Cheb (; }}) is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře (also called Eger in German), at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany. Prior to 1945, the town was the centre of the German-speaking region known as Egerland, and was part of the Northern Austro-Bavarian dialect area.

The name of the city was in 1061 recorded as ''Egire''; in 1179 it was known as ''Egra''; from 1322 as ''Eger'' and the surrounding territory as ''Regio Egere'' and ''Provincia Egrensis''; after the 14th century also as ''Cheb'' or ''Chba''. From 1850 it was given the twin official names of ''Eger'' and ''Cheb''.

The twin towns of Cheb are Hof in Germany, Rheden in the Netherlands and Nizhny Tagil in Russia.

History

The first known settlement in the area was a Slavic stronghold at what is now called Jánský Vrch, north of the town-centre. In 807 the district of today's Cheb was included in the new margraviate of East Franconia, which belonged at first to the Babenbergs, but from 906 to the counts of Vohburg, who took the title of margraves. In 1179 town status was achieved, and the castle was built in the 12th century. In 1149, by the marriage of Adela of Vohburg to the emperor Frederick I, Eger (Cheb) came into the possession of the House of Swabia, and remained in the hands of the emperors until the early 13th century, during which time it became an Imperial Free City.

In 1265 it was taken by the king Ottokar II of Bohemia, who retained it for eleven years. After being repeatedly transferred from the one power to the other, according to the preponderance of Bohemia or the empire, the town and territory were finally incorporated into Bohemia in 1322, under John of Bohemia. Several imperial privileges, however, continued to be enjoyed by the town until 1849.

On 5 May 1389, during a Reichstag between King Wenceslaus and a group of Imperial Free Cities of south-west Germany, the Peace of Eger was agreed upon, after Wenceslaus had failed to secure his interests in the city.

It suffered severely during the Hussite Wars, during the Swedish invasion in 1631 and 1647, and in the War of the Austrian Succession in 1742. In 1634, during the Thirty Years' War, Albrecht von Wallenstein was killed here. George of Podebrady (the main square is named after him) married his daughter and farthered two sons in the city. From the Middle Ages until 1945, the lands around the town were known by the German name ''Egerland''.

In 1723, Cheb became a free royal town. The northern quarter of the town was devastated by a large fire in 1809, and many middle-age buildings were irreplaceably destroyed. Until 1851, the renowned spa-town of Františkovy Lázně belonged to the Magistrate of Cheb. The carbonated mineral water coming from these springs was delivered to spa visitors residing in Cheb.

Geographers of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy proclaimed the nearby 939m high Tillen (Dileň in Czech) as the geographical centre of Europe. This claim was documented on a copper plaque mounted at the summit.

Austrian National Socialism and hence German National Socialism can trace its origins to Cheb when Franko Stein transferred a small newspaper (''Der Hammer'') from Vienna to Cheb in 1897. There he organized a German workers congress called the ''Deutschvölkischer Arbeitertag'', which published the 25-point program.

The terms of the 1919 Treaty of St. Germain triggered civil unrest between the Sudeten German population and the new Czechoslovak administration, just as in the rest of the Sudetenland. As elsewhere, protests in the town - now officially named Cheb - were eventually suppressed by force.

On 3 October 1938, the town was visited by Adolf Hitler; shortly afterwards German troops marched into the Sudetenland and seized control. From 1938 until 1945 the town was annexed to Germany. On 1 May 1939, the town split away from the surrounding district to form its own municipal district together with the settlement of Matzelbach, and gave its name to the most westerly of the three administrative regions of the Sudetenland. The administrative seat of the Regierungspräsident lay in Karlsbad, however.

After the end of World War II the region was returned to Czechoslovakia. Under the Beneš decrees of the same year, the German-speaking majority of the town was dispossessed of their homes and property, and was forcibly expelled from the country. In 1954, the town of Amberg in Germany adopted the expelled Sudeten German population from Cheb and the surrounding districts.

On 24 August 2001, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Czech Prime Minister Miloš Zeman visited the ''Euregio Egrensis'' (a cross-border initiative between districts in Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia and Bohemia), and received the ''Freedom of the City of Cheb''.

In 2004, a town-twinning agreement was made with Hof in Bavaria. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Cheb has also had cordial relationships with the neighbouring German towns of Waldsassen and Marktredwitz.

Population

15th century - 7,300 inhabitants (one of the larger towns of Bohemia) with about 400 houses, plus 200 in suburbs

1930 - 31,406 inhabitants, of whom 3,493 (11%) were Czech.

1945 - 45,000 inhabitants

1947 - 14,533 inhabitants, due to the expulsion of ethnic Germans and resettlement of Czechs

1990 - 29,962 inhabitants (1,837 houses)

2005 - 33,462 inhabitants

The current population includes a large group of Vietnamese, whose families were invited to the country as guest workers during the Communist era, and Roma, who were resettled after the Second World War.

Main sights

On the rock, to the north-west of the city center, lies Cheb castle, built in the 12th century, and now mostly in ruins. The main attractions are the Chapel of St Erhard and Ursula, the Black Tower and the ruins of a palace; all from around 1180. The chapel has two stories; the lower storey is in Romanesque style, while the upper storey is Gothic. An eight-cornered opening connects the two storeys. The upper-storey contains a ribbed vault supported on four polygonal columns with statues depicting sins, including a statue of a prostitute and Onan. In the banquet room of this castle, Wallenstein's officers Terzky, Kinsky, Illo and Neumann were assassinated on February 25, 1634. Wallenstein himself was murdered few hours later by Captain Devereux in the burgomaster's house at the main square. The house, a 15th century gothic town hall (''Pachelbel House''), was transformed in 1872, it contains many historical relics and antiquities of the town of Cheb.

