Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973​-​1983

This Bongo Joe anthology dives into the evolution of legendary Kabyle band Les Abranis, from their garage-rock days in the mid-’60s to their later synth-disco hits. The two founders, Shamy El Baz and Karim Abdenour, met in Paris, where they had both traveled to escape repression in Algeria (Kabyle people were considered a threat to the newly created Arab nation-state, since they had a distinct culture and their presence in the region predated even the Arabs) and which had a large Kabyle diaspora. The two began by blending Kabyle chant-like vocals and traditional melodies with fiery guitars, psychedelic organs, and funk rhythms, like on the whirling “Ayetheri A L’Afjare,” and kept experimenting with the union of traditional and modern until the 1980s, with the addition of echoey vocals and spacey synths.