Legendary raï label, Disco Maghreb was a benchmark of this musical genre born in western Algeria, before falling into oblivion. Recently, he has been headlining again, buoyed by the phenomenal success of DJ Snake’s latest title.
So much so that his black and yellow store in central Oran will be a stopover on Saturday’s visit to Algeria by French President Emmanuel Macron, a trip he wants to focus on young people.
Spotlight thanks to DJ Snake
If Disco Maghreb has suddenly become fashionable it is thanks to the Franco-Algerian planetary star DJ Snake. He usually signs collaborations with Lady Gaga, Cardi B or Justin Bieber. This time, William Sami Grigahcine, 36, raised in France by an Algerian mother, has teamed up with Boualem Benhaoua, 68, the head of Disco Maghreb.
In the 1980s, he launched the raï stars adored both in the cabarets of Algeria and on the stages of Paris or Marseille. Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami, Cheb Hasni, Cheba Zahouania… They all recorded their cassettes at Disco Maghreb.
“I have many memories in music, many memories with the raï singers, they all passed through here,” Boualem Benhaoua recalls to AFP.
For entire generations, this name has embodied a store, a record publisher and a mecca for raï nostalgics in a country where the dark ’90s saw its singers murdered and local genres eclipsed online for the benefit of of western music. .
influx of visitors
DJ Snake says that he wanted to pay homage to a mythical place, nestled in an alley in Oran that many thought everyone had forgotten. his title, maghreb nightclub which mixes electro beats and raï music – with a magnificent epilogue from “king” Cheb Khaled against the backdrop of young people racing on mopeds – has been viewed more than 78 million times in two months on YouTube.
Since then, a new generation has flocked to take selfies under the banner Disco Maghreb. Inside, Boualem Benhaoua receives all smiles, amid the cassettes that pile up on the shelves of his store, closed for years and left in his own juices. Here and there, visitors can discover vintage audio equipment that might be found in an antique museum.
Most of them have never had audio cassettes in their hands, but it is a pleasure to take photos with Boualem Benhaoua and his vinyl.
“We visited Oran and took the opportunity to make a passage here for souvenir photos. It is an emblematic place in Orania and with the last clip of DJ Snake it gave it even more echo, ”he explains to AFP Nawel, 36, airline. pilot, who made the detour on purpose.
Meeting place for new talents
For many Internet users, moreover, DJ Snake has promoted Algeria much better with a single clip than professionals in the sector will ever do.
On his Twitter account, the artist, whose various videos exceed one billion views, writes that he imagined maghreb nightclub as a “bridge between different generations and origins, linking North Africa, the Arab world and beyond…”.
“It’s a love letter to my people,” says the artist whose current tour goes from Europe to North America, passing through India and Chile.
DJ Snake “isn’t just a singer, he’s like someone in my family. I found in him the qualities of a great man, he is a complete man, he sympathizes with people with modest incomes, he himself grew up in these conditions”, he assures. Boualem Benhaoua.
And to prepare a new generation of Cheb Khaled, DJ Snake and another Cheb Mami, Disco Maghreb is determined to put an end to their long journey through the desert. The Oran boutique “will become a meeting place for artists, to discover new talents,” says Boualem Benhaoua.
Source: BFM TV
