Aziza Brahim

Aziza Brahim

Hard trials and inspiring successes alternate in the life story of singer Aziza Brahim. She grew up in a refugee camp for Saharawis, a nomadic people from Western Sahara, on the border of Morocco and Algeria. To escape the oppression of the Moroccan regime, she went to Cuba as a teenager for her studies. Nowadays she lives and works in Spain, in Barcelona.

Wow

Aziza Brahim's latest album is called Mawja. The title means 'wave', and for the singer and activist it represents waves of sound and history. In this music, Brahim's memories of her homeland and her family merge with the sound of the Sahara and her current homeland. Musical influences range from the 'desert blues' of her youth to typical Spanish rhythms and the punk of The Clash. With Mawja, Aziza Brahim also pays tribute to her grandmother, an important poet of the revolution, who died two years ago. As a child in the camp, she often listened to the radio for hours: the radio waves brought her music from all over the world. When they changed stations, her grandparents would always say 'Mawja'.