On the Market Place dating from the 13th century are a group of houses originating from the late-Gothic period known as ''Špalíček''. This distinctive feature of the market place is a bizarre complex of eleven houses. The outline of the two blocks can still be seen on the oldest existing records of 1472.

The Green House on the market place belonged to the well-known Wrendl dynasty, whose family crest lies above the entrance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe frequently spent time here.

The Church of St. Nicholas was established in the 13th century as a three-naved basilica, of which the western portal and the lower part of the tower remain in place. The three-part nave, presbytery and sacristy stem from the Gothic era. After the fire of 1742, the tower was rebuilt with a baroque cupola, after the design of the indigenous architect Balthasar Neumann. The top of the twin steeples were destroyed by German artillery fire during World War II and restored in summer 2008.

The Franciscan Church is located in the town center. The Church of St. Clara was built between 1708 and 1711 according to a design of Christoph Dientzenhofer.

Surrounding area

The three world-renowned spa-towns of Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), Marianské Lázně (Marienbad) and Františkovy Lázně (Franzensbad) are located only a few kilometres away from Cheb. The German state of Bavaria is easily reached by car via the Svatý Kříž-Waldsassen border-crossing, while the musically renowned areas of ''Saxon Vogtland'' can be accessed via the Kraslice-Klingenthal and Vojtanov-Schönberg crossings. For walkers, wheelchair-users and cyclists, border crossings are present going into Bavaria (Aš-Rehau) and Saxony (Bad Brambach-Plesná, Bad Brambach-Vernéřov, Bad Elster-Podhradí, Markneukirchen-Luby and Hranice-Ebmath).

The early-baroque Church of Maria Loreto in Starý Hroznatov is situated 5 km from Cheb. The annex, which had lain in ruins since 1990 has since been renovated through the initiative of an inhabitant of the neighbouring town Waldsassen.

Notable in this area are several timbered houses in the sparsely populated villages, particularly in Doubrava.

Eight kilometres north-east of Cheb, near the district of Nový Drahov is the popular Soos nature reserve. The reserve consists of peat moors and springs, with gas-producing mofettes. Cheb Airport, the oldest airport in the country, is located 4,5 km south-east.

Attractions near the Bavarian border include the Komorní hůrka and Železná hůrka. These are remains of the most recent Czech volcanoes, which now form the basis of a nature reserve. This area was researched by Goethe.

For watersports enthusiasts, two reservoirs are of interest - ''Skalka'' (north-east of Cheb and fed by the Ohře River) and ''Jesenice'' (south-east of Cheb).

Famous people

Prof. Peter Glotz, SPD politician, publicist and media analyst, member of the German Bundestag; born in Cheb in 1939.

Heinrich Gradl, historian born in Cheb in 1842.

Johann Habermann, Lutheran theologian, born in 1516.

Helmut Lederer, sculptor, born in 1913.

Johann Georg Macasius, physician born 1617.

Pavel Nedvěd, football Czech national and Juventus F.C. footballer.

Johann Balthasar Neumann, baroque architect.

Dr. Erich Riedl, CSU politician and member of the German Bundestag, born in Cheb, 1933.

Johann Adam Schertzer, Protestant theologian, born in 1628.

Kaspar Schlick, born in 1396 who became the chancellor under three different kings and one of the most politically significant figures of the 15th century.

Rudolf Serkin, Cheb born pianist of Jewish-Russian ancestry

Norbert Singer, responsible for many of Porsche’s victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race

Albrecht von Wallenstein, military leader during Thirty Years' War was killed in Cheb.

Johannes Widmann, mathematician born in 1460.

Districts

Cheb is divided into the following districts (German names given in brackets)

Bříza (Pirk)

Cetnov (Zettendorf)

Dolní Dvory (Unterschön)

Dřenice (Treunitz)

Háje (Gehaag)

Horní Dvory (Oberschön)

Hradiště (Reichersdorf)

Hrozňatov (Kinsberg)

Cheb (Eger)

Chvoječná (Sebenbach)

Jindřichov (Honnersdorf)

Klest (Reißig)

Loužek (Au)

Pelhřimov (Pilmersreuth)

Podhoří (Kreuzenstein)

Podhrad (Pograth)

Skalka (Stein)

Střížov (Triesenhof)

Tršnice (Tirschnitz)

References

External links

Municipal website

Cheb Castle site

Captive market:The sexual slave traffic in children

''The following links are in German, and were sources used in this article''

Church of Maria Loreto

Hardeck Castle

Euregio Egrensis

''"Freunde im Herzen Europas"'' - Friends in the Heart of Europe

Category:Cheb District Category:Cities and towns in the Czech Republic

af:Cheb bg:Хеб cs:Cheb da:Cheb de:Cheb es:Cheb eo:Cheb fa:خپ fr:Egra id:Cheb is:Cheb it:Cheb kk:Хеб la:Egra lt:Chebas nl:Cheb ja:ヘプ pl:Cheb pt:Cheb ro:Cheb ru:Хеб sk:Cheb sr:Хеб sv:Cheb uk:Хеб vi:Cheb war:Cheb zh:海布

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Name	Cheb Mami
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Mohamed Khelifati
Alias	Cheb Mami
Birth date	January 01, 1966
Origin	Saïda, Algeria
Genre	Raï, Pop
Years active	1982–2009
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, Instrumentalist
Label	Virgin Records
Website	www.chebmami.net }}

Ahmed Khelifati Mohamed (}}) better known by his stage name Cheb Mami (}}), (born in Saïda, Algeria on 1 January 1966) is an Algerian-born raï singer. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic, French and sometimes, as on ''Layali'', in Egyptian Arabic.

