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Ifrikyia                5.31                                      Karim Ziad/ N. Lê

Constantine       6.20                                       Youcef Boukella/ N. Lê

Louanges           5.53                                       Karim Ziad

Yhadik Allah     4.37                                       B’net H./ Karim Ziad/ N. Lê

Nora                  6.30                                        Karim Ziad/ N. Lê

FunkRaï             5.15                                       Nguyên Lê

L’Arkha li Jeya  6.41                                       B’net H./ Karim Ziad/ N. Lê

Guinia               5.43                                       Nguyên Lê/ Dominique Borker

Nesraf                6.33                                       Mohamed El Anka/ N. Lê

total time :           53.27

Nguyên Lê                   el. & ac. guitars, fretless bass, vietnamese zither, programming

Karim Ziad                   drums, gumbri, perc (karkabous, taarijet, bendir, derbuka, tablas), vocals

Michel Alibo                electric bass

Bojan Zulfikarpasic      acoustic piano

B’net Houariyat : Zahra Bani, Kadija Haliba, Malika Rhami, Saïda Madrani, Halima Zaiter

vocals & perc (taarijet, bendir, naakkous, tar)

Wolfgang Puschnig      alto sax

Paolo Fresu                  trumpet

Alain Debiossat            soprano sax

Stefano Di Battista        alto & soprano sax

Mokhtar Samba            drums

Cheb Mami                  accordion-synth

Djemaï Abdenour         mandola, algerian banjo

Mejdoub Ftati               violin

Aziz Sahmaoui             vocals

Mohamed Menni          vocals, perc (taarijet, bendir, derbuka)

Mehdi Askeur               vocals

Huong Thanh               vietnamese vocals

Hao Nhien                   vietnamese flute

Gaëlle Hervé                vocals

Marielle Hervé             vocals

Jean Jacques Avenel     kora

Aly Wagué                   african Peul flute & vocals

produced by Nguyên Lê & Karim Ziad

executive producing by Siegfried Loch

co-production ACT / WDR

recorded & mixed by Hervé le Guil at studio Gimmick, Yerres assisted by Mallory Maurice, Pedja Babic & François « Do » Delean fev/ march 98

B’net Houariyat recorded by Antoine Illouz at studio l’Usine, Arceuil assisted by Cécile, 4/11/97

pre & additional recordings by Nguyên Lê at studio Louxor, Paris Barbès jan. to march 98

mastered by Radu Marinescu at Liquid Gold

Thanks to Uli Kurth, Djilali Aïchoune & l’Orchestre National de Barbès , Safy Boutella, Antonio Baldassare & Malika Aboubeker, Steve Arguelles, Illya Amar, Michel Benita, Khliff & Sylvie. Michel Alibo plays on Peavey equipment. Mokhtar Samba endorses Remo drums, Zildjian cymbals, Pro Orca sticks, Conversations management. Bojan Zulfikarpasic & Stefano Di Battista appear courtesy of Label Bleu. Stefano thanks atelier RV.

Karim Ziad deeply thanks his family & his thoughts go to his musician friends in Algeria.

Ifrikyia                         Karim Ziad/ N. Lê

Nguyên Lê - el. guitar. Karim Ziad - drums, gumbri, voc. Michel Alibo - el. bass. Bojan Zulfikarpasic - a. piano. B’net Houariyat - vocals & perc. Alain Debiossat - sop. sax. Jean Jacques Avenel - kora. Aly Wagué - african Peul flute.

l’Afrique Blanche & l’Afrique Noire célèbrent leur rencontre : Ifrikyia, le mot arabe pour Afrique .

White Africa & Black Africa celebrate their encounter : Ifrikyia, the arabic word for Africa.

Constantine                   Youcef Boukella/ N. Lê

Nguyên Lê - el. & ac. guitars. Karim Ziad - drums, bendir. Michel Alibo - el. bass. Bojan Zulfikarpasic - a. piano. Mejdoub Ftati - violin. Mohamed Menni - bendir. Stefano Di Battista - sop. sax. Gaëlle & Marielle Hervé - vocals

Un theme inspiré par la ville & la musique de Constantine, en Algérie.

A tune inspired by the city & the music of Constantine, Algeria.

Louanges                        Karim Ziad

Nguyên Lê - el. guitars. Karim Ziad - drums, gumbri, perc, vocals. Michel Alibo - el. bass. Mohamed Menni - vocals & perc. Aziz Sahmaoui - vocals. Mehdi Askeur - vocals. Aly Wagué - peul vocals. Huong Thanh - vietnamese vocals. Hao Nhien - viet. flute.

