Slimane Azem (September 19, 1918 – January 31, 1983) was an
Algerian singer and poet, born in
Agouni Gueghrane
Agouni Gueghrane is a town and commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria
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(kabylie region),that composed hundreds of songs in more than 40 years of artistic life. A great connoisseur and admirer of the poet
Si Mohand Si Mohand ou-Mhand n At Hmadouch, also known as Si Mhand, (Icerɛiwen, Tizi Rached, about 1848 - Ain El Hammam, 28 December 1905) was a widely known Berber-Amazigh poet from Kabylie in Algeria. Called the "Kabyle Verlaine" by French scholars, his wo ...
, Slimane Azem included in his songs different
isefra (traditional poetry) by this author.
Biography
Slimane Azem was born September 19, 1918 at
Agouni Gueghrane
Agouni Gueghrane is a town and commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria
)
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, map_caption =
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, capital = ...
, a small village located on the foothills of
Djurdjura
The Djurdjura or Jurjura Range ( ar, جبال جرجرة, ''Jabal Jurjura''; Berber ''Adrar n Jerjer'') is a mountain range of the Tell Atlas, part of the Atlas Mountain System. It is located in Kabylie, Algeria.
Geography
The Djurdjura is a mas ...
. Nothing predestined this son of a poor farmer to a musical career. A rather mediocre student, he had a passion for the
La Fontaine's Fables
Jean de La Fontaine collected fables from a wide variety of sources, both Western and Eastern, and adapted them into French free verse. They were issued under the general title of Fables in several volumes from 1668 to 1694 and are considered cla ...
that would later influence his writings and compositions. At the age of 11, he became a farm worker for a colonist in
Staouéli
Staouéli (Berber: ⵚⵟⴰⵡⴰⵍⵉ) is a municipalities of Algeria, municipality in Algiers Province, Algeria. It is located in Zéralda District, Zéralda district, on a Presque-isle on the Mediterranean Sea, hosting the resort town of Sidi ...
, a small resort near Algiers (the very beach were the French army landed in 1830). In 1937, he landed at
Longwy
Longwy (; older german: Langich, ; lb, label= Luxemburgish, Lonkech) is a commune in the French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France.
The inhabitants are known as ''Longoviciens'' ...
as part of the
Service du travail obligatoire
The ' ( en, Compulsory Work Service; STO) was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II.
The STO was created under law ...
and found work in a steel mill operation before being mobilized during the "
Phoney War
The Phoney War (french: Drôle de guerre; german: Sitzkrieg) was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germa ...
" in
Issoudun
Issoudun () is a commune in the Indre department, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is also referred to as ''Issoundun'', which is the ancient name.
Geography Location
Issoudun is a sub-prefecture, located in the east ...
. In 1940, he was discharged and went to Paris where he was hired as an assistant electrician in the
Paris Métro
The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architec ...
. In 1942, Slimane was in Paris. The capital fascinated him and yet the work was hard. He was accustomed to life in the village in the great outdoors, but was now confined in tunnels and underground eight hours a day in the metro. Two years later, he underwent deportation by
German troops in the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
and remained there until its
liberation
Liberation or liberate may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War
* "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode
* "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode
Gaming
* '' Liberati ...
in 1945, by the Americans.
Having received death threats during the
independence of Algeria, the singer was fled to France in 1962. He then became a legendary voice that Kabyles expatriates could only listen to on
Radio Paris
Radio Paris was a French radio broadcasting company best known for its Axis propaganda broadcasts in Vichy France during World War II.
