Biography

Driven by his desire to write about freedom and sing for freedom, Dendana’s journey started with his exile in France. Dendana’s 4th album is titles « Chadi Madi », which is an Algerian expression which translates to «the Eenie-Meenie» game in English. This expression reminds him of his childhood and takes him back to the neighborhoods where he grew up in Tlemcen, Algeria.  The texts of the album are written in  « DARIJA », the Algerian vernacular which is a mix of Arabic, French and Berber language, among other languages. This beauty of a language is a reflection of the society’s diversity and transculturality  Dendana uses everyday words to talk about freedom, togetherness, nostalgia and exile. This Album is influenced by the sub-Saharan heritage music and pays homage to the Black Algerian folklore that has been marginalized in a society where authoritarianism outweighs democracy and where the religion still hinders freedoms and reinforces taboos. Chadi Madi, Eenie-meenie-miney-mo… What if there was no other choice than to tell the story of Algeria as it really is? A multicolored Algeria. To paint this album, Dendana draws on blues, reggae, rock and gnawa music and their timeless accents. Dendana follows the principle of « Three chords & the truth , to describe the dreams and realities of a contemporary and independent Algeria , but whose libertarian spirit remains intact.