Mariem Hassan, known as the most representative voice of the music of Western Sahara, was born in 1958 near to the holy city Smarain the basin of Saguia el Hamra, near to the river Tasua. The family lived of her dof camels and goats. She is the third of a total of ten brothers and sisters.
Mariem was seventeen when Morocco invaded Western Sahara. Two of her brothers were soldiers and had cars and could move the family to Mjeriz, near Tifariti, the first stage of the exodus. From there they moved to Algeria to a place in the in hospitable Hamada. Her refugee camp is known as Smara, in memory of the city most of its inhabitants left behind. There Mariem Hassan lived for 27 years and there were born her five children. Nowadays she lives in Sabadell, near to Barcelona, where, after having despersed her children for school or health provisions, could gather the family for the first time.
Mariem started her professional music career with the group, Mártir Luali, which was founded in the refugee camps in memory of the first secretary of Frente Polisario, early killed in a combat. With this group she travelled to many places participating in cultural events loaded with a high political impact, which were often boycotted by Moroccan activists and officials abroad.
Mártir Luali group recorded in different European countries four or five LP ́s with the help of the respective committees of solidarity. Outstanding among them is "Polisaro Vencerá"“, produced by Mohamed Tammy, Saharawian Minister of Culture since the late 70’s to mid 80’s. It was originally released in 1982 by the Spanish label Guimbarda and recovered in 1998 by the label Nubenegra. Mariem, as well as the other women, being integrated in the group Mártir Luali, participated or not in tours or recordings according to their personal circumstances like pregnancy, childbirth or bring up the children.
Mariem recorded in 1980 with the group in Netherland, but the album never was published and the album recorded in France was edited in 1989 but never has been distributed, due to the bankrupt of the company.
For such reasons we needed to wait until 1998 and the CD "A Pesar de las Heridas" to enjoy her voice in a few songs. Among all these, the song "Canción de la Intifada" was in subsequent tours with Leyoad a group of changing musicians due to the lack of passports and regulary travel papers - a highlight in every and all concerts.
The CD "Mariem Hassan with Leyoad ", published in 2002, had a splendid reception. Mariem started to consolidate herself as an individual artist, participating in numerous tours and events as Mariem Hassan. Notwithstanding this she performed with the group Mujeres Saharauiswith whom she also recorded the album "Medej" a collection of ancient
spiritual songs.
The definitive breakthrough came with "Deseos" her first solo album. Together with Baba Salama, as producer and guitarist and the assistance of her brother Boika Hassan, she developed a solid and perfect work where the guitars enjoy a freedom previously unknown in the territory of the Haul music."Deseos" is an ardent CD, full of rhythm, which amazingly not revealed the two tragedies that developed while recording : the leukemia of the producer who died, before the CD was published, and the breast cancer of Mariem herself. Mariem could beat the disease and as soon as her health permitted she performed at the Mercat de la Musica de Vic, and soon after at the World Music tradefair Womex in Newcastle where she achieved the maximum recognition of the international audience. It was the starting point to recommence her career on stages in Europe, America and Africa.
A documentary of an hour summarizes her life adventure. "Mariem Hassan, the voice of the Sahara" contains some of the decivise moments of her musical career like the concert at
ETNOSOI in Helsinki or the mentioned one at Womex in Newcastle. Premiered at FISAHARA
in 2008 the documentary is being exhibited at numerous music and film festivals.In 2008 Womad started to invite Mariem to their festivals: first to Cáceres, then to Womad Canarias, in July 2009 to Charlton Parkin the heart of England and in September to Taormina(Sicily) where the festival was held at the famous Greek Theater. In March 2010 Mariem participated at Womad on the other end of the world, WOMADELAIDE
in Australia and Womad NZ in New Zealand.
At the beginning of 2010 " Shouka" was published. Contrary to the songs of Deseos which had been played in many concerts, Shouka was an „ex novo“ recording with the lyrics of the Saharawi poet Lamin Allal. Mariem and Lamin composed
the core of Shouka, a CD totally thought and recorded for the Saharawi people." Shouka" , the heartbeat song of the CD, is a cantata by using up and down all scales and rhythms of the Haul music and is the answer of Mariem to the renowned speech of Felipe González
in the refugee camps in 1976 one year after the Moroccan invasion of Western Sahara.
