Idir in Algiers, 2018 (credit here)
He died yesterday, at age 70 (not of Covid-19). Lots of people in my social media network are posting on him today, invariably linking to his beloved 1973 ballad A vava inouva. He was one of Algeria’s greatest singers—a Kabyle Brassens or Aznavour, as the slam poet-chanteur GCM put it in Le Monde. Al Jazeera English has a report on Idir’s life here. France 24 has videos of his career and music here, and a YouTube ‘best of’ playlist is here. Beautiful songs.
I loved A vava inouva. We still have the 45rpm. While I was having breakfast this morning, my husband was already on Facebook and I heard the song. It is still beautiful. Hypnotic. It’s still playing in my head.
Entirely agree, Ellen. I love that song.