Elnar

Aiwa’s title track on their second album goes something like this:

“They don’t let us understand why wars go on
Hearts are burning and hope disappears
When will peace not be only imaginary and impossible…
…One third of the world does not care
About what the third world puts up with.”

Right from the outset, then, the tone is set on this album haunted by a sense of urgency. “Elnar” means fire in Arabic, and the French Iraqi brothers behind this seven-person collective convey a sense of burning - yet contained - anger that they pour creatively into the 15 tracks. “Oppositions are our forces,” they rap in “Pharagonescia, “Revolutions, daily, embolden us/ Emancipated, we face the fate, both driven by boldness.” Bassist Wamid and hiphopper/lyricist Naufalle thus lay bare the alchemy that guides their compositions. They have matured since their first eponymous 2003 release. “Elnar” reflects fascinating experimentations with classical Arabic music that is subtly tied into the electronic music they have forged in their hometown of Rennes.

The city in northwest France has become a beehive of youthful bands that are successfully challenging the hegemony of Paris and Marseille. And indeed Aïwa have invited rapper Says from Rennes’ exciting X Makeena collective to guest in “Elnar” - his driving rap is an admirable foil for the sweet-and-sour vocals of Séverine. Other guests of note are New York raga-rapper Jamalski and Algerian singer Anissa Derkaoui.

The album is a rich collision between DJ, French, African and Arabic cultures. Naufalle and elder brother Wamid do not shy away from the challenges of bringing classical Arabian sounds into an arena dominated by ruff’n’tuff punk, smatterings of jazz and electronic rap. They are repaying the faith put in them by the Canadian label Wikkid, who have been backing them since they first met in 2002. “Kitty”, “Zarathrousta”, “Dioud” and the sensuous opening track “Arabica” (“It’s a shocking, thrilling, juicy orgasm…”) are testimony to Aïwa’s brazen and trailblazing approach to their “métissage” (mixed backgrounds). They have no trouble floating in that nether-nether world between progressive sounds and a pining for their heritage from the Middle East. “Warda al layl” and “Ibn sina” are resting points for the latter, where the darbouka, flutes and Derkaoui’s mellifluous voice remind listeners of the Iraqi inspirations behind many of the compositions.

There is a risk that listeners tire of the slightly grating singing of Séverine. Yet she shows surprising dexterity in her narrow vocal range and this augurs well for her future. Meanwhile, Aïwa have hurdled over the challenge of making a worthy successor to their groundbreaking first album. Their 2003 release made them the darlings of the British press, perhaps the 2006 follow-up will finally gain them the prominence they deserve in their native land of France.

February 2006

Daniel Brown

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