AMINA
Biography
“I’m interested in many musics,” explains
Amina. “ I think of my voice as an instrument. I’m like a free spirit, a gypsy
voice.”
And that’s the perfect way to describe her voice, a
woman who can move from a haunting Arabic cover of Billie Holiday’s torch
classic “My Man” to an entry in the Eurovision song contest and then to hard
techno and garage. She’s someone who’s never seen the boundaries in music.
Born in 1962 in
When she was 12, the family moved to
“I grew up with two cultures,” she explains, “I
speak Arabic and French, and I work with both cultures, which isn’t the case
for many people.”
Her career began in earnest in 1986, when she
released her first single, rapping over a piece of music from Grandmaster
Flash. But after that it was three years before she released her debut album, Yalil,
produced by Martin Meissonnier, whose credits included King Sunny Ade’s
breakthrough international record.
Yalil was an adventurous release,
but it immediately established Amina in
But it was 1991 that saw her move to superstardom,
when she sang “Le Dernier Qui A Parlé,”
“It was the Gulf War, and I was representing the
Arabs in
To return the favor, she added her voice to Diop’s
own album, and sang on a disc by world music legend Manu Dibango, the power behind
the seminal “Soul Makossa.”
1992 brought Wadi yé, which stretched
Amina’s musical boundaries even further. Produced by both Meissonnier and Diop,
it was a world fusion record in the days before that even existed. The roots
remained firmly Arabic, but the branches touched
At that point it would have been easy for Amina to
capitalize on her popularity and release a string of albums. But it wouldn’t
have been satisfying. Instead she became a vocal explorer, lending her talent
to any number of diverse projects. She sang with Afrika Bambaata, one of the
godfathers of modern dance music, in addition to Lenny Kravitz’s “Give Peace a Chance,” the album
“Music and Colours” by Steven Duffy & Nigel Kennedy, and Malcom MacLaren’s
“
She also pursued an acting
career, appearing in Bertolucci’s Sheltering Sky, and The Advocate, with
Colin Firth and Donald Pleasance. From there it was a short step to soundtrack
work, and Amina appeared on cuts for IP5, Odysseus, and recorded
a duet with the late, great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on a track for Dead Man
Walking.
By 1999 she was ready to
return to the studio for her third album, Annabi (which is her last
name). The experiences of the last few years had taught her a great deal, and
she’d kept her ears open to new sounds.
“It had
jungle and trip-hop,” she explains. “I had many producers like Renegade
Soundwave, Mark Sanders. I wanted to go in that direction, to mix jungle beats
with Arabic music and new sounds with Arabic melodies.”
That was exactly what it did, on tracks like the hit single “Dis-Moi Pourquoi.” But she continued to takes chances, and none greater than her interpretation of the standard “My Man,” by her favorite singer, Billie Holiday.
“I’d been doing Billie Holiday songs with Arabic instruments,” she says. “I did “My Man” in English, but with an Arabic accent, and Arabic way of singing, Arabic strings.”
It worked, the jazzy inflections blending perfectly
with the strings and Amina’s swooping, sensuous heartache.
Annabi was an artistic landmark in
her career, but in the two years since then she’s moved even further.
“I’m been invited to work with a lot of people,
like hip-hop star, Imhotep. I’ve worked with Nigel Kennedy and Stephen Duffy
again, on a track for their new album.” She’s cut a track with former
Eurhythmic Dave Stewart, and she’s recorded and performed with London-based
Moroccan DJ, U-Cef.
“Last year he was on Central Park Summerstage and
he invited me to sing with him. Now we’re recording an Oum Khalthoum song, and
he’s remixing it in a garage style. I’m singing in a very harsh way, not the
Egyptian way, which will be really shocking.”
As that that wasn’t enough, she’s hard at work
preparing her new album, and touring, having just finished a number of dates in
“In
Amina refuses to be pigeonholed. Her music goes
wherever her Muse takes her, and that’s exactly the way she wants it.
“Perhaps I can do an album of children’s songs,”
she says thoughtfully, “or one of jazz, or one that’s techno and garage. I feel
free to sing what I want.”
At the request and encouragement of Publisher
Alecia Cohen of Global Rhythm Magazine and executive producer of the first in a
series of compilations to be released by
AMINA is currently touring
throughout
AMINA explores the world as she
listens for the rich textured North African, Arabic sounds that will fuse with
the many new styles of music that Amina hears in her new compositions. She believes it will be a global musical
exploration representing the assorted life she has lead of the last ten years
“almost just like watching a movie, the scenes is constantly changing”. These experiences will reflect through
melodies and rhythms bringing a new maturity to Amina’s song compositions and
expose another side to her vocal talents.