As of July 2010, Mami was imprisoned in France, where he was found guilty of drugging and forcing a former romantic partner to undergo a failed abortion. A Parisian court found him guilty at trial and sentenced him to five years in prison. He was released in March 2011 on parole.

Beginnings

Cheb Mami was born in Graba-el-wed (Arabic: غربة الواد), a populous quarter of Saïda (Arabic: سعيدة), Algeria. Located 170 kilometres south of Oran, the city of Saida is on the high mesas of southwestern Algeria. Cheb Mami grew up to a family of factory workers. He began singing and playing the accordion on Saida streets and by 1980 began performing at local weddings and ceremonies.

In 1982, the 16-year-old adolescent sang on the ''Alhan wa Chabab'' radio show, a singing competition organised by Radio Télevision Algérienne. He sang "El Marsam" (The Sanctuary) a classic of Oranese music from the 1920s. The audience was transfixed by the sheer emotion of his performance and by his concordant vocal intonations which captured perfectly the flavour of the song's title. The judges, who represented the government which refused to admit even the existence of raï, gave the first prize to the contestant that sang a cover version of a hit by the famous Egyptian diva, Umm Kulthum, but were forced to acknowledge the standing ovation Mami received by awarding him second prize.

Cheb Mami was spotted by Boualem, the producer of the Oran label, Disco Maghreb, and the cassette waltz began.

Career

It was in 1985 that Mami came to Paris and found his musical niche. Raï fused blues, funk, salsa, reggae, hip hop and Algerian rhythms, while integrating touches of his idols Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and French rapper MC Solaar.

Cheb Mami made his first official public appearance at the First Oran Raï Festival in 1985, which marked the official recognition of the genre by the Algerian authorities.

He was in military service for two years in Algeria but was an entertainer on army bases. After that, in May 1989, Mami returned to Paris at the Olympia, rejuvenating raï music. He began making recordings and performing in cabarets in the Paris suburb of Barbès. He also toured the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Scandinavia and England.

Mami's music is a blend of Mediterranean and Western influences including Turkish, Flamenco and Greek music as well as Latin music. His voice is tinged with Andalusian accents, and his music is an amalgamation of the traditional and the modern styles of singing and creation of music.

In 1999, Mami topped the French pop charts with a groundbreaking duet with French rapper K-Mel, "Parisien du Nord". The song was an anthem against racism that seamlessly made the transition between hip hop and raï, and introduced throngs of young new audiences to raï. This song explores the racist issues between Arabs and French and the challenges of identity.

As well as recording many straight raï songs, Cheb Mami has achieved crossover success with the hip-hop remix of his track "Parisien du Nord" on his album ''Meli Meli'' and also with the backing vocals on Sting's hit "Desert Rose" and ''Youm Wara Youm'' the title track of which is a duet with Samira Said.

Sting and ''Brand New Day''

When Sting's album was released in 2000, the pair's duet, "Desert Rose", went rocketing to the top of singles charts around the world, fulfilling Mami's long-held dream of internationalising raï sounds.

Perhaps Mami's most successful recording is the album ''Dellali'', produced by former Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers, which was released soon after his collaboration with Sting. The album's lead single was "Le Raï C'est Chic". This track, which opens the album, "is an energetic dance track featuring Mami's biggest fan, Sting, on backing vocals and is destined to get most of the mainstream media attention (and radio airplay)". Mami's first collaboration with Sting in 2001 on "Desert Rose" topped the charts around the globe, and led to television appearances on ''Saturday Night Live'', the ''Today Show'', ''Jay Leno'', ''David Letterman'', the Grammy Awards telecast and even a live performance at the Super Bowl". His international success, and namely his recognition in mainstream American popular culture, has led him to be called the "Prince of Raï". Although Mami has been able to be recognized by mainstream media in the United States, Americans often equate his raï music genre with rock in the US during the 1950s and 1960s. Americans believe raï to be "North African punk," a genre of music for the purpose of rebelling against the government and resembling the music of ‘young rockers’ in the US, when in reality this music plays a very different role in the life of the North African diasporic community in France. Although raï does include narratives of the various struggles of this community against "the Algerian state or against the forces of ‘tradition’", it is also the "music of the racialized Other" which chronicles struggles with racism and identity of North African people in France.

Arrest, imprisonment and release

Mami was under an international arrest warrant after being indicted in October 2006 for "voluntary violence, sequestration and threats" against an ex-girlfriend, and failing to answer a court summons on May 14, 2007. He was accused of having tried to force Isabelle Simon, his former girlfriend and a magazine photographer, to have an abortion. During a trip to Algeria in the summer of 2005, the victim Isabelle Simon was locked in a house belonging to one of Mami's friends, where an abortive procedure was attempted on her. Back in France, however, she realized the fetus was still alive. Mami had accused his manager Michel Lecorre (a.k.a. Michel Levy) of organizing the abortion plan; Michel Levy was later sentenced to four years for plotting and organizing the assault.

