Sawt el Atlas is a ten-piece band based in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. Their music combines many styles, including Arabic, raï

Raï

Raï is a form of folk music that originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s....

, reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

, funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

, and Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 rhythms. The group features two sets of three brothers (the Mirghani and El Habchi brothers) and is fronted by tenors Kamel El Habchi and Mounir Mirghani. The group first came together in the late 1980's in the French city of Blois

Blois

Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...

, when most of its members were teenagers or even younger. Soon they began touring through Europe, opening for the likes of Khaled, Cheb Mami

Cheb Mami

Ahmed Khelifati Mohamed better known by his stage name Cheb Mami , is an Algerian-born raï singer...

, Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour

Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...

, and Natacha Atlas

Natacha Atlas

Natacha Atlas is a Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western electronic music, particularly hip-hop. She once termed her music "cha'abi moderne" . Her music has been influenced by many styles including Arabic, hip hop, drum 'n' bass and reggae.Atlas began her career as part of...

. 1996 saw the release of their debut recording, Generaliser. Their sophomore effort, Donia, recorded equally in Paris and Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, was issued three years later. Love is the central topic of most of their songs, which feature lyrics in both Arabic and French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

.

Band Members

Kamel El Habchi (vocals)

Mounir Mirghani (vocals)

Abdelkrim El Habchi (keyboards)

Adhil Mirghani (darbouki)

Khalid El Habchi (drums)

Samir Mirghani (congas, percussion)

Discography

Generaliser (1996, Rue Bleue)

1. "Zmane" - 4:17
2. "Ragga Raï" - 3:24
3. "Bladi" - 5:17
4. "Immigré" - 4:51
5. "Amri" - 3:33
6. "Nachtou" - 5:53
7. "Généraliser" - 3:43
8. "Arde Lille" - 4:40
9. "Beïda" - 4:42
10. "Rabra Bina - 4:37
11. "Sbabi" - 3:51

Donia (2001, Tinder Records)

1. "Ne Me Jugez Pas [Don't Judge Me]" - 3:30
2. "Ya Mra [Oh Lady]" - 3:55
3. "Donia [Life]" - 3:38
4. "Ness [People]" - 3:34
5. "Le Soleil de Ma Vie [The Sunshine of My Life]" - 4:07
6. "L' Hagra [Abandoned]" - 3:55
7. "Andalucía [Andaluca]" - 4:25
8. "Mama [Mother]" - 4:23
9. "Zmane y Dore [The Wheel Turns]" - 4:58
10. "Datna [Our Life Led Us]" - 3:48
11. "Mouminine [The Faithful, The Believer]" - 4:05
12. "Ne Me Jugez Pas [Arabic Version]" - 3:38

Contributed to:

• Natacha Atlas Halim (1997, Nation Records) [ "Amulet"
  Amulet (song)
  "Amulet" is an electronic–world music song performed by Belgian singer Natacha Atlas and Moroccan-French band Sawt el Atlas. The song was written by Natacha Atlas, Count Dubulah, Hamid ManTu and Alex Kasiek and produced by Transglobal Underground for Atlas' second album Halim .-Formats and...
  
  ]

Compilations:

• Africa - Tea In Marrakech ["Zmane y Dore (Times Change)"]
• Arabic Groove (Putumayo Presents) ["Ne Me Jugez Pas (Volodia Remix)"]
• Mega Rai V.2 (4cd) ("Bladi")
• Spirit of Rai ("Zmane")
• World, Vol. 1 ["Ne Me Jugez Pas (Si Je l'Aime Autant)"]