Route & Roots

Lebanese-born singer-songwriter Abaji is now based in France but draws his music from a wide range of sources, following his own rich Armenian and Arabic mixed heritage. Like a travel diary, the songs on this album travel from Essaouira to Istanbul, realised through a great variety of instrumental colours, thanks to the collection he assembled during his travels, including a kind of guitar-oud combined instrument he himself invented. Abaji's voice may be an acquired taste, and the general atmosphere is one of a French chansonnier with a taste for rock transplanted to the East. Or maybe it's the other way around: perhaps he's a disoriented Oriental, as he humorously describes himself in a song. Among the best moments are the instrumental contributions of top-class guest soloists, Vardan Grigoryan from Armenia playing duduk (Armenian oboe) and Mahmut Demir from Turkey on kabak kemane (gourd violin).