Mami was arrested in France several days before his trial; he was taken into custody by officials at a Paris airport as he arrived into the country from Algeria on June 29, 2009. The following July, a Paris court found him guilty of drugging and attempted forcible abortion, and sentenced him to five years in prison.

On 21 September 2010, his lawyers applied for conditional release, a request that was turned down on on 12 October 2010. Upon a second appeal however, the French court agreed for his conditional release on 23 March 2011.

Selected discography

''Prince of Raï'' (1989)

Tracks: Ana Mazel Dertfik Confiance Douni El Bladi Lella Rani Ensaaf El Mektoub Ralia Mahboubit Galbi Tayo Tayo Adiani

''Let Me Raï'' (1991)

Tracks: Yo Yo Haoulou Let Me Cry Douha Alia Fatma Rah Eddani Khalihoum Maandi Manimane Alache Alache

''Saida'' (1994)

Tracks: H'babi Ma Ma Gaulbak K'ssah Hay Wadi Hay Galbi Bent Bareh Baida Ghi N'Ti Li Fet ghi Mnem Zouaji Alache Alache Trab

''Douni El Bladi'' (1996)

Tracks: Douni el Bladi Dertfik Confiance Ralia Mahboubit Galbi Ana Mazel Lella Rai Saaf El Mektoub Tayo Tayo Adiani Ouach Etsalini Idha Enti Bitik Chedi Bentek Maniche Aadouk Ghebnouha Sehrane Ouahdi Alauni (Instrumental)

''Meli Meli'' (1999)

Tracks: Meli Meli Alache Alik Bledi Rani Maak El Youm Fatma Hada Ch'h Hatachi Bekatni Cheikh Azwaw Parisien du Nord Marseillais du Nord Au Pays des Merveillus Azwaw Alternative

''Dellali'' (2001)

Tracks: Raï C'est Chic Viens Habibi Madanite Rim Lachoua Yahamami Ana Oualache Ma Vie 2 fois Tzazae Zarartou Manazureh Machi Chaba Hoaulou Khalouni

''Lazrag Saani'' (2002)

Tracks: Lazrag Saani Zazarkhatri Rouhi Douri Yalala Mani Sabar Madiriche Aliya Hay Delali Delali Mantzaoutchi Raikoum Rai Ma Salou Maana Derti Jauline Ana Khatini Hoaulou Sair Fer

''Du Sud au Nord'' (2003)

Tracks: Des 2 Côtés feat. Mouss et Hakim / Parisien du Nord feat. K.mel / Madanite feat. Ziggy Marley Desert Rose feat. Sting Cosi Celeste feat. Zucchero Nagumo feat. Susheela Raman Enfant d'esfrinque feat. Corneille Clando feat. 113 Youm Wara Youm feat. Samira Said Fugitif feat. Tonton David The Best Times of Our Lives feat. Aswad Koum Tara feat. Enrico Macias Azwaw 2 feat. Idir

''Live au Grand Rex'' (2004)

Tracks: Azwaw Parisien du Nord Nagumo feat. Susheela Raman Mamzareli Mazal Souvenir Aandi Desert Rose Koum Tara feat. Enrico Macias Bledi - Mon pays Cosi Celeste feat. Zucchero Alache Alik Meli Meli Des 2 Côtés feat. Mous et Hakim Haoulou Zarartou

''Layali'' (2006)

Tracks: Halili feat. Zaho Gualbi Gualbi Inshallah Tigi Tigi Gaiye bil Salama Ahla Layali Omrina Ajlissou Nos Couleurs feat. K.Maro Mama Dabia Ellie Beina Intaha Amshi Btraring Non c'sera non (Omri Omri) feat. Sween

References

External links

Official website of Cheb Mami (French/English/Arabic)

Cheb Mami's lyrics English translation on Shawshara.com

Télécharger Cheb Mami Mp3

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Algerian male singers Category:Arabic-language singers Category:Arab musicians Category:Algerian musicians Category:French-language singers Category:Raï musicians Category:World Music Awards winners Category:People from Saïda

ar:الشاب مامي de:Cheb Mami es:Cheb Mami eo:Cheb Mami fr:Cheb Mami id:Cheb Mami it:Cheb Mami ms:Cheb Mami nl:Cheb Mami pl:Cheb Mami ro:Șab Mami fi:Cheb Mami sv:Cheb Mami tr:Cheb Mami

Cheb Bilal (born Bilal Mouffok) is a well-known raï singer. He was born on July 23, 1966 in Cherchel, Algeria.

Childhood

Bilal spent much of his youth in Oran, Algeria where he studied at the conservatory of music. He was raised by his grandfather.

Early career

Initially, Cheb Bilal performed at weddings and festivals around Oran. In 1980, he created the group El Ahouar. In 1989 he went to Marseilles, France, which he described as a turning point in his career.

It is said he gained his inspiration from former legendary singer Abdul.

