DJ Cheb I Sabbah
La Kahena
(Six Degrees)
La Kahena is San Francisco-based, Algerian-born DJ Cheb I Sabbah’s latest musical journey, which took place through sessions in San Francisco, New York, New Delhi and Marrakesh. While his best known records, like Sri Durga, reflect immersion in traditional Indian music, this new album delves into North African music–Moroccan, Yemeni and Algerian. Always careful to let the beats augment the music, rather than the music dressing up the beats like so many DJs do, Cheb I Sabbah spotlights the Maghreb tradition, a chanting and call-and-response form sung by women. Karsh Kale, who played the 2004 Atlantic Jazz Festival, and Bill Laswell appear as well.
—Sean Flinn
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
