Akim excels in blending European and Algerian influences, and has astonished live audiences with his unique singing voice and fiddle-playing technique. Drawing from Arab-Andalusian tradition, while incorporating jazz, Latin and gypsy music, this album is also a lyrical revolution: Akim sings about his personal experiences of exile, and fights with words against religious fundamentalism. Introducing Akim El Sikameya shifts between countries and cultures, between tradition and modernity, and between an unplugged and electric sound.
Akim excels in blending European and Algerian influences, and has astonished live audiences with his unique singing voice and fiddle-playing technique. Drawing from Arab-Andalusian tradition, while incorporating jazz, Latin and gypsy music, this album is also a lyrical revolution: Akim sings about his personal experiences of exile, and fights with words against religious fundamentalism. Introducing Akim El Sikameya shifts between countries and cultures, between tradition and modernity, and between an unplugged and electric sound.
*** (three stars) 'Draws thrillingly on the classical Arab-Andalusian tradition.' Songlines
