Abdelli
-Among Brothers-
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Abdelli
was born in Behalil,Kabylie (Algeria), during the war for independence
in exile, far from his native village Kenour. The bombing by the French
airforce of his native village forced his parents to seek refuge elsewhere.
After Independence in 1962, Abdelli and his family eventually settled
in the coastal town of Dellys, renowned for its delicious seafood and
it was here that his musical journey began by constructing his first guitar
from an empty oil can, a plank of wood and fishing line.
Abdelli learned to play the guitar before he was introduced to the mandol.
The master of chaâbi CHAÏD Moh-Esguir, his teacher, offered
him one because he sensed in Abdelli a hope to bring back the popular
music of kabyl.
In 1984 he recorded his first album but sadly this was never to see the
light of day. It was followed two years later by an album that sold over
12,000 copies but despite having covered the costs, Abdelli never received
any payment from the record company.
Disillusioned by his experiences and armed with the desire to experience
other cultures, Abdelli left Algeria with a one-way ticket bound for Denmark.
Upon his arrival, and after spending the night in jail, he was expelled.
The next morning, he was put on the first flight to Brussels. In Brussels,
the plane for Algeria was delayed two hours, so Abdelli decided to take
advantage of that time and visit the city. Instead of the image of the
Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, he had the images of the Manneken-Pis. Ever
since that day, Brussels has not let go of him.
In October 1987 Abdelli recorded his third album, "Abdelli à
Bruxelles".
Several years passed with Abdelli struggling to earn a living.
Finally, in 1995 the album 'New Moon' marked Abdelli's international debut
for Peter Gabriel's Real World Records. This album opened wide for him
the doors of the international music scene, including festivals such as
WOMAD (Reading, Cacérès, Vienna, The Canaries, Sicily),
Musique Métisse in Angoulème and many others....
He also toured in Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, France, England, Belgium,
Luxembourg, Holland, the USA and Canada.
During this period, Abdelli performed alongside both Yehudi Menuhin and
Ravi Shankar, and joined Peter Gabriel in Paris for a special performance
of the album 'UP'. For this occasion, he sang in duo with Peter the celebrated
song "In your Eyes" Abdelli has also collaborated with such
luminaries as Loreena McKennitt, Natacha Atlas, Marta Sebastien and worked
on a project alongside Mikhalis Michaloudis, Ross Daly and Hossam Ramzy.
In 2000 he composed the original soundtrack for the film " Au de-là
de Gibraltar ", a film directed by Mourad BOUCIF and Taylan BARMAN.
This film traces the challenges and the hopes of Moroccan immigrants in
Belgium.
In 2001 Abdelli came to the end of another musical journey; a journey
that culminated in his second Real World release - 'Among Brothers'. This
is a work imbued with experience gained from recording in diverse settings;
from Azerbaijan to Burkina Faso and Cape Verde to Belgium. It is also
a work unified by identifiable human experience - stories of exile, love
and death, unhappiness, betrayal, misery and injustice, all informed by
Berber poetry traditions.
'Among Brothers' thrust Abdelli further onto the world stage and he once
again embarked on a series of respected festival appearances: WOMAD (Spain),
Dranouter & Couleurs Café (Belgium), the Lotus Festival in
Bloomington (USA), The Chicago Festival of World Music (USA), the Rawafid
Festival of Casablanca (Morocco), The Festival of World Music at Lahore
Theater (Pakistan), and Small World in Toronto (Canada) to name a few.
Again, his love of performing meant he also conducted his own headlining
tours in Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, the USA and Canada.
The journey that began with an old oil can continues, with each day bringing
new adventures!
For
further information please visit www.abdelli.com