Chaabi (Algeria)

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Not to be confused with Moroccan Chaabi.

Chaabi is a traditional music of Algiers (Algeria), formalized by El Hajj Muhammad El Anka.

Born in the Casbah, the Chaabi simply means "popular" in Algerian. First appeared in the late 19th century, inspired by vocal traditions of Arab Andalusian music, also the home of Flamenco music.

A typical song features mournful, Arabic vocals, set against an orchestral backdrop of a dozen musicians, with violins and mandolins swelling and falling to a piano melody and the clap of percussion beats.

While it shares many set themes with Flamenco - love, loss, exile, friendship and betrayal, Chaabi is part of a deeply conservative tradition and its lyrics often carrying a strong moral message.

Fist the chaabi remained a scandalous genre, thriving behind closed doors or in specific locations called " Mahchachat", where the admirator of this music go drink coffee, tea or smoke. By the late 1950s, however, it had become the people’s music, played at weddings and religious festivals; and El Hajj Muhammad El Anka, “the father of chaabi” also nicknamed "the cardinal", ran courses at the Algiers conservatoire. El Anka dedicated 50 years of his life to the Chaabi, he died in 1978.