Alabina is a French-based group that performs a mix of world music: Middle Eastern, Arabic, French, Hebrew, and Spanish Gypsy music. Alabina consists of lead singer Ishtar, who does the female vocals, and the band Los Niños de Sara, who provide male vocals and music.

Although the name of the group is often written "Alabína", the accent on the "i" is an unnecessary addition. The mistake may be attributed to the group's use of the font Papyrus on its album covers. In this font, dotted i's look as though they carry accents.

Name[link]

According to Alabina.org, the word is Arabic and Alabina has two meanings: "let's go" and "God is between us." The name comes from the title of Alabina's first song. It is also the name of the group's first album.

Group[link]

Alabina consists of lead singer Ishtar, who does the female vocals, and the band Los Niños de Sara, who provide male vocals and music.

Ishtar[link]

Ishtar was born and raised in Israel. Her parents are Jewish from Moroccan and Egyptian descent. She speaks and sings in Arabic, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and English; she also says she "half-speaks" "Moroccan." Ishtar began performing in clubs at age 15 and continued even in the Israeli army, where she served as an helicopter technician. Though she was born Eti Zach, she chose the name "Ishtar," a Mesopotamian goddess, because her grandmother called her Ester, which "with her Egyptian accent it sounded like Ishtar," she said.

As the lead singer of Alabina, Ishtar frequently sings in Arabic, complementing the Spanish of Los Niños de Sara. She often sings Arabic-style, with a wavering voice and trilling. She also sings Hebrew songs, sometimes songs from her childhood, only alone, however — not with Alabina. Occasionally she joins Los Niños in Spanish. On her own, she frequently sings French. Nine out of twelve songs in her album The Voice of Alabina are in French — and she has two songs in English: "C'Est La Vie My Baby" (Truly (Emet)) and "Last Kiss" (The Voice of Alabina).

Ishtar is frequently featured on Alabina album covers. She has dyed blond hair, which is sometimes curly, and dark brown eyes. She has been noted for her provocative dress in pictures and at concerts.

On her own, Ishtar has produced three albums: The Voice of Alabina (2000), Truly (Emet) (2003) and Je sais d'où je viens (2005). The first is mainly composed of French songs, the second is mostly in Hebrew, and Ishtar's last album is primarily in Arabic, with four songs in French, one in Spanish and significant chunks of English dispersed throughout.

Ishtar currently lives in France but has also a home located at the city of Eilat in Israel.

Los Niños de Sara[link]

Los Niños de Sara (in Spanish, "Sara's children") are Spanish-speaking Gypsies from Montpellier, France. The four cousins are named Antonio ("Tonio") (also written Antoine) Contreras, Ramón Compas, Santiago ("Santi") Lorente, and Coco. Though they speak both Spanish and French, they only sing in their native Spanish. Tonio, the lead male singer, plays guitar. In addition to all providing back-up vocals, Ramón and Santi play guitar and Coco plays percussion.

On their own, Los Niños have produced two CDs: La Cubanita (2001) and Gipsyolé (2003). Their songs often speak of family, love, and God. Los Niños are Catholic.

Their birthdays are: Tonio, March 27; Ramón, January 7; Santi, September 4; and Coco, September 5.

They currently live in France.

Music[link]

Alabina's music mixes many styles, cultures, and languages: Middle Eastern, Spanish music, French, raï, flamenco, gypsy, Arabic, and at times, Western pop. The group often takes older songs, for example, "Habibi Ya Nour El Ain," the Arabic song of Amr Diab, and adds a mix of styles and languages and Alabina's own flavor. The new version, "Habibi de Mis Amores," in both Arabic and Spanish, is one example. Another example is "Lolole (Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood)", which Alabina turned into an upbeat Arabic-Spanish song, which though it can be recognized from the melody, is far from its original: a Western pop song in English. The song "Alabina" is well known in France for being the end credits music in the French comedies La Vérité si je mens! and La Vérité si je mens! 2. Their single "Ole y ola" reached number 19 on the French music charts in 1997^[1] and was certified silver.^[2] The single "Alabina" spent 21 weeks on the charts, peaking at 29.^[3]

Some of Alabina's most popular songs include:

• "Salma Ya Salama (Olé Y Ola)"
• "Alabina"
• "Choukrane (Shukran)"
• "Tierra santa"
• "Salam (La Paz al Final)"

Discography[link]

• Alabina (1996)
• The Album II (1998)
• Sahara (1999)
• L'essentiel (2000)
• The Ultimate Club Remixes (2002)

See also[link]

• Salma Ya Salama

References[link]

1. ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard (SNEP/IFOP/Tite-Live). 11 October 1997. 
2. ^ "Classement Singles - année 1997" (in French). Disque en France.com. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/page-259376.xml?id=259376&year=1997. Retrieved 2009-06-17. "89 - ALABINA OLE Y OLA - SONY ATOLL" 
3. ^ "ALABINA FEAT. ISHTAR - ALABINA (CHANSON)" (in French). Lescharts.com. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Alabina+feat.+Ishtar&titel=Alabina&cat=s. Retrieved 2009-06-17. 

