“Arioul” is Kabyle for donkey: the person who carries other people’s loads, follows where others point, and never turns around. Syna Awel named her song after that person and sings straight at them. Released 29 May on Paris-based X-Ray Production, this dub reinterpretation of a track from her debut album pulls her voice into a bass-heavy, echo-drenched landscape of organic trance and dub.
Syna Awel is Franco-Algerian, born in Saint-Étienne, and grew up rooted in the oral tradition of Kabylia in northern Algeria. Her debut album, which includes “Arioul”, set Amazigh melody over jazz piano, flute and bendir percussion, with ten songs moving between Kabyle and French.
“Arioul in Dub” brings in Grayssoker, a French accordionist who left classical training behind to build a live electro-accordion practice at the crossroads of techno, dub and trance; Rishnu on bass and I Roots, both members of the French organic trance band Hilight Tribe; and Fred Z, saxophonist Frédérik Dezé of the French roots reggae outfit Tu Shung Peng, a long-time collaborator of I Roots.
The lyrics challenge anyone carrying weight that belongs to someone else: “Tu restes coincé dans tes ressentiments / Tu laisses les autres décider de tes mouvements“, meaning trapped in your resentments, letting others decide your movements. The Kabyle chorus repeats it with more urgency, “Arioul, ḥbes aqvel ad tettiliḍ d-akli“, stop before you become a slave.
Listen to the track HERE and purchase the full LP via THIS LINK