Radio Paris evolved from the first private radio station in France, called Radiola, founded by pioneering Frenc ...
in his ''quart d'heure kabyle'' (fifteen minutes Kabyle daily) show. Azem was, in fact, banned from airing in his own country and his music circulated only clandestinely, his name could only be read in lowercase in brief, daily of his country. In 1970 he was awarded a gold disc along with the singer
Noura, imposing it as one of the best French sales. At the same time he became member of the
SACEM, the club of famous French stars. In Paris, he won a stewardship coffee in the
15th arrondissement. He took the opportunity to interpret there his first compositions. Noticed and encouraged by Mohamed El Kamel, former member of Bachtarzi ensemble (named after
Mahieddine Bachtarzi), he persevered in singing. Slimane finally recorded his first album with the song ''A muh muh has''. For all those Kabyles dealing with homesickness, his records were highly sought after at Madame Sauviat, the only record store that sold at that time albums of Maghrebi and Oriental artists. This woman, of
Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...
origin, whose heirs now keep the shop on
Boulevard de la Chapelle
The boulevard de la Chapelle marks the border between the 10e arrondissement of Paris, 10e arrondissement and the 18e arrondissement of Paris, 18e arrondissement of Paris. It corresponds in part to the mur des Fermiers généraux, which, until 186 ...
, presented Slimane to the record company
Pathé-Marconi.
During the '70s, he made comic duets with the famous
Cheikh Nouredine and sang ''Algérie, mon beau pays'' (Algeria, my beautiful country) and ''Carte de Résidence'' (Residence Card) in French. Over the recordings, Slimane Azem conquered a wide community audience through his lyrics parables where he staged animals and arises as a singer politically engaged. Then his inspiration declined.
He would later write a song in tribute to the
Berber Spring
The Berber Spring (in Berber language, Berber: Tafsut Imaziɣen or simply Tafsut for "Spring") was a period of political protest and civil activism in 1980, claiming recognition of the Berber people, Berber identity and language in Algeria, wit ...
, ''Ɣef Teqbaylit yuli was'' (On Kabylia rises the day).
He never denied his peasant roots and spent much of his earnings in buying a farm in
Moissac
Moissac () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Garonne and Tarn at the Canal de Garonne. Route nationale N113 was constructed through ...
(
Tarn-et-Garonne
Tarn-et-Garonne (; oc, Tarn e Garona ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former provinces of Quercy and ...
), where he spent six months a year cultivating his nostalgia in his fig and olive tree plantations. Slimane feared death in exile. It finally occurred a January 28, 1983 on his farm.
![Plaque Place Slimane Azem - Paris XIV (FR75) - 2021-07-30 - 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Plaque_Place_Slimane_Azem_-_Paris_XIV_%28FR75%29_-_2021-07-30_-_2.jpg)
Since 2008, the city of Moissac decided to honor the old Berber singer giving a
town square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
that bears his name. In December 2013, the city of Paris decided to honor him too with a square in the
14th arrondissement. The plate was not visible however until 2014.
He was the brother of
Ouali Azem,
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
from 1958 to 1962 under the
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic (french: Cinquième République) is France's current republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. The Fifth Republic emerged from ...
.
Discography
*Awine yelane dhel fahem (1970)
Songs
*173 songs recorded (see: catalog of published works at SACEM)
*''A Muh A Muh''
*''Awine yelane dhel fahem''
*''Effɤ ay ajrad tamurt-iw'' (Grasshoppers leave my country), covered in 1997 by
Lounès Matoub
Lounès Matoub (; ) (January 24, 1956 – June 25, 1998) was an Algerian Kabylian singer, poet, thinker who sparked an intellectual revolution, and mandole player who was an advocate of the Berber cause, human rights, and secularism in Alge ...
.
*''Ɣef Teqbaylit yuli was''
*''La carte de résidence''
*''Algérie mon beau pays''
Bibliography
*
*
*
References
External links
slimane-azem.comÉcoutez la discographie complète de Slimane Azem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azem, Slimane
1918 births
1983 deaths
20th-century Algerian poets
20th-century Algerian male singers
Algerian male poets
Algerian songwriters
Berber poets
Kabyle people
People from Agouni Gueghrane
Berber musicians
20th-century male writers
French World War II forced labourers