T?kitoi

Following up on the excellent Made in Medina, Algerian-born singer Rachid Taha returns with the equally impressive Tekitoi, his fifth album. Taha has long mixed North African rai and chaabi with alternative rock, electronic sounds (Brian Eno co-writes one song), techno rhythms and a smattering of other styles. But instead of turning these diverse sounds into a cacophonic bowl of mush, Taha and longtime collaborator Steve Hillage balance muscular rhythms, a panoramic feeling of space, and Taha's own rock star leanings--never has this fusion been better illustrated than here on "Safi (Pure)." Taha also shows a wicked sense of humor with his ironic and somewhat tongue-in-cheek version of the Clash's "Rock The Casbah," taking some of the funk out while adding strings (by Egyptian Strings Ensemble) that push up the kitsch value. This album and its maker's many fans prove that not everyone of Middle Eastern origin is a conservative or a fundamentalist. For Taha, though, it's simply another boundary breaking effort. --Tad Hendrickson  more