Koum Tara is a meeting of four musical worlds around a common project, created and directed by pianist-composer Karim Maurice: traditional chaâbi music, classical string quartet, contemporary music, and jazz. The raw material was extracted from the traditional repertoire of Algerian singer Sid Ahmed Belksier.
These themes were worked, distorted, reharmonized and restructured to create a hybrid, cross-cultural style. As part of the writing process, all musicians brought their own identity and their specific know-how to each piece. This has been a true cultural journey, resulting in a unique musical texture thanks to its innate diversity.
Chaâbi’s traditional poetry and songs of love are blended with the tradition of the western string quartet, jazz improvisation and electronic music. The deforming prism used here is the artistic vector that allows a real fusion of styles and genres within a single piece.
At a time when humanity, respect for cultures, and tolerance are seen as much-needed values for building a better world, this performance offers a musical universe in which each person brings his or her identity, cultural heritage and originality to sing universal love.
