Areski Belkacem

Areski Belkacem
Background information
Born	January 23, 1940
Origin	Versailles, France
Instruments	singer, composer

Areski Belkacem, also known simply as Areski, is a French singer, multi-instrumentalist, comedian and composer born on January 23, 1940 in Versailles.

Areski grew up in Versailles, where his parents, of kabyle (Berber) descent, were welcoming Algerian musicians: "at my house, post-war stars, old chaâbi veterans, were coming to play at my parents' home. As an adolescent, he watched rehearsals, for Olympia concerts, by Édith Piaf, The Beatles or Jacques Brel, in the great room of the Cyrano cinema. He began in dancing clubs, second-rate restaurants, and then went on to play at weddings, playing popular hits, and began performing on stage thanks to catholic sponsorship. Before his military service, during which he became friend with Jacques Higelin, he was playing in Saint-Germain-des-Prés caves as a drummer for jam sessions; after his military service, he started touring France as a multi-instrumentalist in various rock and jazz clubs.

Belkacem recorded an album with Higelin in 1969 and his voice is heard in the song Remember, of which he composed the music. Higelin introduced him to Brigitte Fontaine, and as early as 1969, they created Niok, a mostly improvised show which remained for months at the Lucernaire theatre in Paris. At the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, that same year, he played with Fontaine and the Art Ensemble of Chicago on the Comme à la radio album, which would go on to be an underground classic. He then recorded his first solo album in 1970, Un beau matin, and was the protagonist of the movie Ça va, ça vient, by Pierre Barouh, founder of the Saravah label. At the same time, he composed music for the director Peter Brook and also contributed to his shows as a comedian in the International Centre for Theatre Research.

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