Lettres Ouverts Aux…

This is the 25th anniversary of both Lounès Matoub's assassination and the original release of this, his final album, and it's a timely reminder of one of Africa's bravest singer-songwriters and political activists. Matoub was a Berber from Kabylia, the mountainous coastal region of northern Algeria, where he campaigned for a federal, secular state, and for Tamazight to be recognised as an official language. He was killed at a roadblock in June 1998, apparently by Islamic militants, after surviving a police shooting ten years earlier. During his exile in Paris (which he entered into after the shooting), he had become famous for his live performances. “Music is my anger,” he said, and the opening ‘Ayen Ayen’ deals with the oppression of the Kabyle people. Yet the music is sturdy and tuneful: those expecting the post-punk fury of Rachid Taha might be surprised. This is a double album of often gently intense songs, with Matoub's deep, compelling voice driven on by hand percussion and his own mandole – which is like a steel-stringed elongated mandolin. The outstanding track, ‘Lettre Ouverte’ is over 20 minutes long and matches spoken passages in Tamazight against slow or sturdy songs, ending as a triumphant march.