References

Category:1966 births Category:Algerian male singers Category:Living people Category:People from Oran

ar:الشاب بلال de:Cheb Bilal fr:Cheb Bilal fi:Cheb Bilal

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Enrique Morente
background	solo_singer
birth name	Enrique Morente Cotelo
birth date	December 25, 1942
birth place	Granada, Spain
death date	December 13, 2010
death place	Madrid, Spain
genre	Flamenco
occupation	Singer, songwriter
years active	1960s – 2010
website	http://www.enriquemorente.com
notable instruments	}}

Enrique Morente Cotelo, known as Enrique Morente, (25 December 1942 – 13 December 2010) was a flamenco singer and a controversial figure within the world of contemporary flamenco. After his orthodox beginnings, he plunged into experimentalism, writing new melodies for ''cante'' (flamenco singing) and jamming with musicians of all styles, without renouncing his roots in traditional flamenco singing, which he kept on cultivating. In spite of severe criticism from the most "purist" amongst the critics and public, he was perhaps the most influential contemporary flamenco singer, who not only innovated, but it could also can be said that he created tradition: some of his ''cantes'' have been performed by other singers such as Camarón de la Isla, Mayte Martín, Carmen Linares, Miguel Poveda, Segundo Falcón and Arcángel.

Biography

Beginnings

Enrique Morente, born in the traditional quarter of Albaicín in Granada, started to sing as a ''seise'' (a member of a group of children who sing, dance and play castanets on certain religious festivals) He started to feel attracted to flamenco singing as a child, and had the opportunity to learn at family gatherings and to listen to established figures from Granada like Cobitos, the family of the "Habichuelas", or Aurelio Sellés (Aurelio de Cádiz):

"The cante begins inside you when you listen to the villager’s singing, to people in their birthplace. Groups of people that meet in a tavern and start singing, and then you listen to them and start singing as well: you learn that at family parties where everybody sings and everybody drinks, and everybody dances and... Apart from that, it turns out that, of course, you need a technique, you need a school, you need to learn. In order to achieve this, what you need... the main help you can get is to have a liking for it; and then the skill to know who to learn from, and from what sources, where to find the good. Then you are on."

However, this appreciation for the popular side of flamenco does not mean that he considers flamenco as just "an art of the people". A flamenco artist, for him, needs technique and dedication:

"It is us, the professional artists of flamenco, who have to make cante flamenco, and nobody else, Flamenco, like any other art, is an art of professionals, although there are many people who peer at us, with a look as if to say: What interesting little creatures! or maybe: Oh! What music the people are playing! and so on. And people often think that maybe you have to have fingers swollen from picking potatoes to be able to play the guitar with feeling. Look, picking potatoes is every bit as worthy as playing a guitar. But I can tell you that a man -with fine, sensitive fingers is not going to be able to make a go of picking potatoes: and I can also tell you that a man with fingers swollen from picking potatoes is not going to be able to play a guitar because he hasn't got the manual dexterity and he hasn't got the dedication. This is a profession like any other which you have to dedicate yourself to completely. It is an art of professionals."

Still in his teens, Morente went to live in Madrid to start a professional career as a singer. There he was able to meet some old masters like Pepe de la Matrona and Bernardo el de los Lobitos, and learned as much as he could from them. Pepe de la Matrona took special interest in teaching the young singer: "This interest was raised not so much by Enrique Morente’s intonation, by his registers or by his melismatic as by his attitude towards things, his respect and his learning capacity." In Madrid, he started singing at ''peñas flamencas'' (clubs for flamenco fans). In 1964, he signed a contract with the Ballet de Marienma, with whom he then performed at the Spanish Pavilion at the New York Worlds Fair and at the Spanish Embassy in Washington DC. Later he took part in a flamenco festival at Teatro de los Alcázares de los Reyes Cristianos, sharing the bill with Juan Talega, Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera, Gaspar de Utrera, Tomás Torre and Antonio Mairena. During that year and the following one, he also toured Europe and Japan with different flamenco dance companies, and was employed at several ''tablaos'' (flamenco venues) in Madrid, such as Las Cueva de Nemesio, Zambra and El Café de Chinitas.

First recordings

Morente made his first recording, ''Cante flamenco'' in 1967 with guitarist Félix de Utrera. The recording received a special mention award from the Cátedra de Flamencología, and was followed by ''Cantes antiguos del flamenco'' (1969), with guitarist Niño Ricardo. His first recordings were strictly orthodox and showed deep knowledge of traditional flamenco, a rare quality for singers of his generation. During this period he also made his first contact with guitarist Manolo Sanlúcar, with whom he would cooperate on several occasions. Sanlúcar accompanied him in his concert in Ateneo de Madrid, the first occasion in which a flamenco singer performed in that prestigious cultural institution.

His next record, ''Homenaje flamenco a Miguel Hernández'' (''Flamenco Homage to Miguel Hernández'', 1971), initiated his frequent use of lyrics by outstanding poets. Later on, he would record flamenco songs with lyrics by Federico García Lorca, John of the Cross, Lope de Vega, Al-Mutamid, Antonio Machado and Manuel Machado, Jorge Guillén, and others. Soon later, an illegal live recording was published in Holland.

"The thing that most calls your attention in his first productions is how much care he devotes to the lyrics of his ''cantes''. This is probably the first step in his future career as as an innovator in flamenco. The poems by Miguel Hernández, for example, became immortal in his impressive 'Nana de la Cebolla' or 'El Niño Yuntero'. With the attitude he showed, in these poems, against the francoist regime, he became the favourite flamenco singer for the left-wing opposition in the country, as well as one of the first innovators."

