Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Nuba Nova 2 (2026) [Hi-Res]

Algerian Andalusian music, one of the peaks of the classical tradition, remains firmly rooted in its lands and era, and that rootedness gives it power, with canons that seem unshakeable. Yet the album Nuba Nova 2, by singer Meryem Koufi and electric oud player Mehdi Haddab, shows that this is, after all, music — and music can change. The duo turns to the ancient poetry at the foundation of the Andalusian nouba (suite) and brings into its heart everything a “pirate ship” might seize on long voyages — hence the spirit of “pirate utopias”: libertarian experiments that flourished in the Mediterranean on the ruins of the Andalusian “golden age.”

Meryem Koufi grew up in one of Algiers’ old neighborhoods, where feelings outlast centuries and the hardships of History. She studied with distinguished masters and gained a rare command of the kouitra, a small lute with four double strings typical of the Algiers and Tlemcen schools. But she had no ambition to follow the classical school strictly: travels to Tunisia and Spain gave her music recognizable colors, and her voice stands out for its purity and intensity. Mehdi Haddab brought to the project the experience of his wanderings and a musical arsenal as vast as the world. His playing is rooted in Algiers sensibility — mixed and many-colored — and from early on he was drawn to the disorienting sounds of his highly personal electric oud, at once sensual and nervous.

On Nuba Nova 2, strong and weak beats are separated and distributed among different instruments — drums, bass, synthesizer, congas and others — overturning the conventional classical order. The result is a “joyful caravanserai”: the five movements of the Algiers nouba are respected, but every deviation opens a path toward new horizons. (Inspired by Amine Khaled.)

Tracklist:
1. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Tahya Bikoum, Pt. 1
2. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Istikhbar kouitra zidane
3. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Tahya Bikoum, Pt. 2
4. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Tahya Bikoum, Pt. 3
5. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Laou kan el milah younsifou, Pt. 1
6. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Laou kan el milah younsifou, Pt. 2
7. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Koursi Rasd
8. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Istikhbar Fhal Ghrib
9. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Dûmûî Rassayel
10. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Atir al anfass, Pt. 1
11. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Atir al anfass, Pt. 2
12. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Istikhbar for Erik
13. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Rimoun nadhratni
14. Mehdi Haddab, Meryem Koufi - Aroubi Mezmoum