Discography
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Les Boukakes
"Marra"
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Les Boukakes
"Bledi"
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Les Boukakes
"Makach Mouch'kil"
Les
Boukakes
Biography
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Les Boukakes stand for music
created in exile – for the perfect symbiosis of orient and
occident. “Rock ‘n’ raï”, that’s how the six musicians from
Algeria, Tunisia and France call their music style, a speedy mix
of rock, raï, gnawa and châabi, which they catapulted within a
few years from the streets and clubs of Montpellier onto the big
festival stages and into the French radio charts.
The success story of Les Boukakes
starts in 2004 when they participated in the well known music
competiton Printemps de Bourges. Celebrated as the new
discovery of the festival, the European TV channel ARTE produces
a documentary on the band touring throughout Europe and sharing
the stages with famous musicians such as Manu Chao, Natacha
Atlas, Rachid Taha or Femi Kuti.
The exciting year 2005 was rounded
up by the release of their second album Bledi which
promptly resulted in an invitation to the biggest international
World Music fair Womex in Newcastle, UK. With their fantastic
concert – which the British magazine fRoots called the “Womex
Hit” – Les Boukakes did not only convince numerous festival
organisers but also made the rock legend Robert Plant dance and
headbang to their music. A USA tour and many concerts at the
biggest European World Music festivals followed. Finally the
year 2006 culminated in a nomination for the BBC World Music
Award 2007. After two successful years of touring Les Boukakes
went back to the studio to work on their new album. On August 15th
2008 their third album "Marra" was released.
Press Quotes
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fRoots:
“Rock‘n’roll comes in all shapes and styles, but
one thing that’s evident is that it can cross all manner of
borders. France’s Les Boukakes had them dancing and headbanging
at their showcase. They pitch their camp somewhere between the
raw punk fires of the late Mano Negra and Rachid Taha, bringing
together French and North African members in a very fertile
collaboration that doesn’t so much percolate as boils over time
after time. Make a note of the name. If there’s any justice,
you’re going to be hearing lots of them in the near future.”
The New York Times:
“Hybrid music was all over the festival, sometimes in
kitchen-sink combinations, but often in synergistic ones. Les Boukakes, with a lead singer from Algeria and members from
Tunisia and France, put rock dynamics behind impassioned lyrics
about social conditions and the long, gutsy vocal lines of
Algerian rai music.”
Photos
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 Credit: Strange Milena |
 Strange Milena |
Video
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Festival Musiques Mètisses, France 06
Links
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Les Boukakes' Myspace
Les Boukakes' Website
Management & Booking
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Management: Vincent Albert,
Montpellier (lesboukakes@hotmail.com)
Booking Austria: Atlas Music pro, Vienna (office@atlasmusicpro.com)
Booking
Germany: Prime Tours, Berlin (kira@prime-tours.com)
Booking United Kingdom: Frusion, Derbyshire (ian@frusion.co.uk)