release date: 03.11.2023 via Ostinato Records
Belgian/Lebanese musician, Dominique Dalcan, releases a collaboration with female vocalists from the Arab World.
Loin de ma terre – feat Souad Massi (Far from my land)
“This is the first track I recorded for this project, taken from the music for my exhibition at Le Centquatre (2019). Souad’s voice is clear and reminds me of the voice of the singer Fairouz, whom I listened to as a child in our little flat on Ordener Street in Paris… Later, I wanted to meet the diva in Beirut, but unfortunately without success… For the record, Souad and I were the first two artists signed to Island Records France, but we never had the chance to meet at the time”.
Last Night A Woman Saved My Life… features the Algerian diva Souad Massi, the Syrian jazz singer Lynn Adib and Persian singers Parisa & Rezvan Zahedi; sometimes overcoming distances or technical difficulties by recording vocal notes on their phones, they manage to communicate their powerful inner visions.
Also collaborating on the record are Dina El Wedidi, a star in her motherland of Egypt, as well as Tunisian citharist and vocalist Hend Zouari. Introducing as well the promising young Sudanese singer Sulafa Elyas, the brilliant Franco-Syrian flautist Naïssam Jalal, and one of Morocco’s finest vocalists Meryem Aboulouafa. Not forgetting Dominique’s compatriot Yara Lapidus and Bernadette Yammine, who cultivates Arabo-Andalusian music made in Lebanon.
“One always tries to know when one comes from, but when in exile, instability remains because home is nowhere to be found. And when returning to the native land, nothing is the same”, says Dominique. In 2020, Dominique Dalcan presented the multi-dimensional creation “Last Night a Woman Saved My Life” at the Centquatre Paris art venue. Displaying Lebanese women recount their daily lives, their hopes and dreams, conversing with a patchwork of oriental sounds composed by Dominique Dalcan. He uses the lovely term “personal folklore”. And rightly so: he was born in Beirut in 1967.
Following the setting up of the installation Dominique had the idea to work on the writing of a record by surrounding himself with great female voices of the Arab world. The album is based on free singing in Arabic, English and French. The acoustic instruments of the Middle East are present in perfect cohabitation with the assertive electronic textures created by Dominique. From western minimalism to eastern lyricism. “Neither hi-fi nor lo-fi, just contemporary“, sums up its author, aiming to challenge the traditional oriental music framework, making eleven tracks of pure solar pop music, using the hypnotic nature of instruments such as oud and qanun.
Ten female voices, remarkable for their tone, their personality, their pen and wordsmithery. The strength they show to evolve in a patriarchal world, reluctant to let them have their voices. “I often work with women,” says Dominique Dalcan,”they’re a source of inspiration and lucidity. They unlock things in within me allowing to go forward. Linking and binding. The desire to be among others is what’s lacking in today’s society,” he says.
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photo by Nefta Tunisise
Born in Lebanon in 1967, Dominique Dalcan has had a notable career as a singer-songwriter. His debut was in 1992 with Entre l’étoile & Le Carré album. His 1996’s album Cannibale gained him substantial fame before he went on to establish his electronic two-man band Snooze. In 2017, he released Temperance album which is among his remarkable works which won Victoires de la Musique’s electronic category award in 2018. Dalcan has performed frequently in France and in various venues across Europe, and collaborated with many musicians, as well as visual artists in a number of exhibitions and art installations.
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artist: DOMINIQUE DALCAN
title: Last Night A Woman Saved My Life
release date: 3rd November 2023
label: Ostinato Records
formats: LP / CD / DL
catalogue no.: OST010
includes the singles:
Loin de ma terre ft. SOUAD MASSI
Mon cœur est solitaire ft. HEND ZOUARI
& J’irai partout ft. MERYEM ABOULOUAFA
Track list:
A1 Loin de ma terre
A2 Un lien entre nous
A3 Les trésors que j’ai en moi
A4 Mon cœur est solitaire
A5 Au creux de ta main
B1 J’irai partout
B2 Salam qui veut dire Paix
B3 L’oiseau dans la vallée
B4 Ce matin, quelques gouttes de pluie sont tombées
B5 Je serai là pour toi
All performances by Dominique Dalcan,
Except:
A1 Vocals by Souad Massi , Violin by Amal Guermazi
A2: Vocals by Dina El Wedidi
A3: Vocals by Sulafa Elyas
A4: Vocals by Hend Zouari , Percussions by Paloma Vauthier
A5: Vocals by Lynn Adib B1: Vocals by Meryem Aboulouafa
B3: Vocals by Yara Lapidus
B4: Vocals by Bernadette Yammine , Qanun by Hend Zouari
Line up:
DOMINIQUE DALCAN
with
SOUAD MASSI, LYNN ADIB, PARISA & REZVAN ZAHEDI, DINA EL WEDIDI, HEND ZOUARI, SULAFA ELYAS, NAÏSSAM JALAL, MERYEM ABOULOUAFA, YARA LAPIDUS and BERNADETTE YAMMINE