadoun (vocals and derbouka) perform "Inchalah" accompanied by Yazid Fentazi (oud)
听听Listen (2.13) to Abdelkader Saadoun (vocals and derbouka) perform "Abdelkader" accompanied by Yazid Fentazi (oud) and friends
听听Listen (3.17) to Abdelkader Saadoun talk about his music
 听听Watch Abdulkader Saadoun and his band perform at Womad 2002.
"搁补茂 means opinion - my opinion, your opinion - it is freedom of expression. What's inside me heart comes out. It's similar to Blues, so let's call it the 'Blues of Algeria'."
How I came to this music
I come from a small town in Algeria called Khemis Miliana - between Algiers and Sidi Belabas, the birthplace of 搁补茂 music. The first instrument I met in life was the acoustic guitar. I'd go and watch local bands and hear them play guitar beautifully and I just loved the sound. I'd make my own guitars with bits of wood and anything I could find. Then, when I was 10 and I'd saved enough pocket money, I bought my first acoustic guitar and started to learn from there. I would pick up a melody from the radio and try to play it. After a while I discovered other instruments - drums, the keyboard, the accordion. I just wanted to have a go on all the instruments!
I formed my first band when I was 17 and 搁补茂 music was starting to be very popular. Bands were in demand, people wanted musicians to play at their weddings and parties and there were lots of festivals around. Many of our traditional songs are very beautiful and very danceable. We use a rhythm called 6/8 - in Algeria we call it Hady, in Morocco they call it Chaibi - basically it's a very very old rhythm and you hear it everywhere you go in North Africa. I use it a lot in my music because it's very spiritual and very dynamic.
 搁补茂 means opinion - my opinion, your opinion - it is freedom of expression. So I can say "I'm in love with you" or "I just want to have a good time" or whatever. There's nothing to hide, it's exactly what you're feeling - what's inside my heart comes out. It's similar to Blues, so let's call it the 'Blues of Algeria'. It was a big problem in Algeria a long time ago. At that time 搁补茂 was something new, like a revolution. It was banned because we're not supposed to swear, because we are Muslims, and we're not allowed to say "I want to go to the bar and get drunk" or "I want to have a good time" or talk about sex and all that. I didn't get banned because I wasn't there. In 1988 I finished my art degree and left Algeria, so I came to England before all the trouble started.
When I arrived here I made some good friends - English, Italian, French, Turkish.... When I told them my story, about my art and music they were impressed and said I should do something about the music. So I started my band. I was the first Algerian to form a 搁补茂 band in the UK.
The band are called my name. In Algeria every 搁补茂 singer is called 'Cheb', which means 'young'. So if you're a Rai singer they call you "Cheb Abdulkader", "Cheb Mohammed" or whatever. I was fed up with all that, so I just use my first and second names. I've got eight great musicians in the band - none of them are Algerian: I've got an Italian bass player, a guy from Jamaica, one from Switzerland and the rest are English.
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