In the recordings are participating musicians from very different countries, but the real center are the guitarist Lamgaifri
Brahim, the percussionist and chorus singer Vadiya Mint El Hanevi and Mariem herself. This three together with the support of the poet firmly grounded the work of the traditional haul. In every moment of the recording, Shouka was a common process in which the last decision lied in the hands of Mariem. It is her most personal album.
In 2012 Mariem gives her music a new twist. The events of the last months, known as the „Arab Spring“ and the indomitable Saharawi struggle for independance, are subject of her new songs. Following determined the bases of the Haul music,
Mariem explores blues, jazz and contemporary sounds as no other Saharawi musician ever has. "El Aaiún Egdat"(Aaiún on Fire) which is the name of the new CD and was published at the end of march, reflects the new vision and style of Mariem. The Saharawi diva is accompanied by Vadiya Mint El Hanevi on tebal (drums) and chorus, Luis Giménez on electric guitar, mbira and harmonica, Hugo Westerdahl on bass and Gabriel Flores on saxophone and
flutes.
This group is bounded by their love and knowlegde of the music of Western Sahara. Luis Gimenez from Villena, Spain, first heard the scales and the rhythms of the Haul music during a visit in the refugee camps some years ago, which inspired his documentary "The seas of the desert".
Gabriel Flores, from Mexico, is one of the directors of Enamus, the first national music school in the Saharawi refugee camp „February 27th“. And Hugo Westerdahl, from the Canarian Islands, met many musicians from Western Sahara while they were recording their albums with the label Nubenegra at his recording studio Axis. His passion for the Haul music can be discovered on his CD "Western Sahara", dedicated to the guitarist Baba Salama.
The album El Aaiún Egdat is above all an open work in the thematic and in the expression. The Haul is still the main engine.
Prestigious exiled poets such as Beibuh, Bachir Ali and Lamín Allal sign the most burning pieces like the one that gives name to the record, the two referring to the Gdeim Izik camp, the one dedicated to the Arab Spring and the one named “The victory”.
Other tracks introduce us to a much sweeter Mariem. We never before heard her singing the way she does in her authentic statement of principles “Ana saharauia” (I am Saharaui). Or like “Rest in peace” a jazz-tinged vision of the haima (tent) under the warm light of the desert moon. In a more dynamic mood Mariem shows herself hoisting the “melfa” which two year before she had to defend from being sullied in a street assault. Finally, the song “The Legacy” is watershed in which tradition and modernity fight a bloodless battle that will for sure set people talking.
Mariem’s quintet initiated the tour “El Aaiún on Fire” on the 25th of May in the Clamores Jazz club in Madrid and two days later at the World Village Festival in Helsinki.
The first of June “El Aaiún Edgat” appeared on Top of the European World Music Charts
(WMCE) revealing the excellent critics that her third solo record has granted, and remains number one still in July 2012, and second in August.
In 2014 the health of Hassan are again poor, aided by the reappearance of the old disease. This does not stop the Saharawi artist who manages to be again protagonist in two important concerts. The first of this coincides with the official tribute that the city of Sabadell gives her the 9 March 2014. The second was on stage 4 May 2014 on the last day of the eleventh FiSahara Festival at the Refugee Camps of Dakhla, in a concert considered as a farewell for Hassan to his people considered his state of health. It will go down in history as the last concert supported by the musician.
The album El Aaiún Egdat is above all an open work in the thematic and in the expression. The Haul is still the main engine.
Prestigious exiled poets such as Beibuh, Bachir Ali and Lamín Allal sign the most burning pieces like the one that gives name to the record, the two referring to the Gdeim Izik camp, the one dedicated to the Arab Spring and the one named “The victory”.
Other tracks introduce us to a much sweeter Mariem. We never before heard her singing the way she does in her authentic statement of principles “Ana saharauia” (I am Saharaui). Or like “Rest in peace” a jazz-tinged vision of the haima (tent) under the warm light of the desert moon. In a more dynamic mood Mariem shows herself hoisting the “melfa” which two year before she had to defend from being sullied in a street assault. Finally, the song “The Legacy” is watershed in which tradition and modernity fight a bloodless battle that will for sure set people talking.
Mariem’s quintet initiated the tour “El Aaiún on Fire” on the 25th of May in the Clamores Jazz club in Madrid and two days later at the World Village Festival in Helsinki.
