The music concert At Qutb Shahi Tombs on 14 October 2011, was an altogether unexpected delight! An absolute surprise!
It was a music concert that brought the audience, a mixed crowd of true-blue music lovers of all ages to its feet; and they swayed and smiled and clapped in time with the music. They sang along and came out to dance in the aisles and in front of the stage.
The music was brought to the city by Alliance Francaise; the main singer and violinist was Akim el Sikameya; the music was Arab-Andalusian; the venue, the Qutb Shahi Tombs.
The tomb of Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah, the founder of Hyderabad
It was truly an evening of high drama. Just while the musicians were doing their sound check in the open air stage, there was a sudden heavy downpour leaving the musicians and the audience dismayed and anxious about whether the concert would take place!
But the rain clouds dispersed and the musicians came back on stage and Jean-Manuel Duhaut Director of Alliance Francaise Hyderabad briefly introduced the music and thanked the sponsors and left the stage to the music… and the music for the audience.
The whole performance was high drama. Akim el Sikameya the Franco Algerian vocalist, violinist and composer was dramatic in his singing and in his playing of the violin. His voice was expressive, resonant and powerful; he sang in a register pitched high, like the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, though very different in tone and texture, his voice at times sounding like a woman’s voice! He played his violin held upright, resting on his thigh and he interspersed his singing by playing the riffs and improvisations on his violin. Joining him on stage were four consummate musicians – Guitarist, Philippe Parant; on Chromatic Button Accordion was Jerome Soulas. On the Algerian Mandole and vocals, Salim Allal - the Algerian Mandole, an unusual instrument which seemed to be a cross between a guitar, mandolin and an oud (lute) - The fifth member was the percussionist Thomas Huet who played a snare drum and cymbals and an electronic percussion instrument on which he sat.
The band though an unusual combination of musicians seemed to be just right for Akim’s music. The band was well rehearsed, had an excellent understanding of each other and of the music they were playing; and were perfectly balanced in their sound conception; and the arrangements of each song was’ spot on’ to bring out the wholeness of the band and its music.
The percussionist Thomas Huet is a creative, elegant percussionist who never tried to steal the limelight, but kept a steady flow of extraordinary light and pleasant rhythms in which he was supported with a good rhythmic bass sound, the backbone to the music. The bass sounded sometimes like a regular bass guitar and sometimes like a bowed bass; and this was played by the superb accordion player Jerome Soulas with his left hand on the bass buttons of the accordion, he at the same time, gave the whole band the mid-range timbre with his right hand on the treble buttons of his accordion.
The Algerian Mandole sounds like a cross between a guitar and sarod, and its distinctive sound applied the melodic counterpoint and fillers to the music in almost all the songs. There were times when Salim Allal, the Mandole player took some well constructed solos both in song and on the Mandole.
The guitar player Philippe Parant was a revelation, and took the audiences breath away with some of his solos, his sureness of touch, his inventiveness, his fine technique was truly a work of art, and it was obvious to the audience that they were being treated to music by an exceptional artist.
The music was energetic, bold, melodious, rhythmic and unusual, and since we had no precedent, we did not know whether this was typical Arab Andalusian music, or whether this exciting music was Akim’s unusual blend of musical genres; of French music, Algerian, the Arab Andalusia music of Spain, Gypsy music, and a little bit of world music, or, whether this ‘audience urge’ to sing dance and sway to the music was because of Akim’s charisma, his compositions, his energy, or due to his wonderful band.
The music was upbeat, lively, the sound reminded me of ‘Rai’ music and the song ‘Didi’ by the ‘Rai’ superstar Khaled. The song ‘Didi’ was a superhit in India in 1992 and ’93 and was played at every wedding and public occasion, it had taken the world by storm and was at the top of the charts in France and Europe too. It was the first Arabic song with such worldwide appeal. Well, this Arab Andalusian music by Akim el Sikameya reminded me of the song ‘Didi’ by Khaled, but Akim’s music has greater sophistication, and is much more thoughtfully composed and arranged.
The song ‘Oumi’, a ballad which Akim sang, he dedicated to the women in the audience and to his mother, whom he said “was in the sky”. The percussionist and the Mandole player went off stage, and it was sung accompanied only by the accordion and the guitar, he sang this song with such fervour and sweetness that one knew that it was his own composition and it meant a great deal to him - and this was clearly conveyed to the audience; it was an ‘experience’ to hear the song!
All the songs were exhilarating and were full of positive energy. They struck a chord of emotion in us even though we didn’t understand the words. At times Akim made the audience sing riffs (repetitive musical themes) and even managed to get the women and men to sing different parts of a riff in one song. And for many songs, the audience clapped in time to the music in a spontaneous outburst of audience participation. And young and old in the audience danced, clapped and swayed to the music. It was an experience to remember.
What a show it was! It was! It was! It was beyond doubt a show that exemplified Akim el Sikameya’s dream of a world of true pluralism - A world that lives in peaceful co-existence, fraternity, tolerance, openness and with no boundaries! Imagine!
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