Clandestino: Ahmed Fakroun

Oceanen & Clandestino presenterar: Ahmed Fakroun

Ahmed Fakroun is something of a legend within North African popular music. Born in Benghazi, Libya, he started his first band as a teenager in 1970. In his role as both singer and multi-instrumentalist he voraciously mixed Algerian raï with European art rock, and gained early success back home with songs like Awedny and Njoom Al Leyel.

But it was to be 1987’s trilingual album Words of Love/Mots d’Amour/كلمات حب that brought him his big international breakthrough. Inspired by the peaking trend of New Wave music, Fakroun added Eastern instruments like oud, bağlama, ney and darbuka to create his very own niche: Arabic electro-pop. The music was lavishly produced, at times yearningly romantic, but above all: funky. Hits like Soleil Soleil spread his name far beyond the Maghreb.

Politics, however, would come to hamper his career. American sanctions and bombings of Libya in 1986 isolated him from the international music scene, while Gaddafi’s rule made for oppression and silencing attempts back home. For several years he lived in exile, and while his music and his often socially engaged lyrics continued to be of great importance in his native region – for the liberation struggle in Palestine and Lebanon, as well as later for the Arab spring revolutions – his name to a large degree fell off the radar of Western audiences.

With the advent of the internet a resurgence began. Ahmed Fakroun kept eagerly producing and spreading music from his home studio, and when some Balearic DJs started remixing his hits from the 1980s, the comeback was a fait accompli – his original records are now sought-after collector’s items and he is playing sold out gigs around the world. Live, he has performed with, among others, the Dutch-Turkish rock band Altin Gün. And now this legendary 72-year-old – once called the Talking Heads of the Arabic world – is coming to Sweden!

________

Accessibility

The Cultural Center Oceanen is a Q-marked culturally historical building, which is challenging when it comes to accessibility. We do our best to have as many people as possible visit us. When visiting us with mobility aids the best-suited entrance is through the stage. This entrance is accessed via Gathenhielmska trädgården. The entrance is locked, please email us the day before your visit or the latest Friday at 16:00 if you are visiting us during the weekend. We have a wheelchair-accessible bathroom. Personal assistants do not need to purchase their own ticket, but we ask you to contact us in advance so we can issue a ticket for the person.
Please note that flashing lights may occur during concerts and events. For questions regarding accessibility email Mia Herman at mia@oceanen.com.