In 1971 and 1972, he toured Mexico with guitarist Parrilla de Jerez and dancer Ana Parrilla, a tour which included his presentation at the Auditorium of the Universidad de las Américas, and performed at Lincoln Center (to which he would return to perform at again in 1973) and the Spanish Institute in New York. In 1972, he was also awarded the ''Premio Nacional del Cante'' (National Award for Flamenco Singing) by the Cátedra de Flamencología in Jerez.

Alternating tradition

Morente arrived back to orthodox flamenco singing with his recording ''Homenaje a Don Antonio Chacón'' (''Homage to Antonio Chacón'', 1977, which obtained the National Award for best folk music album, granted by the Ministry of Culture. In this recording, Morente vindicated the figure of singer Antonio Chacón the creator of the ''granaína'' and a fundamental figure of flamenco in the first decades of the 20th century, who had been, nevertheless, relegated by the views of the 1950s-1970s flamencology, as a representative of the non-Romani (Gypsy) flamenco which that generation considered impure. However, in an alternation between tradition and innovation typical of Morente, the recording was immediately followed, in 1978, by ''Despegando'' ("Taking off"), this time in an innovative mood: the title itself is, in fact, a declaration of intentions.

In 1981 he toured a new show, ''Andalucía hoy'' ("Andalusia Today"), which he would later performed at the Paris Olympia in Paris, France. In 1982, some of his recordings were chosen by flamencologist José Blas Vega to take part in the flamenco anthology ''Magna Antología del Cante'' (a complete collection of traditional styles of cante) to illustrate songs such as the tarantas from Almería, several types of cartageneras, the fandangos by Frasquito Yerbabuena, and all the malagueñas and granaínas created by Antonio Chacón.

In 1990 in another comeback to orthodoxy, he recorded ''Morente-Sabicas'', with guitarist Sabicas, who was already in his eighties. In the following year, he created and recorded a flamenco mass, a type of creation that already had some precedents, like the one recorded by Antonio Mairena, Luis Caballero, and Naranjito de Triana in 1968. However Morente's mass is totally different from any previous examples. Whereas earlier flamenco masses basically tried to use traditional flamenco singing for the liturgy, Morente's does not even have a liturgic purpose, and mixes flamenco with other genres like Gregorian chant. About this mass, in one of his touches of humour, Morente said:

"At a given point, I thought I could dedicate it to Pope Clement, the one of ''El Palmar de Troya'', but then I remembered that he had canonized Franco, Primo de Rivera, Carrero Blanco and all those guys and, while on the one hand I thought it was funnier, on the other hand I thought the joke could be interpreted in a strange way and I didn't do it, though I was about to do it. But the record was made with a sincerity and a true intention, no matter the results, and I thought it was like ruining it a bit because of the joke.. and that was too much!"

Later works

In 1995 he appeared singing a siguiriya in Carlos Saura's film ''Flamenco'' and recorded his most controversial recording: ''Omega'', together with the alternative rock group Lagartija Nick, with the participation of guitarists such as Tomatito, Vicente Amigo, Juan Manuel Cañizares or Miguel Ángel Cortés and percussionists like Tino di Geraldo. Flamenco and punk rock are mingled with recreations of songs by Leonard Cohen, and lyrics by Federico García Lorca's book ''Poeta en Nueva York'' ("A Poet in New York"), together with traditional flamenco lyrics. The work was performed at the 2008 Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, under the stage name Morente Omega con Lagartija Nick.

The year 2001 saw the publishing of a very much sought for record by Morente, "Enrique Morente en la Casa Museo de García Lorca de Fuentevaqueros", a collection of songs based on the poetry of Federico García Lorca. The recording had been made in studio in Madrid, in 1990, and it had been commissioned by the Diputación de Granada (a government institution). Only a limited edition was made and the copies were sent as gift to particular persons. In the second hand marked, those copies reached 25,000 pesetas (150 euros).

Another interesting release of Morente, ''El Pequeño Reloj'', saw the light in 2003. Whereas the second half of the CD a more or less random collection of songs, the first half of the record comprises a surprising series of songs which are broken in two parts: in the first part of the song, Morente's voice is superimposed on top of old 78 r.p.m recordings of old masters of the flamenco guitar like Ramón Montoya, Sabicas or Manolo de Huelva, while the second part is a modern development of the same palo, with the side guitar of the young and innovative guitarist Niño Josele.

Although Morente could not read musical notation he composed music for theatre plays, films and television, such as the work ''Las Arrecogidas del Beaterio de Santa María Egipcíaca", the music for ''Oedipus the King'' with José Luis Gómez.

He has tried the mixture between flamenco and classical music in works like ''Fantasía de cante jondo para voz y orquesta'' (Cante jondo Fantasy (music) for voice and orchestra, together with pianist Antonio Robledo, guitarists Juan Habichuela and Gerardo Núñez and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Luis Izquierdo, 1986) or with ''Allegro Soleá'', which he presented at Seville's Flamenco Biennal in 1990. Along the lines of the mixture of flamenco with other types of music, he collaborated in the show ''Macama Jonda'' by José Heredia Maya, together with the Tetuan Andalusian Orchestra and Abdessadeq Cheqara, or with the Bulgarian Voices choir Angelite. In Morente's aforementioned recording ''Omega'', he mixed flamenco singing with punk rock, music by Leonard Cohen, and lyrics by Federico García Lorca. In the show ''África-Cuba-Cai'' he mixed flamenco with music from Senegal, and Cuba (''Cai'' is the way Cádiz is pronounced in Andalusian Spanish). The show also underlinks the historic links between Cuban and flamenco music: "That's always been close to flamenco, since way back, because the ships in Cádiz went to Cuba, some came and others stayed over there, we've always had that.". It is difficult to think of any kind of music which has not interested Morente. After one of his concerts with Cheqara Orkesta of Tetuan, he declared: "…if I had to put out a CD for every culture I mixed with I'd be putting out about 7 or 8 CDs a year. It wouldn't be bad - if I got paid for it by the record company then I could build myself a home."

