Aziza Brahim

AZIZA BRAHIM

Aziza Brahim is considered one of the most talented musical voices from Western Sahara. Born in the Saharawi refugee camps in south-west Algeria, she lived throughout the Sahara, spent many years studying in Cuba and now resides in Barcelona. And her music is as diverse as her background. Rooted in the Saharawi vocal tradition, Aziza blends Saharan traditional music (she plays the tabal, a traditional Saharawi hand drum) with blues, folk and rock and Spanish rhythms to create a distinctive style all her own. Addressing issues of displacement and heartbreak she has encountered as a refugee, Aziza is a startlingly authentic artist with a unique, hauntingly beautiful voice. Aziza has been a great ambassador for the Saharawi cause, dedicating all her singing to her people.

New album ‘Soutak’ out 10 February 2014 on Glitterbeat Records

'Lagi (Refugee)' begins with a captivating solo vocal before the hypnotically intricate guitars come in, clean and exquisitely played, but with a looseness to the structure as Brahim rasps the universal story of refugees living in tents "worn-out by time" from Mali and beyond to the Ivory Coast, Sudan and Palestine.' THE QUIETUS

‘Through her music, Aziza is trying to re-awaken awareness in this seemingly forgotten Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara conflict…a voice worth hearing’ *** EVENING STANDARD

‘Like her people’s cause, Aziza Brahim deserves recognition’ ****SONGLINES

‘..those plaintively passionate vocals tell an important story…this puts Ms Brahim in the desert blues premier league’ FTOORS