Press

Algerian superstar Khaled gives rare UK performance

Liverpool Arabic Arts festival attracts international music acts

The Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival 2008 is proud to present a strong line up of music performances during a spectacular two week celebration of Middle Eastern culture running 11-27 July.

Algerian-born singer-songwriter Khaled - a huge star across European, Arabic and Asian countries and even more popular than Michael Jackson in India - headlines Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 12 July and is a flagship event of the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival.

Known as ‘The King of Raï', Khaled is a phenomenon in the Arab world, with a popularity that has reached almost surreal proportions. In France, he is both a nationwide celebrity and the voice of the country's Arab minority. This concert at the Phil will be his first UK performance in several years.

His songs have become anthems for women's liberation and religious and cultural tolerance. Khaled moved to France in the 1980s and became the first Algerian to sign to a Major French record label. He was the principal vocalist for Jean-Michel Jarre's 14th July concert at the Arche de Triomphe in Paris in 1995 attended by 1.5 million people and beamed around the world. In 1998 he assembled the ‘Raï' equivalent of the Three Tenors with Faudel and Rachid Taha, for a unique performance at the 17,000 capacity Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The resulting album 1,2,3 Soleils (1,2,3 Suns) sold more than 2 million in France alone. He has worked with producers including Don Was, Michael Brook and Steve Hillage, and his most recent release (in the US) sees a guest appearance by guitarist Carlos Santana.

One of the foremost researchers and composers of Palestinian music is Reem Kelani who performs at the Bluecoat on 23 July. Her fusion of classical Arabic rhythms with folk and jazz won critical acclaim on 2006's debut solo album Sprinting Gazelle - Palestinian Songs from the Motherland and the Diaspora.

The multi-talented Palestinian singer and musician is also a respected broadcaster. Among her work for Radio 4, she wrote and presented the Distant Chords series in 2002 and 2003 on the music of migrant communities in the UK, one of which concerned the UK's Yemeni community.

‘Kelani's voice is a technical marvel, capable of transforming deeply felt emotion into a range of pulverising hollers and keening wails.' THE GUARDIAN

‘The charisma of Palestinian singer Reem Kelani was a high spot... In witty repartee ... Kelani took us from Galilee to Egypt, India to Persia and back to Palestine, her riveting songs of deep soul delivered with thrilling panache.' THE SCOTSMAN (March 2008)

Getting the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival off to a tremendous start are Bedouin Jerry Can Band (BJB) on 13 July. BJB are a collective of nomadic musicians, dancers, storytellers and coffee grinders from the Sinai desert in Egypt. They visit as part of a two-month UK concert tour which also includes appearances at Glastonbury Festival, London's South Bank Centre and WOMAD.

The nomads take their name from their use of junk percussion - a Bedouin tradition of making use of the ‘riches' of the desert. Instead of Arabic drums, BJB perform their signature hypnotic rhythms on instruments they have salvaged from the desert, which include rusty ammunition boxes and jerry cans from the former battle grounds of the six day Arab/Israeli war of 1967, which was fought in Bedouin homelands in Sinai.

‘An undeniable sense of fun flows infectiously through these songs' THE TIMES

‘Raucous rock stars of the Sinai' NEW STATESMAN

Continuing our tour of the Arabic world Say'un Popular Arts will perform Hadhrami and Bedouin songs on traditional instruments on 13 July at Liverpool's exotic Sefton Park Palm House.

The group of eight musicians from the southern Yemeni region of Hadhramaut use vibrant percussion accompaniment inspired by African and Indian dance rhythms and are also scheduled to play the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod which takes place from 8-13 July.

The visit of Say'un Popular Arts is funded by The British Yemeni Society, The Yemeni British Friendship Association in Sana'a, The British Council and The Yemen Embassy. Sponsored by Yemen Airways.

Taher Qassim MBE, Chair of Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival, said:
"After the popular and successful Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival of last year, the 2008 line up of musicians and performers promises to be even more memorable. We are delighted that the Philharmonic Hall is once again bringing an artist of international repute to Liverpool, this time Khaled, the popular Raï musician. I am also proud that the diversity and richness of Arabic culture is being seen to flourish in a city which supports the biggest festival of its kind in the UK. "

Simon Glinn, Executive Director of Liverpool Philharmonic Hall & Events and member of the Festival's Executive Group, said:
"Khaled is an astonishing artist and his appearances in the UK have been very rare in recent years. We have been in discussions for more than three years to secure this performance during the 2008 Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival, and we are grateful for the support of Liverpool Culture Company Limited and are proud to present Khaled as part of the 2008 European Capital of Culture programme."

Khaled
The Philharmonic Hall
Saturday 12 July, 7.30pm
£12.50, £14.50, £19.50, £25.50
Tickets available from Philharmonic Hall box office on 0151 709 3789 or book online at www.liverpoolphil.com

Reem Kelani
Wednesday 23 July, 8.00pm
the Bluecoat.
£15/£12
To book tickets visit www.thebluecoat.org.uk or call Tickets and Information on 0151 702 5324

Bedouin Jerry Can Band
Sun 13 July, Palm House, Sefton Park 12.00pm - 4.30pm
Mon 14 July, 1.30pm, World Museum Liverpool
Performance and music workshop
Free

Say'un Popular Arts
Sun 13 July, Palm House, Sefton Park 12.00pm - 4.30pm
Free

For more information/pictures/interview requests on Khaled please contact Jenny Morgan (Press Officer) on 0151 210 2913 or jenny.morgan@liverpoolphil.com

For more information/pictures/interview requests for all other performers please contact Adrian Pennington (Press Officer LAAF) on 07737 970 930 or penningtonadrian@hotmail.com

For more information about Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival call the Bluecoat on 0151 702 5324 for a brochure.

Notes to editors
The Bluecoat and Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival
Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival is now in its seventh successive year. The event started as a partnership between Liverpool Arabic Centre and the Bluecoat and over the years has grown to involve more partners from the city's arts and Arabic communities. The Bluecoat reopened earlier this year following a £12.5m redevelopment, and the LAAF remains a key part of the organisation's activities and reflects the diverse nature of the Bluecoat's programme. LAAF is at the heart of the Bluecoat's artistic programme presenting the best of new, innovative local and international visual art and live art along with contemporary dance, music and literature events.
www.thebluecoat.org.uk

The Liverpool Arabic Centre
LAC is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee based in the Toxteth area of Liverpool. The LAC works alongside the Yemeni and Arabic speaking communities and those interested in Arabic culture and language in the Liverpool area. Through the facilitation and provision of community development and activity their mission is to contribute to the relief of poverty and improve health and education within the Yemeni/Arabic community. They also aim to strengthen the awareness of Yemeni Arabic Culture and celebrate and promote all aspects of Arabic history, language cultural heritage and identity.
www.liverpoolarabiccentre.org.uk