Sequana is the tenth album from the Franco-Algerian singer-songwriter Souad Massi. If her music was previously coloured with folk and chaabi, the sound palette broadens here as far as the Sahel, the Caribbean and Brazil, and on some tracks ventures into rock. Souad Massi has completely renewed her musical team, opening a new chapter in a career that began in the 1990’s and was marked by her departure from Algeria for France. With Justin Adams (Rachid Taha, Tinariwen, Robert Plant…) on production, and guests including singer/songwriter Piers Faccini and the flautist Naïssam Jalal, Souad Massi continues on her path as a committed, liberated woman singing about the causes close to her heart.
On the cover, we see her facing us, with two daisies delicately placed on her eyelids. Under the flowers, with eyes closed, “I had this feeling of fragility, vulnerability, but also of no longer having to witness the ugly vision of nature being destroyed”. In this state of being, “we can reconnect with what is essential. At the same time”, continues Souad, “it is, paradoxically, a sort of denunciation and indignation with regard to what we are experiencing and what our gaze perceives”.
Sequana is a collection of eleven songs, nine of which were written by her, with the intention of capturing the passage of time and that which we must strive to preserve and pass on. “My album revolves around human relationships, from the malaise of today’s adolescents and a loss of bearings, to the dangers of totalitarian regimes that push people to take terrible risks in order to flee their country”.
The album opens with the track Dessine-moi un pays, where Souad imagines a better world. It is followed by Mirage, a magnificent desert-blues duet with Piers Faccini, an adaptation in Arabic of the Nine Inch Nails’ song Hurt and two songs in French. The album concludes with Victor, a tribute to the Chilean artist-resistance fighter Victor Jara.
“Exile, freedom and yearning in the songs of Souad Massi”
FINANCIAL TIMES (UK)
“Massi has rarely sounded so lyrical: her voice, pure and unaffected, speaks to the soul. Her concert at the Barbican in London on October 29 promises to be one of the shows of the year”
THE TIMES (UK)
“The headline cut…is an Arabic reading of Trent Reznor’s Hurt, the portal to themes that crop up elsewhere..”
MOJO (UK)
“She is in outstanding form here, with strong songs that recall her early work and a gifted producer, Justin Adams – guitar lieutenant in Robert Plant’s band – to bring them into varied life“
THE OBSERVER (UK)
“The most successful female singer-songwriter in the Arabic-speaking world [releases] her bravely original new album Sequana”
SONGLINES (UK)
“Lyrical beauty and the emotional immediacy of Piaf…a wonderful confluence.”
BBC RADIO 3 (UK)
“The addition of the production chops of the brilliant and prodigious Justin Adams is inspired”
R’N’R MAGAZINE (UK)
“French-Algerian singer-songwriter Massi has made a fine album in the shape of Sequana.”
UNCUT (UK)
“For her tenth album, full of vibrant hope, she called on Justin Adams – who has worked with the likes of Robert Plant, Tinariwen and Rachid Taha – to create a real bridge between rock and folk.”
FRANCE CULTURE (FR)
“It alternates contrasting moods, oscillating between crepuscular melancholy and danceable lightness“.
LE MONDE (FR)
“Her warm and bewitching voice sings of nostalgia, exile and passion.”
GALA (FR)
“The warmth of her voice and poetry are at the service of an elegant, delicate folk repertoire, which touches us deeply.“
L’HUMANITÉ (FR)
“Since her debut in the 1990s, the Algerian singer-guitarist has been spreading her militant chaâbi-folk poetry in a constantly evolving multicultural sound universe”
FIP (FR)
“A rich, warm voice, among the most moving of the Algerian diaspora”
TELERAMA (FR)
“The chaâbi-folk icon Souad Massi is considered one of the most beautiful and fervent voices in North Africa”
CULTUREBOX / FRANCE TV (FR)
“Beneath the daisies covering her gaze on the album art are the songs of a committed woman, lending her voice to the contemporary struggles of the world in which she evolves.”
ROLLING STONE (FR)
“it is immediately clear when listening to the nine original songs that nothing has been left to chance here and that only top-class musicians are performing…A pearl!”
JAZZNMORE (DE)
“Massi’s songs meander between folk, country, calypso and bossa nova, describing the senses of her childhood, young people’s feelings of insecurity, the fragility of nature and the cruelty of totalitarian societies”
DEUTSCHLANDFUNK (DE)
“The singer-songwriter sees herself in the tradition of people like Victor Jara or Joan Baez and wants her songs to be like weapons…And it sounds wonderful too !”
WDR COSMO (DE)
“The record is a testament to the artist’s impressive work, maturity and taste…A wonderful album full of merriment that will delight many hearts”
JAZZ-FUN.DE (DE)
« Sequana” confirms that the artist has found her style, but is nevertheless a document of her refreshing openness to new influences”
MISSY MAGAZINE (DE)
“Far away from the breaking wave of Raï, Souad Massi brought a new sound to Algerian music with her folk inspiration and her guitar over her shoulder”
AFRICA-LIVE.DE (DE)
“Whether in Arabic or French, Souad sings of love, hope and the beauty of nature, with a sweet voice, beautifully set here by producer Justin Adams.
LE SOIR (BE)
“The French-Algerian Souad Massi transcends her fears of a sick planet with Sequana, a hypnotic and solar album, a mixture of Arab, Touareg and bossa fragrance”
LE VIF (BE)
Contacts:
BOOKING : CARAMBA CULTURE LIVE
claire.henault@planet-a.fr
+336 12 44 43 29
Mélodie Blanchard
melodie.blanchard@caramba.fr
MDC : MAGGIE DOHERTY
maggie.doherty@music-mdc.com
+331 42 01 95 36
