Acoustic Roots

Singer, poet and freedom thinker Walid Ben Selim was born in the Moroccan capital Casablanca, where he was active in the local hip-hop scene for a long time. Currently, he lives in France and is the frontman of the successful band N3rdistan. With this band, he sings and raps his own lyrics and poetry by famous Arab poets. He creates a unique musical universe around texts with a timeless message of freedom that connects East and West.

Walid Ben Selim

Jaber Fayad played the Ud from an early age. He studied Azerbaijani music with Askar Ali Akbar, Arabic music with Isam Rafei and Turkish music with Ayman Aljesri. He studied at the Conservatory in Damascus, Syria.

Walid Ben Selim and Jaber Fayad

Last year, Walid Ben Selim performed at the Cultural Sunday “Utrecht Central” in Utrecht in TivoliVredenburg but was also on the Concertzender stage, where he made a deep impression with his beautiful voice.

He has a close collaboration with musicians from the Utrecht-based Kytopia collective. November 2017 he was in the Netherlands again for the festival Arabic Poetry meet Kytopia II.

Listen to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dyo93yuiLk

1. Orison – Al Mutanabbi (أبو الطيب أحمد بن الحسين المتنبّي الكندي‎)
2. Man Li – Hallaj (ابو المغيث الحسين بن منصور الحلاج‎)
3. Taksim – Jaber Fayad
4. Nasma – Abu Madyan (شعيب أبو مدين الأندلسيي)
5. Skystars – Abu Madi (إيليا أبو ماضي‎)
6. Ism – Hallaj (ابو المغيث الحسين بن منصور الحلاج‎)