The first of June “El Aaiún Edgat” appeared on Top of the European World Music Charts
(WMCE) revealing the excellent critics that her third solo record has granted, and remains number one still in July 2012, and second in August.
In 2014 the health of Hassan are again poor, aided by the reappearance of the old disease. This does not stop the Saharawi artist who manages to be again protagonist in two important concerts. The first of this coincides with the official tribute that the city of Sabadell gives her the 9 March 2014. The second was on stage 4 May 2014 on the last day of the eleventh FiSahara Festival at the Refugee Camps of Dakhla, in a concert considered as a farewell for Hassan to his people considered his state of health. It will go down in history as the last concert supported by the musician.
(source : www.mariemhassan.com )
Mariem Hassan (Smara, 1958 – Tindouf, 22 agosto 2015) è stata una cantante sahrawi. Ha cantato nella lingua Hassania, una derivazione linguistica araba tipica della sua terra.
Mariem Hassan nacque nel 1958, nei pressi di Hausa nella provincia di Smara, in un territorio all'epoca ancora colonia iberica e quindi noto come Sahara spagnolo. Trascorse la sua infanzia seguendo la vita nomade della sua famiglia, dedita alla pastorizia ed all'agricoltura, all'interno di un nutrito nucleo familiare che la vedeva terza di dieci figli. I cambiamenti radicali arrivarono per Mariem Hassan negli anni Settanta, quando - esattamente come tutto il popolo Sahrawi - subì in pieno le drammatiche vicende legate all'invasione territoriale del Western Sahara da parte della Mauritania e del Marocco, come definito dagli Accordi di Madrid del novembre 1975. La Hassan, come tanta della sua gente, visse in pieno l'esilio che la portò a vivere nei Campi Profughi presso Tindouf in Algeria, e precisamente nel deserto della Hammada, noto per essere uno dei luoghi più inospitali della Terra. Nei Campi divise la sua vita tra il ruolo di madre per cinque figli e l'inizio della sua carriera artistica. Visse nei Campi fino al 2002, quando si trasferì definitivamente a Sabadell nei pressi di Barcellona.
È deceduta nel Campo Profughi di Smara, nei pressi di Tindouf in Algeria, il 22 agosto 2015, a seguito di un tumore.
Carriera
Mariem Hassan racconta di essere rimasta impressionata da bambina dal canto della madre. Il suo esordio reale si colloca nel 1976 quando già residente nel Campi Profughi, entra nella formazione che prende il nome di El Wali, dal nome del patriota El Wali Moustapha Sayed ucciso in combattimento. Nel corso degli anni Settanta la Hassan partecipa in pieno alle attività live della formazione, esibendosi in concerti e rassegne che la portano ripetutamente in Europa, Africa e Cuba. Dirada le partecipazioni negli anni Ottanta a seguito delle maternità per riprenderla poi progressivamente negli anni Novanta e parteciperà tra l'altro anche ad alcune incisioni discografiche assieme alla formazione.
La svolta alla carriera arriva nel 1997 quando, dopo la fine di El Wali, viene notata nei Campi Profughi dal produttore discografico iberico Manuel Dominguez. In poco tempo lei e molti altri artisti saharawi dopo aver partecipato a diverse sedute di registrazioni, vedono confluire il proprio lavoro nel box Sahrauis: The Music of the Western Sahara pubblicato dalla label spagnola Nubenegra (dello stesso Dominguez) e distribuito dalla tedesca Intuition. Un triplice cofanetto che rappresenta la nascita di un collettivo di musicisti poi denominato “Mujeres Saharawi” che inizierà una serie di tour per l'Europa: da subito, oltre alla chitarra di Nayim Alal, appare chiaro che Mariem Hassan è l'artista maggiormente dotata di talento. Nel 2002 il combo darà alle stampe il disco “Mariem Hassan con Leyoad” registrato presso lo studio Axis di Madrid e pubblicato da Nubenegra. Tanto il luogo di registrazione che l'etichetta discografica rimarranno gli stessi per tutta la carriera discografica di Hassan. Con lo stesso combo partecipa da protagonista al lavoro “Medej - Cantos Antiguos Saharaui”. L'esordio solista arriva nel 2005 con l'album “Deseos”, dove grazie al chitarrista Baba Salama si realizza il sodalizio perfetto della Hassan che forgia un suono nuovo e tradizionale al tempo stesso, definito come Haul Music. Il disco segna in modo drammatico la carriera della cantante saharawi, che vede morire per una leucemia fulminante Salama ed è lei stessa vittima di un cancro. Dalla patologia esce vincente, ripartendo con la sua carriera che la vedrà attiva in una lunga serie di concerti che la porteranno a calcare i principali palchi dedicati alla World music negli anni a seguire. Nel 2007 esce il DVD incentrato sulla sua vita dal titolo “La Voz Del Sahara”.
