Abdel Gadir Salim ( ar, عبد القادر سالم , born 1946) is a singer and bandleader of popular music from Sudan. He is one of the most well-known Sudanese singers in the West, having performed around the world and recorded in countries such as the United Kingdom and France.

Biography

Salim was born in the village of Dilling,

Kordofan Kordofan ( ar, كردفان ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory ...

province, amidst the

Nuba Mountains The Nuba Mountains ( ar, جبال النوبة), also referred to as the Nuba Hills, is an area located in South Kordofan, Sudan. The area is home to a group of indigenous ethnic groups known collectively as the Nuba peoples. In the Middle Ages ...

in the West of Sudan in 1946. He trained in both European and

Arabic music Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...

at the Institute of Drama and Music in Khartoum, beginning with

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at the behest of a friend. By 1971, he changed from composing urban-styled music to folkloristic rural tunes. Seeking out traditional and colloquial songs to perform, he began in his native

and in Darfur. Rarely writing his own lyrics, his songs range from politically aware, educational arguments to love ballads. Salim is noted for maintaining a neutral repertoire that has kept him from irritating the government of the day. Referring to discrimination of music in Sudan, the music critic Angel Romero wrote: "In 1994, Salim was a victim in a knife attack in Omdurman, which took the life of famed singer Khogali Osman. The assault reflected the fiercely anti-cultural environment that followed the 1989 coup, but Salim, always a figure above politics, dismissed it as the act of a crazy man, and carried right on with his work."

Musical style

In his early work, Salim was seen as a representative of a musical style known as the “Khartoum city song”, popular urban music. It is a mixture of popular Sudanese music styles with new musical elements, such as some influences from jazz. The addition of Western musical instruments such as the electric guitar, accordion or saxophone in his band's lineup is characteristic of the urban popular style of the time. Many of Salim's rhythms come from traditional music, such as wedding dances that are often in strident 6/8 beats. Some of the beats, from desert areas, are modelled after the gait of camels. His sonorous voice comes often in a long, steady croon. Even in their English translation, Salim's lyrics give valuable insight into Sudanese culture and poetry. One song, called ''Al-Lemoni'', compares a beautiful woman to a lemon. The record jacket explains that the Sudanese refer to her

skin color Human skin color ranges from the darkest brown to the lightest hues. Differences in skin color among individuals is caused by variation in pigmentation, which is the result of genetics (inherited from one's biological parents and or individu ...

as green, as opposed to black or brown. Therefore, to compare a woman to a lemon is poetic flattery. ''Jeenaki'', or "The Return of Geese," describes how the sight of geese is a welcome indication of rain in the desert of river-scarce Sudan, where flocks of geese alight to drink from pools. Salim performs solo at times, though most often with his group, the All-Stars. Hamid Osman Abdalla, the saxophonist, comes from Dilling as well.

Career

Salim shared duties in his careers as international performer and as headmaster of a school in Chad between at least the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s. According to a statement on the back of his album ''Nujum Al-Lail'' (Stars in the Night) (1989, Globe Style, UK), the two careers harmonize without strain. In 2005 he recorded a collaborational album called ''Ceasefire'' with Sudanese rapper, former child soldier and Christian convert

Emmanuel Jal Emmanuel Jal (born Jal Jok 1 January 1980) is a South Sudanese-Canadian artist, actor, former child soldier, and political activist. His autobiography, ''War Child: A Child Soldier's Story'', was published in 2009. Childhood Jal was born to ...

. Salim represented Sudan at the qualification round of the first

ABU Radio Song Festival 2012 The ABU Radio Song Festival 2012 was the first edition of the biennial ABU Radio Song Festivals, organised by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). The festival took place in the KBS Hall, which is located in the South Korean capital of ...

, but failed to qualify for the final which was scheduled to take place at the KBS Concert Hall in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

on 14 October 2012.

Discography

* Abdel Gadir Salim on discogs * ''Sounds of Sudan Vol.1'', Songs from Kordofan, World Circuit 1987 * ''Nujum al-Lail, Stars of the night,'' Globe Style 1989
''The Merdoum Kings Play Songs of Love,'' World Circuit 1991
* ''Le blues de Khartoum,'' Harmonia mundi 1999 * ''Ceasefire'' (with

), Riverboat Records 2005

References

External links