The band
History
Formed 7 years ago, LES BOUKAKES is made up of 7 guys : Bachir, the voice of the band. Then come Thierry, the Corsican guitarist, Steph' with the keyboards called the occitan, Bubulle, bass player from the north, Imed, Tunisian derboukist and Pascal, drummer from the south.The whole sound system is supervised by the Italian technician of the team, Massimo.
The Exile gave birth to the Boukake...
Their name itself is a reply to some of the less than friendly comments they received in their time on the streets, Boukake being a phonetic mixture of two typical racist insults. But for them, that did not have anything of degrading, because the Boukake was born during the long trip of exile, a rich child of the world and its prohibited loves. Without making ostensible political comments in their songs, this deliberate attitude says something for their resistance to bias and ignorance generally.
After a few years, from the street to bars, from small concerts to festivals, they finally met their audience, sharing the stages with famous bands like MANU TCHAO, THE WAILERS, TARAF DE HAÏDOUKS, RIMITI, NATACHA ATLAS, RACHID TAHA, SKA P, SKATALITES and others...
In 2001, they recorded the album Makach Mouch'kil (No Problem). That first work got a great reception from the media. The lyrics with oriental melodies harmoniously swing on musics either Rock, Groove, Electronic, Rai, or Gnawa.
But it was in 2004 that their music (raï n'rock) was spotted :
They won professional prizes (FAIR, Découvertes Printemps de Bourges..) and an European TV channel, ARTE, chose to follow their development for documentaries.
They celebrated the end of the year with the release of a brand new album Bledi.
The Raï and Rock Music of that album proves that the combination of Orient and Occident is possible and it can be Happy !
In 2005, to share that new album with the audience, the band is on stage all over Europe but also Morocco and Qatar. Notice a very expected concert at the Sage Gateshead in Newcastle, for the WOMEX 2005. Then time to go back to the studio comes again...
As springtime will come, they will set off again on May 2006.
Main stages :
Festival Sziget Budapest (Hungary 2006), festival Kavala (Greece 2006), festival Sakifo (La Réunion 2006), tour Germany (Berlin, Rudolstadt.. 2006), festival Musiques Métisses Angoulême (France 2006), festival Amsterdam Roots (Holland 2006), tour Italy (Rome, Milan.. 2006), Womex Newcastle (England 2005), festival les nuits méditerranéennes (Marocco 2005), festival Mosaïc aux Mureaux Paris (2005), festival Dunya (Holland 2005), tour Spain (Madrid, Séville.. 2005), Strictly Mundial Istanbul (Turkey 2004), festival Les Méditerranéennes Céret (France 2004), festival Printemps de Bourges (France 2004), festival Fiesta des Suds Marseille (France 2004), etc…
Distinctions :
Nominated for BBC Radio Awards 2007 World Music, découverte Printemps de Bourges 2005, FAIR 2004
Press
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; at one point, the rhythm of metal castanets intertwined with a modal line played on wah-wah guitar.»
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 lo of them in the near future
Mélodies orientales, funk et rock pour un résultat aussi tonique que dansant.
Ils emmêlent joyeusement groove, raï, arabo-andalou et musique gnawa dans un cocktail tonique. Tourneries irrépressibles, voix vigoureuses, c’est assurément un excellent groupe de scène.
Excellent combo de rock-raï festif qui animait la soirée anniversaire des Découvertes du Printemps de Bourges : vingt ans que ces réseaux fureteurs, disséminés dans tout l’hexagone, vont à la pêche aux talents cachés.
Les Boukakes, c’est un vrai melting-pot musical, synthèse du rock et des musiques méditerranéennes.
Généreux, c’est l’adjectif qui correspond le mieux à ces musiciens. Leur musique, un rock chaâbi, vaut le coup en concert.
BBC Radio
Les Boukakes are intent on fusing North African grooves, rock guitars and lyrics sung in French and Arabic. Vocalist Bachir Mokhtar cuts a commanding presence and songs leap from ancient desert blues to edgy electronic anthems. Through their energy and musical directness Les Boukakes aim to represent a new multicultural Europe where many cultures blend rather than clash and everyone comes together to dance and celebrate. Garth Cartwright
