Lotfi Attar

Biography

Lotfi Attar, better known as Lotfi Raïna Raï, is an Algerian guitarist, songwriter and singer, born March 14, 1952 in Sidi Bel Abbès. Lotfi Attar grew up in a family of five brothers and a sister, all music lovers, including his older brother Kamel, musician, first guitarist of Sidi Bel Abbès. When the war of independence broke out in 1954, Lotfi's father was already in the national movement before becoming an FLN activist, imprisoned several times. On the eve of independence, in 1962, his father was assassinated by an OAS terrorist commando and the house was dynamited. The whole family, threatened with death by the OAS, took refuge in Tlemcen. Barely ten years old, this painful tragedy marked young Lotfi for life. With the cruelty of the war he stopped his schooling with a Certificate of Primary Studies, he began to play the guitar. At the age of twelve, in 1964, he lost his older brother Kamel, who died following an illness. In 1969, he worked for a watchmaker. At the age of 15, he took up the electric guitar, and in 1973 bought his first Fender Mustang 1964 electric guitar with which he learned the blues, inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana. In 1969, with a few friends, Lotfi Attar created the group Les Aigles Noirs with Frih Tayeb with, among others, Kada Zina and a few years later, they covered an old song: Ya Zina Diri Latay. In 1971, he met producer Rachid Baba Ahmed, and began his professional musical career. Former members of the Aigles Noirs created the legendary group Raïna Raï in Paris in 1980 with Lotfi Attar, Hachemi Djellouli, Tarik Chikhi and Kaddour Bouchentouf. This group is considered the pioneer of raï music. They enjoyed success from their first album thanks to the song "Ya Zina" which gave them international success. In July 1985, the group broke up just after their last concert in Algiers, Lotfi did not agree with the musical direction the group was taking. At the end of 2001, Lotfi relaunched Raïna Raï with Hachemi until August 2003. And there again, it was the breakup following a lively evening in Béjaïa. In 2015, Lotfi Attar once again relaunched the group Raïna Raï, with certain members from the beginnings of the group, including the drummer and founding member of Raïna Raï, Hachemi Djellouli and the singer, Mohamed Guebbache known as Kada. In 1985, he created with his wife Hamida, lyricist, the group Amarna, for which he composed the music, the texts were inspired by lyric poetry. Djilali Amarna was the singer of the group. Amarna published four albums: Chouli (1986) Saf (1986), Waïle (1987) and El Ghaba" (1989). Hachemi Djellouli, returned from France, joined Amarna. The group reformed in 2001, to release the album entitled " Bye Bye". He will sign the soundtrack for the film Harraga Blues, directed by Moussa Haddad and released in 2012. He also composes the music for the documentary on the life of Hassi Messaoud, made in the 1990s. He also contributes to the music of film, by Lyès Salem "El Wahrani". In 2008 and 2010, he created music for plays in Sidi Bel Abbès: "Topaze" by Marcel Pagnol, and "Rashomon". He then published more personal and experimental compositions, notably a new style called Goumb Guits in which the electric guitar reproduces the sound of the guembri.