FIRST ALBUM ...
(An English translation of this song is available below)

In Oran, his native city, Abdelwahab Hakem discovered, through the theatre, his love for words. He also met the sound of the guembri there, thanks to a friend who took part as musician at plays directed by Abdelwahab.

Philippe Claudel, electric bass player and poetry lover, also discovered, through listening to a record, the sound of this percussive bass : the guembri.

After their meeting in Brussels in 2002, Abdelwahab and Philippe worked on the creation of spectacles bringing together words and music. They also played together in several bands (Cabaret de l'Ambassade Universelle, Sahara Soul, Les Filles de Hiro-Hito, Kel Assouf).

After meeting the Moroccan poet Taha Adnan, Abdelwahab and Philippe, seduced by his verses, decided to put his poems from the collection "I Hate Love", written in classical Arabic, to music. This was the starting point of he project "Hamri", red earth in Arabic, and also the name of the neighbourhood of the Algerian city of Oran.

Hamri takes shape through a simple formula in which the voice is just accompanied by the sound of the guembri. In this resonance, Taha's words find new echoes.

COMRADES

When we thrust towards the heart of the place

A group gathered on the right

And we retreated within the wrath

We drank at the springs of the blood-drenched path

We revealed the fire contained in our blood

And out of our souls the flames shattered

The comrades were dreaming, knowing fortune and misfortune

And smiley dying