Nel 2010 pubblica “Shouka”, altro disco che la porta in vetta alle classifiche ed ulteriori riconoscimenti dal vivo, tra cui si segnala la doppia partecipazione al Womad in Australia e Nuova Zelanda del 2010, che la consacreranno come artista di calibro internazionale. Nel disco emerge tra i brani, la title-track, canzone in cui la Hassan risponde alle promesse mai mantenute nel 1976 dal politico spagnolo Felipe Gonzales verso il popolo saharawi.
Ennesimo ed al momento ancora ultimo capitolo discografico, è “El Aaiun Egdat” pubblicato nel 2012. Nonostante l'ennesimo cambio di chitarrista, strumentista indispensabile per la proposta tanto in studio che dal vivo del suo Haul, la Hassan fa ancora centro: il lavoro scala le classifiche di settore ed incontra responso di critica e pubblico. A conferma di questo una lunga serie di concerti la tengono impegnata fino al termine di tutto il 2013, in importanti rassegne e festival non solo di World Music ma anche di Blues e Folk. Nel 2014 le condizioni di salute della Hassan sono nuovamente precarie, complice il riaffacciarsi della vecchia patologia. Ciò non ferma l'artista saharawi che riesce ad essere nuovamente protagonista in due significativi concerti. Il primo di questo coincide con l'omaggio ufficiale tributatole il 9 marzo 2014 dalla municipalità di Sabadell dove lei risiede, che in occasione della “Jornada Mundial de las Mujeres” organizzò l'incontro pubblico dove Mariem Hassan si esibì di fronte alla sua gente in una toccante performance. Il secondo è andato in scena il 4 Maggio 2014 nella giornata di chiusura del XI FiSahara Festival presso i Campi Profughi di Dakhla, in un concerto considerato come l'addio per la Hassan alla sua gente considerato il suo stato di salute. Alla storia passerà come l'ultimo concerto sostenuto dalla musicista.
(Source : Wikipedia)
Mariem Hassan Con Leyoad مـريــم مـنـت الـحـسـّـان بـرفـقــة لـيــود
01 Id chab
02 Wadna
03 Enbia Allah
04 Wajadu
05 Yasar geidu
06 Bismi Allah
07 El wejda
08 Arareida
09 Ya Arabia
10 Nabi ana
11 El leil wana o Mulana
12 Sahara neb gija
HERE
Mariem Hassan مــريــم مـنــت الــحـســـان - Deseos أمــنــيات
02 Magat milkitna dulaa
03 La tumchu anni
04 Mutamaniyat
05 El chouhada
06 Shauda
07 L'Intifada
08 Sbar
09 El arabi
10 Kalat leili
11 Tirka
12 El magil
13 Jelefne bi salam
14 Mawal (A cappella)
HERE
Mariem Hassan مــريــم مـنــت الــحـســـان - Shouka الـشـــوكــة
01 Azzagafa
02 Terwah
03 Tefla madlouma
04 Baba Salama
05 Ala Ahd Shaid
06 Alu ummi
07 Nabiyu rahma
08 Maatal-la
09 Laguman mbalgu
10 Ragsat naama
11 Hinwani
12 Abeina u manna
13 Salem
14 Fergan Leyuad
15 Shouka
16 Eid Arbain
17 Haiyu
HERE
Mariem Hassan مــريــم مـنــت الــحـســـان - El Aaiún Egdat الـعـيــون كًَـــدات
01 Arfa
02 Arrabi al Arabe
03 Rahy El Aaiún Egdat
04 Ana Saharauia
05 Addumua
06 Gdeim Izik
07 Tarham ya Allah shuhada
08 Eftaht almayal
09 Aulad Sahara
10 Almalhfa
11 Legneiba
12 Yalli mashi ani
13 Annasr shouru tetnada
14 Siyant Laydad
HERE