L’un après l’autre, 4 chanteurs maghrébins, une chanteuse vietnamienne & un chanteur peul célèbrent l’amour universel du divin.

« Praises » : 4 maghrebian singers, one vietnamese singer & one guinean peul singer one after another celebrate the holy love.

Yhadik Allah                   B’net H./ Karim Ziad/ N. Lê

Nguyên Lê - el. guitars. Karim Ziad - drums. Michel Alibo - el. bass. Bojan Zulfikarpasic - a. piano. B’net Houariyat - vocals & perc. Alain Debiossat - sop. sax.

«  Que Dieu te remette dans le droit chemin ». - Une mélodie ancestrale interprétée par les B’net Houariyat, 5 femmes de la confrérie Houara, vivant à Marrakech.

« May God guide your steps on the righteous path » - An ancestral melody played by B’net Houariyat, a band of 5 women from Houara confraternity, living in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Nora                                Karim Ziad/ N. Lê

Nguyên Lê - el. guitar. Karim Ziad - drums, perc. Michel Alibo - el. bass. Bojan Zulfikarpasic - a. piano. Mehdi Askeur - vocals. Mejdoub Ftati - violin. Mohamed Menni - perc.

Par sa beauté elle m’a brulé les yeux. Dommage que l’argent soit rare. A ceux dont le cœur souffre, que l’Amour triomphe de l’Oubli.

Her beauty burnt my eyes. Too bad money is scarce. Don’t let the one whose heart is moaning forget his love.

FunkRaï                             Nguyên Lê

Nguyên Lê - el. guitars. Karim Ziad - drums, perc. Michel Alibo - el. bass. Paolo Fresu -trumpet. Wolfgang Puschnig, Stefano di Battista - alto sax. Mohamed Menni - perc. Cheb Mami - synth solo.

De Saïda à Vienne, d’Alger à Fort de France, de Hanoi à la Sardaigne, toutes les routes sont possibles !

From Saïda to Vienna, from Algiers to Fort de France, from Hanoi to Sardinia, all roads are open !

L’Arkha li Jeya                     B’net H./ Karim Ziad/ N. Lê

Nguyên Lê - el. guitars. Karim Ziad - drums. Michel Alibo - el. bass. B’net Houariyat - vocals & perc. Stefano di Battista - alto sax. Jean Jacques Avenel - kora.

« Voiçi la caravane & ses cavaliers » Avec la caravane arrivent les marabouts & les enfants de Souss. J’ai laissé mes parents & je t’ai suivi.

« Along with the caravan come the horsemen » Come the marabouts & the children from Souss. I left my parents behind & followed you.

Guinia                                  Nguyên Lê/ Dominique Borker

Nguyên Lê - el. guitars. Karim Ziad - perc, vocals. Michel Alibo - el. bass. Bojan Zulfikarpasic - a. piano. Mokhtar Samba - drums. Stefano di Battista - alto sax. Jean Jacques Avenel - kora. Aly Wagué - african Peul flute. Mehdi Askeur - vocals. Mohamed Menni - vocals, perc.

Mahmoud Guinia est l’un des grands musiciens de la confrérie Gnawa. Guinia est aussi le mot maghrébin pour la Guinée, d’où vient Aly Wagué. Un clin d’œil au groupe Ultramarine, un autre visage de la rencontre des Afriques avec le sénégalo-marocain Mokthar Samba.

Mahmoud Guinia is one of the greatest Gnawa « healing musicians ». Guinia is also the maghrebian word for the african country Guinea, were Aly Wagué was born. Another aspect of the encounter of White Africa with Black Africa featuring Mokthar Samba, from Senegal & Morocco.

Nesraf                                   H.M. El Anka/ N. Lê

Nguyên Lê - el. & ac. guitars, fretless bass. Karim Ziad - perc, tablas. Bojan Zulfikarpasic - a. piano. Wolfgang Puschnig - alto sax. Paolo Fresu - trumpet. Djemaï Abdenour - mandola, algerian banjo. sample of H.M. El Anka

Un chant d’amour mystique de Hadj Mohamed El Anka, maitre du Chaâbi algérois. Plus connue sous le nom  « El Hijriya », le Voyage, la pièce est basée sur le rythme Nesraf.

A mystical love chant composed by singer Hadj Mohamed El Anka, master of Shaâbi from Algiers, a popular traditional musical form. The tune is based on the Nesraf rhythm; its original name is « El Hijriya », the Journey.

Lutz Voigtlânder