Hocine Slaoui – Yal Cahla

Since October’s Lili L’Abassi piece was so popular, I thought I’d post more classic, driving popular music from North Africa – this time, from Morocco.

Hocine Slaoui (more commonly spelled Houcine Slaoui) can be credited with helping to invent Moroccan popular music, acting as a bridge between earlier Moroccan chaabi and more contemporary sounds, despite actively recording only a short time. He was born in 1918 as Houcine Ben Bouchaïb in the city of Salé –  the pronounciation of the city’s name gave him the new last name of “Slaoui.” An oud player with a crack group of accompanying musicians, Slaoui began his recording career for Pathé in the years after World War II, recording upwards of 30-40 songs for the company from ca. 1948-1950 (possibly in Paris). He then mysteriously passed away in 1951. His 78s were huge sellers in the Maghreb, and his name was probably as well known as Mohammed Abdel Wahab or Farid El-Attrache – perhaps because he deliberately gave his songs mass appeal by intermingling all manner of styles. That said, they now turn up infrequently. There is next to nothing written about Slaoui in English, and there appear to be no available CDs, at least in the West, that contain his work.

Along with Slaoui on oud, you’ll hear percussion, qanun, and his chorus – even a little ululating!  This one really moves, like everything else I’ve found by the artist. The title “Yal Cahla,”  is a rather poor English transliteration of something that might be better spelled “Ya l’kHla,” which roughly translates in English to ”Oh, beautiful woman with Kohl around her eyes.” Kohl is a cosmetic used in the Middle East, South India, and Africa, by women (and also men) to accentuate the eyes. Its use dates back over 4,500 years.

Hocine Slaoui – Yal Cahla

Technical Notes
Label: Pathé
Issue Number: PV 202
Matrix Number: CPT 7871-1P (M-127784)

(Thanks to the Alkadhis for help with translation!)

Chikha Aicha El Hertitia – Âaita Baidaouiya

North Africa was a busy hub of early recording, with nearly every major label conducting numerous sessions in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia throughout the late 1920s and 1930s. (Because of its independence in 1951, 78s recorded in Libya remain a little bit of a mystery, although some do exist.) Interestingly, most of HMV’s Moroccan sessions appeared on their amazing, catch-all “K” series, which featured material from locales as disparate as Algeria, Cuba, Madagascar, and Auvergne, just to name a few places of interest.

This fantastic and spirited jam was recorded between July 22nd and July 24th, 1929, by Gramophone engineer Harold Fleming on a trip to Casablanca. The title, in fact, is a transliteration of the Arabic “Are you from Casablanca?” The female singers are accompanied by violin and percussion (bongos or a dumbek).

Chikha Aicha El Hertitia – Âaita Baidaouiya

(Thanks to Abdelali for the title translation.)

Technical Notes
Label: HMV
Coupling Number: K-4631
Face Number: 50-2114-G
Matrix Number: BS-4219
Other: M3-43689