Afro Latin / Chaâbi / Flamenco / Maghrebi

PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique | Youba Adjrad, Algeria’s Great Pop Voice

by Alain Brunet

If fans of raï, chaâbi, Arabo-Andalusian or even salsa, tarab and Amazigh culture (indigenous to the Maghreb) knew about the immense voice of Algerian singer Youba Adjrad, Fairmount would have been shaken. Such power singers are few and far between.

Youba Adjrad was born in Algeria in 1991, took his first steps in music at the age of 14, studied music at the age of 17, and was inspired by his chaâbi-singing father to enroll in a classical music school in 2009. On Algerian radio, Youba improvises a few Algerian chaâbi classics and even a song of his own. In 2012, at the age of 21, he took part in the national Alhan Wa Chabab (Algerian Super Star) competition, then reached the final of Arabe Idol (season 4). Some consider him to be one of the best Arab voices of the current period. The thirty-something certainly comes from pop and reality TV, but he frees himself from it and distinguishes himself from it.

Believe me, this is no show-off. I was there for the first set on Friday night and wow, what a voice! The groove is purely Maghrebian but also Afro-Latin, the result of Youba Adjrad’s encounter with percussionist Youcef Grim. Montreal musicians Bertil Schulrabe, Carlo Berri, Rafik Abdeladim and Ryan Kaouene are also mentioned as having taken part in the project.

The few dozen people on hand were very happy to be there, despite the low attendance for an artist of this calibre. Next time, we predict, it will be very different.

Publicité panam

Latest 360 Content

Vitta Morales, Our Versatile Colleague

Vitta Morales, Our Versatile Colleague

Late-Night Warehouse Ambiance for Juan Atkins All-Nighter at the SAT

Late-Night Warehouse Ambiance for Juan Atkins All-Nighter at the SAT

Lifeguard – Ripped and Torn

Lifeguard – Ripped and Torn

Brainwasher – At Least It Beats an Actor

Brainwasher – At Least It Beats an Actor

Nicholas Daniel – Complete Works for Oboe by Madeleine Dring

Nicholas Daniel – Complete Works for Oboe by Madeleine Dring

Christine Tassan; Marie-Véronique Bourque – Bruissement boréal

Christine Tassan; Marie-Véronique Bourque – Bruissement boréal

Lanaudière Festival | Metropolitan Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Marc-André Hamelin: When Nature Drives the Concert

Lanaudière Festival | Metropolitan Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin/Marc-André Hamelin: When Nature Drives the Concert

Festival de Lanaudière | Sol Gabetta : Queen of the cello meets les Violons du Roy

Festival de Lanaudière | Sol Gabetta : Queen of the cello meets les Violons du Roy

The “rodas de samba” That Never End

The “rodas de samba” That Never End

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Friday night at the Dômesicle – All night long with Jump Source

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Montreal Vocal Arts Festival | The Magic Flute to conclude ICAV’s opera month

Montreal Vocal Arts Festival | The Magic Flute to conclude ICAV’s opera month

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Subscribe to our newsletter