With a large bunch of bleached hair, Rachid Taha was able to distinguish himself well at the start of his career. Later it turned out that he hardly needed such outward antics, because Taha's original music was usually rock solid. And listening back to Ole Ole from 1995 shows that that album has also stood the test of time quite well. The exciting Nokta, for example, is still one of the highlights
… of the French Algerian's oeuvre. In contrast to his later albums, Ole Ole has slightly more electronic accents. Furthermore, there are Indian influences in Tabla Motown. Finally, Taha explains why he named the album Ole Ole. The Spanish word is derived from the Arabic phrase 'yallah!' which means as much as 'keep going!'. Fortunately, Taha has taken that exhortation to heart for the rest of his career. (PdK)more
