So much so that his black and yellow shop in the center of Oran will be a stopover on Saturday’s visit to Algeria by French President Emmanuel Macron – a trip he wants to focus on young people. If “Disco Maghreb” has suddenly become trendy, it’s thanks to the Franco-Algerian planetary star DJ Snake.
Usually, he signs collaborations with Lady Gaga, Cardi B or Justin Bieber. This time, William Sami Grigahcine, 36, raised in France by an Algerian mother, joined forces with Boualem Benhaoua, 68. In the 1980s, he launched the raï stars adored both in the cabarets of Algeria and on the stages of Paris or Marseille.
“A lot of memories”
“I have a lot of memories in music, a lot of memories with the raï singers, they all passed through here”, remembers to AFP the boss of “Disco Maghreb”. Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami, Cheb Hasni, Cheba Zahouania… All recorded their cassettes at “Disco Maghreb”.
For entire generations, this name has embodied a store, a record publisher and Mecca for those nostalgic for raï in a country where the dark decade of the 1990s saw its share of singers murdered and local genres eclipsed on the internet at the benefit of Western music.
DJ Snake says he wanted to pay homage to a mythical place, nestled in an alley in Oran that many thought everyone had forgotten. Its title, which mixes electro rhythms and raï music – with a magnificent epilogue by “king” Cheb Khaled once morest the background of young people racing on mopeds – has been viewed more than 78 million times in two months on YouTube.
Since then, a new generation has flocked to take selfies under the “Disco Maghreb” sign. Inside, the owner receives all smiles, in the middle of the cassettes which pile up on the shelves of his shop, closed for years and remained in its own juice. Here and there, visitors can discover period audio equipment that might be found in an antique museum. Most of them have never had audio cassettes in their hands, but it is with pleasure that they take photos with Mr. Benhaoua and his vinyls.
“Meeting place”
Nawel, 36, made the detour on purpose. “We visit Oran and take the opportunity to stop by for souvenir photos”tells AFP this airline pilot. “It’s an emblematic place in Oranie and with DJ Snake’s latest clip, it gave it even more resonance”she explains.
For many Internet users, moreover, DJ Snake has made a much better promotion of the Algeria destination with a single clip than professionals in the sector will ever do.
On his Twitter account, the one whose several videos exceed one billion views, writes that he imagined “Disco Maghreb” as a “bridge between different generations and origins, linking North Africa, the Arab world and beyond…”. “It’s a love letter to my people”says the artist whose current tour goes from Europe to North America via India and Chile.
DJ Snake “is not just a singer, he’s like someone in my family”assure M. Benhaoua. “I found in him the qualities of a great man, he is a complete man, he sympathizes with people with modest incomes, he himself grew up in these conditions”he points out.
And to prepare a new generation of Cheb Khaled, DJ Snake and another Cheb Mami, “Disco Maghreb” is determined to put an end to its long crossing of the desert. The Oran shop “will become a meeting place for artists, to discover new talents”says Mr. Benhaoua.
