Louken

Wifa has all the attributes of a successful new artist: powerful voice, strong melodies and an intriguing history. Born in Tunisia, she was influenced by Western pop, French chanson, and the great North African stars like Egypt's Oum Kalthoum. She studied Arabic and Western music, became interested in Latin styles and wrote a research paper on the influence of Brazil on Arabic music. Moving to France in 2010 she studied classical guitar and then began to concentrate on singing and songwriting, releasing her debut set Entre Deux in 2018, explaining ‘I have always felt like I'm somewhere between Tunisia…and France.’ And that's her main problem – which of her many influences should she emphasise? For the moment she has opted for the more commercial option, matching her emotional songs against lush backing, dominated by keys and guitars, along with clarinet, sax and cello, with the qanun providing the occasional Middle Eastern flavour to her Tunisian Arabic songs. The result is a pleasantly commercial set dominated by a voice that can switch from low and gutsy to light, high passages, as in the title track, but she is not helped by the production and synths. Next, I'd like to hear an unplugged set featuring acoustic guitar and more Tunisian influences.