Areski

Lazereki Belkacem (January 23, 1940), better known by his stage name Areski, is a French composer, multi-instrumentalist, and comedian. Born in Versailles to musician parents of kabyle descent, he began performing in weddings and small events, and later cut his teeth as a drummer in several jam sessions in clubs around the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area. After completing his military service, he recorded the 1969 experimental album Higelin et Areski with rock singer Jacques Higelin, who introduced him to avant-garde singer Brigitte Fontaine. The cult classic Comme à la Radio, Areski's first collaboration with Fontaine, appeared in 1970 and featured contributions by the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Later that year, a prolific Areski released his first solo album Un Beau Matin and made his acting debut on the Pierre Barouh film Ça va, ça vient. During this time, he also scored a film by director Peter Brook and staged comedy shows as part of the International Centre for Theatre Research. Over the next few years, Areski continued to work together with Brigitte Fontaine on albums such as Je ne connais pas cet homme (1973), L'Incendie (1974), Le Bonheur (1975), Vous et Nous (1977), and Les églantines sont peut-être formidables (1980), all of which pushed the boundaries of popular music by incorporating elements from spoken word, electronica, Renaissance music, and psychedelia. Even though his solo output waned in the following decades, he made important contributions to Fontaine's solo projects, and also collaborated with a vast number of artists from all genres, including Jean-Claude Vannier, Sonic Youth, and Grace Jones. In 2010, Areski issued the album Le Triomphe de l'amour, his first solo effort in over four decades.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.