Souad Massi, one of the most successful female singer-songwriters in the Arabic-speaking world, talks about her latest album El Mutakallimûn, in which she daringly reworks contemporary and ancient Arabic poems that have a strong message of resistance for today.
Souad Massi is a Kabyle singer-songwriter born in Algeria. While she sings mainly in Arabic she’s won a huge following internationally thanks to her blend of folk-rock and Chaabi rhythms.
Her sometimes melancholy, socially-aware lyrics have led to her being described as a kind of Joan Baez of the Arab world.
For her latest, sixth album, El Mutakallimûn (Masters of the Word) she’s taken Arabic poetry from the sixth century to the present day, a reminder of the beauty and creativity of the Arab world.
The idea first came to her when she began studying the history of Cordoba in southern Spain where Muslim leaders back in the 9th and 10th centuries were renowned for their tolerance.
" I found the expression [El Mutakallimûn] in a book about Andalousia," says Massi. "It talked about a parliament where researchers, artists, philosophers, poets all gathered to exchange knowledge. It stuck in my mind. And as I was setting poetry to music I felt it fitted in with my project really well".
The 10 poems on the album range from work by the sixth–century poet Souhaîr Ibn Abi Salma, who lived before the rise of Islam, through to very political works and contemporary works by Iraqi poet Ahmed Matar.
She also sings A Message to the Tyrants of the World by the Tunisian poet Abou El Kacem Chebbi, who died in 1934.
The work forms the basis of the Tunisian national anthem and includes the words “Beware that the springtime doesn’t trick you.” The poem was often chanted during the so-called Arab spring demonstrations in 2010 and 2011.
"Chebbi talks about a pattern that keeps repeating itself," Massi explains. "He talks about the oppressed and the persecutors, about people who are looking for freedom. Even now, when there are demonstrations in Tunisia they chant El Kacem Chebbi ‘s poems."
Music on the album ranges from Brazilian Bossa, Algerian Chaäbi to Afro-beat and Rock. Massi says she was fully aware of the responsibility of finding the right sound to accompany poetry - some of which dates back 1,500 years.
"There was a big gap in history but I began with the rhythm and saw how the rhythm sounded with the musicality of the words."
Translating the poems was also a challenge.
"I had to find dictionaries from that period in history, and work with someone who had a perfect command of Arabic. I worked with a great professor called Moustafa Harmoudi. He helped me enormously."
The album was a labour of love taking two and a half years to make, but Massi says the most important thing is that it did get made.
"I did it out of love. And particularly for the Arab world." But she accepts it may not please everyone.
"I’m touching something a bit sacred. Some people have already criticised me on Facebook. Some people are disappointed because I sing in classical Arabic. Some Algerians who don’t understand or don’t like classical Arabic are a bit offended, but it doesn’t matter."
What's important, she says, is to defend poetry in a world where it's "seen as rather old-fashioned".
Follow Souad Massi on facebook
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe