''Liberté'' is the sixth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by Khaled. Released in 2009, the album is Khaled's first studio album to feature original material following a five-year hiatus.Album review by "The Daily Telegraph" newspaper
Accessed 11 July 2010 The album marks a shift to a more acoustic

Raï Raï (, ; , , ), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian folk music that dates back to the 1920s. Singers of Raï are called () or (), i.e. 'young', as opposed to (, 'shaykh'), i.e. 'old', the name given to Chaabi singers. The tradi ...

orientated sound.Khaled's biography at RFI music
Accessed 11 July 2010 However, in contrast to his previous work, the album incorporates elements of

Gnawa music Gnawa music (Ar. ) is a body of Morocco, Moroccan Religious music, religious songs and rhythms. Emerging in the 16th and 17th centuries, Gnawa music developed through the cultural fusion of West Africans brought to Morocco, notably the Hausa p ...

,Album information at Mondomix
Accessed 11 July 2010 as seen on the track "Gnaoui. It also features Egyptian string performances recorded in Cairo.Article at Spinner Music
Accessed 11 July 2010 The album was recorded in the studio under live conditions to replicate the energy of his live performances. The meaning of the title track "Liberté" has been described by the artist as the attainment of freedom at the cost of ones innocence. Khaled describes "Sidi Rabbi" as a prayer for repentance for any pain he has caused to his parents. The album features two covers two songs by the Algerian artist

Blaoui Houari Blaoui Houari ( ''Blawī al-Hwārī''; 23 January 1926 – 19 July 2017) was an Algerian singer-songwriter, composer and conductor. Over the course of his career, he recorded over 900 songs and released over 100 albums. Early life Blaoui Houari ...

; "Zabana" and "Papa". Zabana is a tribute to

Ahmed Zabana Ahmed Zabana (; real name: Ahmed Zahana; 1926 – 19 June 1956) was an Algerian fighter who participated in the outbreak of the Algerian War. He was executed by guillotine by French regime colonizers on 19 June 1956, in Algiers. Early life Zab ...

, the first man to be executed by the French in Oran during the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

; whereas "Papa" is a tribute to the memory of his late father and was co-written with French musician Philippe Gouadin.

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, Friday 8 May 2009, in reviewing the CD, commenced with the comment that "Khaled, the "king of Rai", became a celebrity across Europe and the Middle East in the early 1990s, provoking scenes worthy of

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles from 1963 to 1966. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom in late 1963, propelled by the singles " Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and " She Loves Yo ...

..." and noted that the new CD continued his "growing interest in acoustic styles". On November 21, 2009, Khaled performed tracks from the album at the

MGM Grand Las Vegas The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The resort was developed by Kirk Kerkorian through his company, MGM Grand ...

Track listing

#"Hiya Ansadou (Intro)" - 1:23 #"Hiya Ansadou" - 4:49 #"Raikoum (Intro)" - 1:20 #"Raikoum" - 4:50 #"Ya Bouya Kirani" - 6:23 #"Gnaoui" - 5:39 #"Zabana" - 8:19 #"Liberté (Intro)" - 2:41 #"Liberté" - 4:33 #"Ghadni Soghri" #"Sidi Rabbi" - 5:35 #"Yamina (Intro)" - 2:27 #"Yamina" - 4:20 #"Papa" - 5:24 #"Maghboune" - 4:48 #"Mimoune (Intro)" - 1:12 #"Mimoune" - 4:54 The booklet of the French release on AZ contains French translations, but not the Arabic sung texts.

References

External links

* Album review at Allmusicbr>Album review by "The Guardian" newspaper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberte (album) 2009 albums Khaled (musician) albums