REORIENT:

In 1986, three years after the historic anti-racism marches in France – derided by the French media as a Marche des Beurs – a swarthy, curly-haired, slightly androgynous looking Algerian and what looked like an outfit of Andalusian outcasts struck terror and awe into the heart of every proud and respectable child of Gaul. Belting out a punkish, acerbic take on Charles Trenet’s nonchalant, patriotic 1940s ditty, Douce France, doused with a copious dose of vitriol and wit, Rachid Taha effortlessly criticised the sociocultural conditions of French Arabs and North Africans in the 80s. Sweet France, he sang in his now-signature guttural snarl and growl, to the sound of a warbling synthesiser and the beat of a banal drum machine; dear country of my childhood! Cradled in carefree tenderness have I kept you in my heart … Yes, I love thee … in times both good and bad …

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