From near and far, Kamel resembles Dahmane El-Harrachi the creator of Ya Rayah, (which became a planetary hit thanks to its recovery by Rachid Taha) of which he is indeed the eldest son.
Born in Algeria in 1973, Kamel has been following in his father’s footsteps since childhood. Open to other styles, he did not tire of hearing other emblematic figures of the chaâbi, a popular urban genre sprang from the kasbah of Algiers in the forties, such as Hajj M'rizek, el-Hachemi Guerouabi, Amar Ezzahi or Bouadjadj to better immerse themselves in their art.In 1991, Kamel takes the name of El-Harrachi to perpetuate his memory, records his first cassette at Afric-Audio in Douéra, in Algiers, where you can enjoy two unreleased titles of the latter. This boy, as discreet as effective, has almost the same mandole game as his father, but a less rocky voice.In 1994, he exiled himself in France and began to perform, just like his father, in Parisian cafes, to finish on stages such as the Printemps de Bourges. He pursues, far from all fuss, a musical career that delights a whole audience.
In his show Kamel El Harrachi makes us share what is for him the domain of the family tradition. Accompanied by 6 musicians, banjo, piano, percussion, violins, tar and double bass the young man with the mandole knows how to create the atmosphere. From the audience a few youyous fuse, the beats of hands give the measure or disappear to leave all the room for a dialogue on the wire between the mandole and the banjo, or a modulation of voices… On stage Kamel performs some of his father’s favorite songs, unpublished texts written by his father and his own compositions.Kamel El Harrachi is part of a generation of young musicians attached to the chaâbi genre and anxious to see it evolve with his time. He also introduced a double bass, a piano, and some congas. He also worked on orchestration, and wrote his own texts, which are, like those of the elders, “social”. “The chaâbi speaks of people’s lives, society, exile, betrayal, love…” At the end of the show, Kamel El Harrachi, sings the rough «Ya Rayah», and makes the audience sing with him. Some young women get up to dance, the public asks for more, and the musicians offer him a last piece. A young artist in the making, a future master of a popular genre that is unlikely to disappear, the chaâbi.
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