Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2011

In the wake of 9/11, promoter Conversation held a festival of Middle Eastern music in Tokyo to heighten understanding of Arab culture. Topping the bill was Gnawa Diffusion, the Algerian collective led by Amazigh Kateb, who makes his solo debut in Japan this week. The son of famed Algerian poet Kateb Yacine, Kateb pioneered a blend of the music of North Africa’s Gnawa people with rock and reggae—all of it juiced with a fervent liberation ideology. The charismatic frontman left the band in 2007 to launch a solo career that has the wind in its sails after the release of the 2009 album Marchez Noir.

Unit, Aug 24. See concert listings (jazz/world) for details.