Owing to his innovative approach, Morente was widely criticized by the more extreme traditionalist sectors of flamenco's critical faculty and public, though it had been said that "Needless to say, all this cost Morente a real torment, since flamenco is still a very closed world, in which the slightest attempt for novelty is taken as a deadly sin of heresy.". Although Morente's work is now widely recognized by most critics, and has inspired many singers of the young generation like Mayte Martín or Arcángel, there is still a section of traditionalist critics and public that still disparage his work:

"Aficionados were scratching their heads after the show, trying to figure out exactly, which forms--if any--Morente was working in much of the time. 'Remember the old days when you could actually recognize what flamenco forms were being performed?'"

Ethnic bias is often not alien to these criticisms. A good number of flamenco critics and public were introduced into flamenco at the time of the "reappraisal period" led by singers like Antonio Mairena and critics like González Climent or Ricardo Molina, in whose views, pure flamenco singing would be a patrimony of Romanis, which non-Romanis could only try to imitate in vain without ever reaching its essence. In the same review quoted above we can read: "And once you have experienced truly great Romani singing of this sort, the erudition of an artist like Morente pales like a candle flame next to a blazing torch." These views on Morente,though very common in the seventies and eighties, have almost died down. The controversy between tradition and innovation, Romani and non-Romani singing and other topics, so common twenty years ago, is now relatively confined to a limited section of the public, while most flamenco fans and critics acknowledge Morente's deep artistic intelligence and commitment:

"This comes from the man who never sings the same way twice, who tirelessly seeks that new inflection, that unheard-of scale, the change of tone that best matches the desired feeling and intentions at a given moment. The easy option would be the other one. To do what Enrique does you need extreme intellectual abilities and extreme emotional commitment. He takes the perfectly-laid, common foundations, defined by tradition, and on them builds with all the conceivable potential of flamenco."

In December 2010 it was reported that Morente had fallen into a coma after an ulcer operation, and had been declared brain dead. He died in Madrid on December 13, 2010.

Awards

First prize at the contest Málaga Cantaora (1967) Premio Nacional de Cante (Flamenco Singing National Award) granted by Cátedra de Flamencología y Estudios Folklóricos Andaluces de Jerez de la Frontera (1972) National Award for best folk recording, awarded by the Ministry of Culture (1978) En 1989 es nombrado Socio de Honor del Club de Música y Jazz San Juan Evangelista Honorary Membership of the San Juan Evangelista Jazz and Music Club (1989) Premio Nacional de Música (Music National Award), Ministry of Culture, awarded to a flamenco singer for the first time (1994) Golden medal of the ''Cátedra de Flamencología de Jerez de la Frontera (1995) Compás del Cante (1995) “Galardón de Honor de los Premios de la Música”, awarded by the Ministry of Culture (1998) Pastora Pavón ("Niña de los Peines") Award, awarded by the autonomous government of Andalusia (2004) Medal of Andalusia, awarded by the autonomous government of Andalusia (2005) National Critics award for best DVD and best flamenco singing record for ''Morente sueña la Alhambra'' (2006) National Award of Music for best flamenco recording for ''Morente sueña la Alhambra'' (2006) Morato de Oro, awarded by Peña El Morato (2006) Best flamenco recording, Deflamenco.com Awards (2006)

Filmography

Flamenco. Directed by Carlos Saura (1995)

Morente sueña La Alhambra. Directed by José Sánchez-Montes (2005)

Iberia. Directed by Carlos Saura (2005)

Discography

''Cante flamenco'' (1967)

''Cantes antiguos del flamenco'' (1969)

''Homenaje flamenco a Miguel Hernández'' (1971)

''Se hace camino al andar'' (1975)

''Homenaje a Don Antonio Chacón'' (1977)

''Despegando'' (1977)

''Morente en vivo'', Díscolo, (1981), illegal recording live

''Sacromonte'' (1982)

''Cruz y Luna'' (1983)

''Esencias flamencas'' (1988)

''Morente - Sabicas'' (1990)

''Enrique Morente en la Casa Museo de Federico García Lorca de Fuentevaqueros'' (1990); Republished (2001)

''Misa flamenca'' (1991)

''Negra, si tú supieras'' (1992)

''Alegro, Soleá y Fantasía del Cante Jondo'' (1995)

''Omega'' (1996)

''Morente – Lorca'' (1998)

''El pequeño reloj'' (2003)

''Morente sueña la Alhambra'' (2005), Mute Records

''Pablo de Málaga'' (2008)

