It was during a morning of truancy in a video club, between Miyazaki, Clint Eastwood and Yves Robert that Anis Benhallak, then 11 years old, met his musical passion. Not by immersing himself in soundtracks, but thanks to a child's guitar hanging behind the counter that he will never give back.
Neither conservatory nor music school; in an Algeria of the 90's scarred by civil war and religious fundamentalism, the records of Oum Kalthoum, M.Tahar Fergani or James Brown that his mother listened to over and over again will be his best teachers to learn how to make his first real instrument sound harmoniously. And his ear, his best ally to learn solfeggio on his own, to appropriate the strings, to make them vibrate every day, until he made it his job and his passport with which he travelled the world.
On a road illuminated by Rock, Rai Music, Funk or traditional Algerian music, between short-lived formations and tours in the country, the change of direction occurs. The album Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis definitively deviates the needle of his compass, and at 16 years old, jazz becomes an obvious choice for him and standards his new playmates. Influenced by musicians such as Charlie Parker, Pat Metheny, Cannonball Adderley, Jeff Beck or Frank Zappa, his musical vocabulary is enriched, and improvisation
becomes an art that he will tame, until a perfect mastery.
The following scores were written when he arrived in France in 2001, in a world music and afro circuit that Anis quickly integrated, in parallel with the jazz clubs of which he became a regular. Guitarist, arranger, composer, active in various groups, he settles in the leader's chair in 2011, with his group "Paradoxical Project".
The lights of the East reflected in his guitar give his instrument the intonations of an oud or a guembri. With his strings stretched towards Africa, Anis traces out spiritual, meditative and contemplative melodies and solos. Chaotic, fast and nervous. A powerful and marked musical identity, the blue note is adorned with jazz-rock and chaabi. And the group embarks on national and international festivals, including the prestigious Jazz à Vienne, which it will play several times.
In 2014, "Pradoxical Project" (Bonsai Music/Sony) was released, a first album that immortalized a style and playing as unique as it is singular, a rich elixir of modern and ethnic jazz, a surprising mix that earned him a remarkable reception from critics in France and around the world.
In 2016, by creating his own label "Miz'art Production", he gave himself the freedom to
compose and produce without constraint. It is with this philosophy that his second album "Apes Theater" (2018) is released, urban asphalt tumults, quietness of sunny alleys, contemplation of infinite spaces, Anis' strings become the narrator of a film for which he is the scriptwriter.
Multi-instrumentalist, producer and arranger with transcontinental influences. His music is nomadic like him, globetrotter, today he shares his life between Paris, New York and Algiers, his artistic proposals are a universal exploration in the same way as the music he composes with great delicacy. No emotion escapes him.
In 2022, electronic sounds are invited in the scores of "The Clown Theory", 3rd album for which he plays for the first time behind the microphone with "Last Song".
In 2023 he officially joined Fela Kuti's famous group Egypt 80 with his son Seun Kuti for their international tour and recorded his 6th album produced by Lenny Kravitz.
Echoing this video club which was to change his life, Anis Benhallak also writes his own music in 35 MM and composes the soundtracks for several films and plays (Until the end by Y.Chouikh, Alger by Night by Y.Koussim, L'Ombre Et La Lumière and De L'Autre Côté Du Miroir by R.Laredj, Guillotine by A.Guillon...).
More than a continuation, a logical evolution for a musician whose hands have always transformed his guitar into a storyteller...
Collaboration:
Seun Kuti, Egypt 80, Lenny Kravitz, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oludum, Karim Ziad, Les Freres Smith...
When music becomes a passport, you can free yourself from everything and go explore the stars.
Partnerships