She hopes to creative a sense of reflection for the listener, and at the
same time, create multitudes of emotions from moments of sorry to moments of
elation and joy. “Very much what the
world has felt for the past two years”.
AMINA new record is due out
spring of 2006. Additionally Annabi will
be touring in the
Sensual, Charming, a whole host
of global melodies, rhythmic measures and rich textured vocals are just on the
horizon with AMINA.
She is…“Queen of the Night” Don Heckman LA TIMES
Artist Management
Dawn Elder Management
+ WORLD
ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES
303 Loma Alta Dr.
805-963-2415
Tel * 805-963-1973 Fax * 805-680-4665 Cell
E-Mail
demgmt@aol.com
ALBUM BIO RELEASE-
NOMAD THE BEST OF….
Contact:
Dawn Elder
805-963-2415
demgmt@aol.com
The Multi-Cultural Artistry of
Tunisian Vocalist AMINA Highlighted
in
US Release “Nomad,The Best of Amina…”
LOS
Born
in
But
she hit the spotlight two years later, when she won the Eurovision Song
Contest, representing
Yes
that’s been typical of Amina. She’s never settled for the norm, or aimed for
the lowest common denominator. Throughout her career, she’s continued to push
at her limits, to work with new people. 1992’s Wadi ye added
(more)
In
addition to her own work, Amina guested with others, working with talents
raging from
She
also pursued another passion - cinema - acting in several films. But the movies
have been an ongoing inspiration for Amina, the source for both “Atame” (the
original Spanish title for Almodovar’s Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!) and
“Ederlezi” (the original of which first featured in Kusturica’s 1989 Time of
the Gypsies).
There
was a seven-year gap between Amina’s second and third albums. When she returned
in 1999 with Annabi (her real-life last name), it was with a new
attitude and plenty of new sounds. Producers like Renegade Soundwave and Mark
Saunders entered the fold, and the beats became harder and more creative. Songs
like “Habibi 2” and “Lirrili” explored the trance rhythms of her native
Nomad,the Best of Amina showcases the power of Amina’s voice, and the
way her artistry has developed. It also adds two cuts which have never appeared
on album before, her take on “Ederlezi” and the brand new “Ya Baba,” recorded
earlier this year with a band comprised of Algerian and Tunisian musicians.
Amina
is a singer who constantly takes chances, who’s not afraid to embrace
traditional music, techno, and pop. She challenges herself, and challenges the
listener to follow her. It’s a journey you’ll never regret.
# # #
FOR MORE INFO/BOOKING
CONTACT:
DEMGMT@AOL.COM
805-963-2415
PRESS QUOTES
AMINA ANNABI 
“WITH HER UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL MIX OF FRENCH AND ARABIC MUSIC
– IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE ANYONE WHO WOULD NOT BE PROFOUNDLY TAKEN OVER BY
THIS WOMAN’S WORK… AMAZON.COM
AMINA ANNABI QUEEN OF THE NIGHT-HER STAR QUALITY VIRTUOSIITY
WAS CONFIRMED WITH A STUNNING A CAPPELLA RENDERING, WITH ARABIC MELODIC
TOURCHES OF THE FANNY BRICE/BILLIE HOLIDAY/BARBARA STREISAND CLASSIC/ MY MAN- LA
TIMES- DON HECKMAN
AMINA ANNABI- SINGER,
EMOTIONS DEFY BORDERS- LA TIMES- DON
HECKMAN
AMINA ANNABI- A
PIONEERING EFFORT IN THE FUSION OF MUSIQUE D’ORIENT ET OCCIDENT- ( EAST AND
WESTERN MUSIC) DAN ROSEBERG- METRO TIMES
AMINA….CHARISMATIC,
SOARING VOCALS…. EMOTION- PURE HEAVEN-
GLOBAL BEAT
AMINA’S REPETOIRE REPRESENTS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE
EVERYWHERE, A MELANGE OF STYLES, THAT COMES TOGETHER WHEN THE MATERIAL
TRANSCENDS BORDERS AND THE SINGER CAN HOLD HER OWN-
ROLLING STONE.COM-
AMINA THE SEXY NOMAD FROM TUNISA….IMAGINE IF YOU WERE TO
CREATE A VAT OF MUSICAL STYLES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD….LIKE SPICES… WITH A
HEAVY INFLUENCE FROM
AFRICAN SUN TIMES