References

External links

Category:1942 births Category:2010 deaths Category:People from Granada Category:Andalusian musicians Category:Flamenco singers Category:Spanish singers Category:Spanish male singers Category:Spanish-language singers Category:Mute Records artists

ca:Enrique Morente de:Enrique Morente es:Enrique Morente eu:Enrique Morente fr:Enrique Morente gl:Enrique Morente pt:Enrique Morente ru:Моренте, Энрико ta:என்ரீக்கே மொறேந்தே

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Susheela Raman
landscape	yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Susheela Raman
born	July 21, 1973 Hendon, London, UK|
genre	Ambient, carnatic, jazz, blues, folk, trance
occupation	Singer-songwriter, composer, arranger
years active	1997–present
label	XIII Bis Narada
website	susheelaraman.com Susheela Raman Myspace
notable instruments	}}

Susheela Raman (born in Hendon, London, UK on July 21, 1973) is an acclaimed British Tamil musician. Raman has released five albums since 2001. Her debut album ''Salt Rain'' was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2001.

Biography

Early years

Susheela Raman's parents are Tamil Brahmins from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, India, who arrived in London, UK in the mid-sixties. At the age of four, Raman and her family left the UK for Australia. Susheela grew up singing South Indian classical music and began giving recitals at an early age. She recalls how her family "were eager to keep our Tamil culture alive." As a teenager in Sydney she started her own band, describing its sound as “funk and rock and roll”, before branching out into more blues and jazz-based music, which demanded quite different voice techniques. She tried to bring these streams together when in 1995 she travelled to India to rediscover her roots by way of further exploring Carnatic music. She currently resides on Portobello Road, West London.

Music career

Returning to England in 1997, she started to work with her partner, guitarist/producer Sam Mills who had made a record called "Real Sugar" with a Bengali singer named Paban Das Baul. This record inspired Raman, because according to her "it bridged a gap and found common ground for one particular kind of Indian music to be expressed to a new audience." In 1999, Raman co-wrote songs for the album ''One and One is One'' by Joi, also performing on the track “Asian Vibes.” Mill's had worked with West African musicians in the group Tama which also opened musical contact points within the Parisian music scene.

After a period of three years experimenting and collaborating with Sam Mills, Raman made her first album ''Salt Rain''. Released in 2001 on Narada, an American subsidiary of EMI, it went gold in France and in the UK was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize. She also won the Best Newcomer award from BBC Radio 3. ''Salt Rain'' drew on traditional Tamil music blended with jazz-folk and pop influences. It featured original material, as well as old songs Raman sang at recitals when younger.

In 2003 she released her second album ''Love Trap'' which featured amongst other collaborators the Nigerian drummer Tony Allen and Tuvan singer Albert Kuvezin of the group Yat-Kha. The title track is a re-interpretation of an Ethiopian song from the seventies by the singer Mahmoud Ahmed. In 2005, came a third album, ''Music for Crocodiles''. This was partly recorded in Chennai (Madras) in India. This included "The Same Song" which was used by Mira Nair for the end credits of her film ''The Namesake''. (Nair also used Raman's version of the 60's Hindi film song "Ye Mera Divanapan Hai' from the previous album). She sings for the first time in French with the song "L'Ame Volatile". Her training in Carnatic classical music makes its presence felt in Tamil classical titles such as "Sharavana," her singing "Meanwhile" (on the same album) in a rāgam called Kanakaangi, and in the song "Light Years" which features a melody in Kalyani rāgam as well as the veena playing of Punya 'Devi' Srinivas.

In 2006 Susheela was again nominated for a BBC World Music Award and was the subject of a one-hour documentary by French-German TV Channel ARTE, called ''Indian Journey'' directed by Mark Kidel.

Susheela's deal with Narada ended in 2006 and that year she independently recorded an album ''33'' which is a set of re-imaginings of some album tracks from the sixties and seventies. Artists covered include Bob Dylan, John Lennon, The Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart, Jimi Hendrix, Can and Throbbing Gristle. The album features long term collaborators Sam Mills on guitar, Vincent Segal on cello, and tabla player and percussionist Aref Durvesh.

The album was released in April 2007 in France on the independent label XIII Bis.

Raman has also garnered acclaim for her live performances. She continues to research and discover music from Tamil Nadu, studying in 2007 with the Bhakti singer Kovai Kamla. Collaborator Sam Mills is currently working with Tamil Nadu film musicians for a future project.

Discography

''Salt Rain'' (2001) #29 FRA

''Love Trap'' (2003) #32 FRA

''Music for Crocodiles'' (2005) #51 FRA

''33'' (2007) #120 FRA

''Vel'' (2011)

Video

"Vodoo child"

"You do right / Bolo bolo"

‘Ganapati’ (dir/DOP: Andrew Catlin) (2001)

‘Salt Rain’ (dir/DOP: Andrew Catlin) (2001)

‘Maya’ (dir/DOP: Andrew Catlin) (2002)

References

External links

www.susheelaraman.com

Music for Crocodiles CD Review

Susheela Raman Biography

Susheela Raman feature

Susheela Raman First date of the VEL French Tour 2011

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:English female singers Category:Narada Productions artists Category:British people of Indian descent Category:Tamil musicians Category:Indian Tamil people Category:British Hindus Category:British people of Tamil descent Category:People from Hendon Category:Carnatic musicians Category:English jazz musicians Category:English blues musicians Category:English trance musicians

de:Susheela Raman fr:Susheela Raman nn:Susheela Raman tr:Susheela Raman