Takfarinas

Takfarinas was born in the year 1958 as Ḥsen [Hassen] Zermani. He is a Kabyle Yal musician from Algeria. He took his surname from the accident warrior of the northern part of the continent Tacfarinas that battled against the presence of the Romans in the country, Algeria. Since the year 1979, he has resided in France. Meanwhile, his music promotes and celebrates the culture of the Kabyle into which he was born. He is best known for his voice that can cover a wide range and the takfa that is based on the traditional musical instrument that is like the lute that he modifies by putting another neck on it, making it the second neck. Each of the necks of the instrument gives out a unique sound, one of the necks of the instrument is masculine and the other neck of the instrument is feminine. In the contemporary days, the takfa has been substituted by an electric half-drum mandole. Like the takfa, the musical instrument has double fingerboard. The advantage of the new musical instrument is that it can create a large concert music sound that he needs.

source of picture: www.rfimusique.com

Musical Career

Taf, as his fans call him, comes from a long line of music players and showed his future innovative skills with the musical instruments when he was 6, he made the guitar with the use of oil cylinder and brake cable. As a young musician, he was interested in the music of the musicians like the Chaabi, M'Hamed El Anka, Cheikh El Hasnaoui and Slimane Azem.

He recorded his first music in the year 1976 on cassette in Algiers, though the position he was occupying as a musician was strengthened when he recorded his first music album, which he did in France in the year 1979. In the year 1981, he formed a group called Agraw with Boujema Semaouni and the group lasted for several years. He dropped Wa i telha and Arrach both in 1986, and he sold a million copies of the album. In the year 1989, he dropped Irgazen and Mi d ih, a double CD; this was the album that gained recognition for him in the international music scene. In the year 1994, he dropped another album called Yebb’a rremma, and the album performed well in the European charts. He got his biggest recognition with the album which he called Zaâma Zaâma.

Discography

Albums

Ø  1986: Way telha

Ø  1986: Arrach

Ø  1989: Irgazen / Ini-d ih (double album)

Ø  1994: Yebba remman

Ø  1999: Zaâma Zaâma

Ø  2004: Paix et salut

Ø  2004: Honneur aux dames

Ø  2011: Lwaldine / Inchallah (double album)

Ø  2012: Chouya CHouya

Awards

In the year 1999 Takfarinas won a KORA All African Music Award in the genre Best North African Artist.