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Born in the city of Sid bel Abbes, in the region of Algeria that gave birth to rai music, Sofiane Saidi, inventor of oriental glam. began his musical career at an early age in local bands before moving to Paris. In 1996 he joined the afro hip-hop group Tukuleur, signed at the time to Universal, going on to collaborate with drum and bass artist and producer Naab on the album 'Salaam Aleikoum' in 1998. At the same time he toured across Europe with another band, Yog Sothoth, whose album 'Minaret' was released in 2001. In 2003 he worked on the album 'Le Dernier Cri' by Ali Dragon, a project from members of French bands Louise Attaque and Antidote. While touring this project, at a festival in Spain his distinctive voice caught the attention of Natacha Atlas, who invited him to London to record 2 duets with her on her album 'Mish Maoul' released in 2006. Following this he continued his travels on tour with the Sidi bel Abbes based rai outfit Raina Rai, legendary in Algeria as the first group to play rai as a live band. Back in Paris, Sofiane finally began work on an album of his own. He named the project 'El Morjane' Arabic for 'The Coral,’ a metaphor for the rarest and most precious things in life. The songs, all written in Arabic, tell in the manner of the old classic Egyptian musical dramas, the joys and sorrows of their protagonists: the ironies of fate in 'Mektoub' the memories of 'Gasbah ' and, of course, the universal theme of love. Working between Brest, Algeria, Paris and London, Sofiane Saidi has collaborated on the album with Jean Baptiste Ferre (Orchestre National de Barbes) and Tim Whelan (Transglobal Underground) along with a number of Paris based Algerian artists, and, on 'Kallimatte' a guest appearance from Natacha Atlas. Meanwhile Sofiane has been involved in several other projects including the release of a live album with Natacha Atlas HYPERLINK "http://www.natacha-atlas.com/" www.natacha-atlas.com and the creation of ‘El Taqa’ by the Breton group Startijenn HYPERLINK "http://www.startijenn.com/" www.startijenn.com Currently, in advance of the release of 'Al Morjane' Sofiane Saidi is working as musical director of a cabaret touring in France performing a veritable explosion of oriental glamour. HYPERLINK "http://www.sofianesaidi.com/" www.sofianesaidi.com
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