There are mythical groups whose reach transcends fashions and trends. Raïna Raï is one of them! The iconic figure of its leader, guitarist Lotfi Attar, has a lot to do with it. His playing, charisma and passion have influenced numerous groups and artists, including the Orchestre National de Barbès and Gnawa Diffusion.
Fusing traditional rhythms and instruments with rock instruments, Raïna Raï is considered a pioneer of modern raï, sometimes called « electric raï ».

Founded in 1980 in Paris by Kaddour Bouchentouf, Tarik Chikhi, Lotfi Attar and Hachemi Djellouli – four musicians originally from Sidi Bel-Abbès, in north-west Algeria. Raïna Raï fuses traditional Algerian rhythms and instruments – karkabous, derbouka, gasba – with rock instruments, guitar, drums and keyboards. Raïna Raï went through several line-ups before splitting up in 2003. While synthesizers dominated Raï, Raïna Raï introduced electric guitar, with the distinctive sound of Lotfi Attar’s riffs.

Raï is the expression of a musical style that has been socially committed from the outset, and Raïna Raï, which has made its mark on Algerian (and North African) youth since 1980, will be alongside artists who are faithful to the spirit of the genre (the word raï means « opinion » in Algerian) expressing a musical vision of their own in a contemporary raï, widely open to all musical influences and contributing to the growth of this traditional and popular music born between Sidi-Bel- Abbès, Oran and Paris.

This program is produced with the support of the Institut français de Tunisie