In the 1990s I had the good fortune to meet with the late Algerian singing star Idir (Hamid Cheriet 1949-2020). We chatted for several hours in a café outside the Berber Cultural Association in Paris.

This piece was originally published on 22 October 2021 by Raseef22, an independent media platform. An edited version is republished here, under a content-sharing agreement. Christians in Algeria are ...

Rachid Taha, who became a rock star in France with assertive lyrics and music that melded his Algerian heritage with punk, funk and electronic beats, has died in Les Lilas, a Paris suburb. He was 59.

An old-school rock star headlined SummerStage in Central Park on Saturday afternoon. Grinning and unshaven, he strutted around the stage, sang in a knowing growl and cued his band for extended, ...