The band
History
Formed 9 years ago, LES BOUKAKES is made up of 7 guys : Bachir, the voice of the band. Then come Thierry, the Corsican guitarist, Aki with the keyboards and accordion called the Kurdistan, Bubulle, bass player from the north, Imed, Tunisian derboukist, Pascal, drummer from the south and the Italian 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 FEMI KUTI, MANU DIBANGO, TARAF DE HAÏDOUKS, NATACHA ATLAS, RACHID TAHA, MANU CHAO 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 !
From 2005 to 2007, to share that new album with the audience, the band is on tour with more than 150 concerts in 15 different countries. Notice their participation at the Festival international of Jazz of Montréal, the Paléo festival, the WOMEX 2005, the Sziget Festival, Sakifo Festival, Amsterdam Roots Festival, Timitar Festival Morocco etc...
They have been recently nominated for The BBC Awards For World music 2007.
They just recorded their 3rd album ‘’MARRA’’ (co-prodused with Philipe Eidel and Franck Redlich).
''it's hard not to be seduced by this album's inventive energy" F.ROOTS
Main stages :
Festival Colors of Ostrava (Rép. Tchèque 2008), festival World Village (Finlande 2008), festival Rawafid (Maroc 2008), festival Paléo (Suisse 2007), festival Timitar (Maroc 2007), festival International de Jazz de Montréal (Canada 2007), festival Les Suds à Arles (France 2007), festival Sziget Budapest (Hongrie 2006), festival Kavala (Grèce 2006), festival Sakifo (La Réunion 2006), tournée Allemagne (Berlin, Rudolstadt.. 2006), festival Musiques Métisses Angoulême (2006), festival Amsterdam Roots (Hollande 2006), tournée Italie (Rome, Milan.. 2006), Womex Newcastle (Angleterre 2005), festival les nuits méditerranéennes (Maroc 2005), festival Mosaïc aux Mureaux Paris (2005), festival Dunya (Hollande 2005), tournée Espagne (Madrid, Séville.. 2005), Strictly Mundial Istanbul (Turquie 2004), festival Les Méditerranéennes Céret (2004), festival Printemps de Bourges (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
