Aziza Brahim fuses her nomadic roots in the Western Sahara with a Latin twist in this personal yet political reflection.
Those consulting a map of the African continent may well trace a finger down the coast of Morocco, to find themselves stumbling across the ambiguous, gray-shaded territory that is Western Sahara and, after a few minutes of googling, be surprised to discover that this is anything but a barren no man's land. Small desert towns align the main highway all the way down to Mauritania, and - hardly restricted to these pockets of civilisation - the Saharawi people have lived a nomadic life across the region for hundreds of years.
Aziza Brahim, a Saharawi actress, poet and singer born and raised in a refugee camp on the border between Western Sahara and Algeria, reflects on her childhood roots in her latest acoustic album, Soutak. Soutak, which translates as 'your voice', can be interpreted in two ways. Foremost, it is a personal expression and so mixes Saharawi music with Brahim's teenage and adult life spent in Cuba and Barcelona. But more pointedly, Brahim argues that a united voice for the Saharawi would not be possible due to the restrictions placed on the Western Sahara under Morocco's suppressive control, which it has endured since 1976. The sleeve notes and lyrics in English, Spanish and Arabic offer the listener a profound sense of immersion in the surrounding politics.
At times, Soutak is as beautifully sparse as the landscape it represents. The tabal, a large hand drum, provides the only instrumental backing. More frequently, however, Soutak takes on a subtle lushness that brings together licks of the Spanish guitar with Malian-style desert blues. Spain has a historical Arabic influence and there is a natural Islamic sound in the album that installs an exotic excitement from the heart upwards. Anyone who, after a long flight and a big sleep, has woken up to the foreign sound of a call to prayer and thought, "yes, I've arrived," will surely be on the same wavelength. Soutak is comprised of stunningly rich desert blues and Brahim's lyrical content deserves this platform.
Soutak will be released by Glitterhouse Records on 7 February.