External links[link]

• Alabina.org
• Ishtar's official website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2008)

Ishtar
Ishtar performing in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Eti Zach
Born	(1968-11-10) 10 November 1968 (age 43)
Origin	Sephardic
Genres	Arabic pop music, pop, dance, rock, World Music, flamenco
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Atoll Music Paris, Warner Music Group
Website	Official site

Ishtar (born Esther (Eti) Zach, on 10 November 1968) is an Israeli-born pop singer who performs in Arabic, Hebrew, Bulgarian, French, Spanish, and English. She is best known for her work as the front vocalist of the French-based band Alabina, and her solo pop hits such as C'est La Vie, Last Kiss, and Habibi (Sawah).

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Eti Zach was born on 10 November 1968 in Kiryat Atta, near Haifa and was raised in Israel. She was born to an Egyptian-Jewish mother and a Moroccan-Jewish father, both of Sephardic heritage, who had immigrated to Israel earlier.^[1]

She speaks and sings in Arabic, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Russian, and English; in addition, she says she "half-speaks Moroccan".

Ishtar began performing in clubs at age 14 and continued even while enrolled in the IDF. Though she was born Eti Zach, she chose the name 'Ishtar', a Mesopotamian Goddess, because her grandmother called her Ester, which "with her Egyptian accent it sounded like Ishtar", she said.^[1]

It was around this time a friend asked her to join them in France. She soon fell in love with the country and decided to make it her home.^[1]

Career[link]

Alabina years[link]

Once she moved to France, Ishtar began working as a backup vocalist for several flamenco type acts. It was here she was discovered by Charles Ibgui who, enamored with her voice, introduced her to Los Niños de Sara. She joined the group as a lead vocalist and together they performed under the name Alabina.

Alabina soon became a worldwide success^[2] charting in the top 10 and top 40 several times in the US alone.

Alabina had found success mixing Flamenco, Arabic, Pop, and Dance sounds. Los Niños de Sara usually sang in Spanish while Ishtar would sing in Spanish, Arabic, French, Hebrew, or a mix of the languages – several songs were sung in Spanish and Arabic.

Solo career[link]

Despite Alabina's success, after two albums Ishtar decided to do a solo project of her own (though still a member of the group); Los Niños de Sara also began to release CDs of their own.

In November 2000 La Voix d'Alabina (The Voice of Alabina) was released. It stepped up the Oriental pop sound while mixing in some traditional Arabic sounds and dance beats. Nine out of the twelve songs were mainly in French though Arabic, Spanish, English, and Hebrew were mixed in on various songs (for example Last Kiss was in English). Several of the tracks found dance floor success, including Last Kiss.

Ishtar also paid a visit to her fans in Israel, where she hosted a few television shows, singing duos with local stars such as Pavlo Rosenberg, Avihu Medina, and David D'Or.^[3]

Ishtar continued to tour the world with Alabina for the next few years as she worked on her second album, Truly Emet, which was released in August 2003 this time with most of the songs being in Hebrew. However she decided to sing more songs in mixes of Arabic and Hebrew to show that there could be harmony between the two cultures. Truly Emet was again a dance floor success especially the songs C'est La Vie, and again Last Kiss.

A few more performances were done with Alabina, though as of 2005, the group had seemed to disband by no longer actively performing or releasing new music.

Ishtar's third album, Je Sais D'où Je Viens (I know where I come from) was released in November 2005. This time the music was still Oriental pop, however much less dance. More hip hop-type beats were stirred in with the Arabic music. Most of the songs were sung in Arabic, four were sung in French, and a few in English, while Spanish and Hebrew could be found throughout the album. Again she found dance success with such singles as Habibi (Sawah), which for the first time in her career featured a rapper JMI Sissoko.

Shortly after a greatest hits CD, The Alabina Years, was released, featuring a mix of Ishtar's solo hits, her Alabina hits, and some new English tracks as well.

Ishtar currently lives in France and is working on promoting her album "Best Of".

In 2005, Ishtar released her fifth album, which was recorded in Paris, New-York and Turkey, In this album, Ishtar adapted Arabic music from her childhood with various strains of Spanish and Western Pop music and featuring the artist Jimmy Sissoko.

After this album, she decided to take a break to give birth to her twins in 2007.

In 2009 she recorded the song ‘Yahad’ in duet with Kobi Peretz, which was awarded as ‘Song Of The Year’ at the Apple Music Awards in New York.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

(Only solo CDs are listed)

• The Voice of Alabina
• Truly Emet
• Je Sais d'où Je Viens
• The Alabina Years
• Best Of Ishtar Alabina

Singles[link]

• Last Kiss
• C'est La Vie
• Habibi (Sawah)
• Yahad

DVDs[link]

• Alabina On Tour 1997–2000 (released 2002)

See also[link]

• Alabina
• Los Niños de Sara

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official web site
• Ishtar biography, from RFI Musique (in French)
• English translation of RFI Musique biography
• Think Flamenco-Arabian music. Think ALABINA!, from eStart News