The rebellious spirit of Emel Mathlouthi's songs made Rania Khallaf ponder the real value of this force Her strong, operatic voice comes from somewhere deep in North African history. The defiance in her songs drives one to another place, somewhere deep inside the heart, to find one's own hidden strength. Emel Mathlouthi, who is Tunisian by birth, is now in her late 20s and is settled in Paris. Her musical training was no more or less than her adoration of the very popular Egyptian musician Sheikh Imam. She is one of those rare independent female Arab singers. As well as a singer she is also a song writer, composer, and a brilliant guitar player. Her break into fame came in 2006 in Amman, when she entered the Radio Monte Middle East competition and reached the finals. Mathlouthi is endowed with an outstanding vocal capacity. She appears on stage bare-footed and wearing a racy, short red dress, carrying her guitar. Her presence on stage is awesome; it brings to mind the familiar red- and-black pose of the Argentinian Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, who was a major figure of the Cuban revolution and whose death and stylised image has made him a persasive left-wing symbol and a global figure in popular culture. Mathlouthi's captivating style draws its inspiration from her African-Mediterranean background and Western electric music. Her songs, delivered in a strong voice, perfectly reflect this vigour; they call for rebellion, for freedom, and for equal opportunities for all peoples. On the stage of the Geniena Theatre in Al-Azhar Park she appeared as a flame, singing her song "Naci en Palestine" in Spanish and Arabic for the liberation of Palestine. She strides freely and confidently about the stage, swaying and sometimes dancing to the music. Mathlouthi studied graphic design at university in Tunisia. Her very first experience as a singer was at university when she formed a small band. "It was hard to convince my parents that I wanted to study music, they would have definitely have rejected it," she says. Tunisian women, as in most Arab countries, are deprived of their full freedom to choose their careers, especially when it comes to music and the arts. Shortly after her graduation in 2007, however, Mathlouthi decided to break with this rigid circle of family obligations and launch her professional career as a singer in France. "There are some cultural organisations attached to the Ministry of Culture in France that are focusing on supporting the art and music of young African and Middle Eastern musicians and artists," she says. "They helped me a great deal in producing my first album, which included songs in Arabic, English and French. The songs were about day-to-day experiences and her nostalgic memories of her own country, Tunisia. Most of them call for a change of mood and thought, and a move from established stereotypes. Her favourite of her own songs is " Ma Likit " ("I didn't find it"), for which she wrote the music and lyrics. The song is a blend of oriental and jazz styles, and gives her strong voice room to fill the huge space of the theatre. This romantic song received warm acclaim from the audience. Another brilliant song is " Ana sir al-warda al-hamra " ("I am the secret of the red flower"). "I am the free people who do not fear; I am the voices who do not panic; I am a special meaning amid the mess," the song goes. Mathlouthi surprised the audience with a song written by Fouad Haddad, the popular Egyptian Ammiya poet, " Shayed osork fi al-mazare'a " ("Build your castles on the farms"), a song popular with people in Egypt and Arab countries since it calls for the union of labourers, students and peasant farmers in the development of society and further discloses the malpractices of the police State in the 1970s. She dedicated " Hay ala elkefah " ("Struggle is good"), a song by El-Shaikh Imam, to "all the fake change-makers in the Arab countries," as she declared. "Go ballistic for war so that morning will come about, struggle, O Egypt, against hunger, against suppression and against barbarism," the song goes on. These two songs were warmly welcomed at the theatre, despite the good number of foreigners and Arabs in the audience. Mathlouthi's performance was par-excellent; she infused her rebellious, life-loving spirit into the hearts of the audience, pushing them to interact, sing and clap along with her band which consisted of a guitar, a violin and percussion. She also proved wrong the common assumption that Maghrebi music is not popular here because Egyptians baulk at the singers' strange accent. "We are all brothers," she commented. "I owe much to the music of my mentor Sheikh Imam which really formed my musical character," she told Al-Ahram Weekly with a note of pride. She described him as a liberal musician who literally showed her the way. "Whenever I listened to his records, he gave me a lot of hope. His music talks about love, and the right of poor people to survive. This is exactly what I am." Mathlouthi enjoys writing the lyrics of her songs, "Writing is a great thing and the best way to release tension and pain," she says. " Ethnya tweela " ("A long way") and "Helma" "A dream") are the best of the songs she has written. She is preparing for the release of another album at the end of the year, which will take its name from her hit song " Ma Lqeet ". It is a strong political message, but it also has a softer side. "What I long for is to help people to change, dream, or at least feel happy even for few minutes in their stressful lives."
