Idir, the memory of a sung poetry that never ceases to thrill
The year is over and we look back. We see that 2020 caught us all off guard, no one expected a global pandemic and thousands of deaths every day caused by a virus that we are having trouble understanding and controlling. In this past 2020 everything has been difficult and it will be hard to look up after this. It seems not, but life goes on in the meantime and some have ended without warning, naturally and leaving a mark.
The loss of the Amazigh musical icon has marked a before and after in the lives of those in the community. Idir, a symbol of Berber and Algerian culture, died on May 2 at the age of 70. Death always breaks the hearts of those who are close and known, but in this case, it has broken the hearts of thousands of people who have admired this great artist.
Hamid Cheriet, known as Idir, is considered not only the voice of Kabylia, but also the voice of Berbers. His soft and poetic music sung in Amazigh reached the whole world, and his exile in France was also due to how exciting it can be. A music that shocks without understanding it, that bristles the skin and tightens the heart, a song that has undoubtedly received the recognition it deserves.
Idir was born on 25 October 1945 in Beni Yenni, a municipality in the Algerian province of Tizi Ouzou, in the region of Kabylia. Life takes many turns, and this has been well illustrated by the life of this son of Algerian shepherds: music met him, or he met her, but they did not look for each other, they simply met. His life began while the Algerian War of Independence was taking place, which inspired his lyrics and his continuous struggle for peace.
In 1973 he was called to replace the Kabylia singer Nouara on Radio Algiers which led him to record Rsed A Yidess (May Sleep Come) and A Vava Inouva (My Dad) the latter being the most successful and iconic. He gained great international recognition and today he continues to accompany many people on a daily basis.
A few years later, in 1976, he produced his first album entitled A Vava Inouva in France with the Pathe-Marconi discography. This was after he had completed his military service and moved to Paris, marking the beginning of a great musical career.
After Algerian independence, the new government introduced Arabic as the country's official language, denying the country's linguistic diversity and in turn the different cultures that coexisted there. The Arabisation of the area led to the Amazigh becoming marginalised and neglected minorities. In 1980 this triggered massive demonstrations in the Kabylia region, a period known as the Berber Spring. Later in 2001 there was an uprising against the state security forces in this area.
It is in this context that we understand the music of Idir, who was a great defender of Kabylia's culture and who propagated it as a struggle for the world through his music. This was based on the social life and culture of Kabylia, he made poetry out of nostalgia and longing for his home, created art out of his melancholy and transformed it into a beautiful melody.
Zwit Rwit (Shake it, Move it), perfectly represents the above-mentioned characteristics and the social theme, in this case that of a wedding. This song is not a ballad, as Idir has cheerful songs that encourage dancing without even knowing what the typical Kabyle dance is. In the rest of the songs we see the essence of Idir, who gave a modern touch to Kabylia's folk music, mixing the guitar, bass and drums with the shepherd's flute he learned to play as a child, the bendir (a frame drum), the tambourine and the darbouka (a goblet-shaped drum).
He retired for 10 years and returned in 1991 with a compilation album. In 1993 he released his second album entitled in French Les Chasseurs de Lumières (Hunters of Light). In this album the singer tackles themes such as exile, freedom and love.
These times were also accompanied by a violent and bloody historical context in Algeria. This country was experiencing a civil war between the military government and Islamist groups.
He defended peace from the beginning and continued to do so with his music. Moreover, although he was a great defender of his Kabyle people, he was proud of his country, Algeria. He was looking for brotherhood among Algerians and so appeared in collaboration with Cheb Khaled, another Algerian icon. In 1995, in Paris, they came together in a concert promoting peace, freedom and tolerance, with an Arab-speaking audience as well as Berbers.
He continued along the same lines with the release of Identités (Identities) in 1999, an album that includes collaborations with different artists from different backgrounds, from France and Mali to Uganda. He also linked Kabyle and Celtic culture in collaboration with Scottish singer Karen Matheson and Breton guitarist Gilles Servat. He also included on this third album a duet with the French-Spanish musician and producer Manu Chao called A Tulawin (Une Algérienne Debout) (A permanent Algerian).
His career continued with more albums, including Deux Rives, Un Rêve (Two Shores, One Dream) in 2002. Three years later he released Entre Scènes et Terres (Between Scenes and Lands). In his 2007 album La France des Couleurs (France of Colours) we find the singer's vision of the multiculturalism of the country where he was in exile. In these titles the Frenchman took over the artist's songs, with touches of piano and a recitation of his lyrics as poetry, without losing his essence.
His last two albums, Adrar Inu (My Mountain) and Ici et Ailleurs (Here and There), released in 2013 and 2017, are a return to his roots. The inspiration he drew from his beloved Kabylia.
In 2018, for the first time in 38 years, Idir appeared on stage in Algiers for a concert celebrating the Berber New Year. Two years later, he spoke proudly in interviews about the current peaceful protests in Algeria; in one of them, with the Journal du dimanche in April 2019, he said: "I recognise that I have been living these moments of grace since February 22 as a breath of fresh air. I have pulmonary fibrosis; I know what I am talking about. Either way, we are doomed to succeed. So let us continue to think in terms of the Algerian nation moving forward. If we stick together, nothing and nobody can break us down".
That disease he referred to has now taken his life and left a gift in this world for all to remember with great admiration. An inspiration to many, a symbol to some and a voice to all.