Nesrine

Once again, the musical alchemy of versatile singer and cellist Nesrine Belmokh enchants us. Former front woman of the NES trio, the AlgerianFrench songwriter has crafted a fresh and sophisticated self-titled solo opus. Her vast musical world of African traditions, soul, jazz and pop, interact and flow beautifully with songs written in Arabic, French and English, to deliver a captivating album. Belmokh, together with producer and guitarist Vincent Huma, former NES percussionist David Gadea, bassist Swaéli Mbappe and eminent NYC mixing master Fab Dupont, have shaped an adventurous and wild atmosphere on each of the ten tracks.

Intricate backing vocals play a major role throughout. The music in ‘Mumkin’, one of three poems written by Belmokh’s mother, Leïla Guinoun, evokes the magic of Arabic Oriental life and brings to life the hectic aspects of its cities. Sounds of a Cairene violin and low notes of a Moroccan gimbri, both created on the cello, combined with an intoxicating after-beat, resonate throughout ‘Elle’. There is a breeze of Afrobeat in ‘Rimitti’, a tribute paid to the late Cheikha Rimitti, and for sure the Algerian rai icon would have also sung the verse ‘love is my religion and my creed.’