It’s been ten years since the music of Watcha Clan started moving to the rhythm of the waters of the Mediterranean. Speeding forward through frenetic rhythms or rendering homage to their roots, the clan, a real family embodied in the voice of Sista K, never forget their destiny or their mission, their search for space and freedom. Above all, they are true nomads in the world of music.

Always on the move, Sista K’s family history is intimately entwined with her music. She’s Ashkenazi through her mother and Sephardic and Berber through her father, an Algerian independence fighter who was French before he was born (an 1870 decree gave French nationality to the Jewish population of Algeria). She could have been born in the land of Israel, where her parents met, but saw the light of day in the shadow of Marseille’s Bonne Mère. “Back then,” she says, “in the northern quarters of Marseille, no-one cared who was Jewish and who was Muslim. We all lived together.”

Altruistic dealers in cultures and humanities, they juggle rhythms and languages to the beat of the memories they have, the people they meet and the places they see. From the Eastern European melodies Karine’s mother sang to her when she was little to the chaabi, the Algerian blues Nassim the rouya from Oran, introduced them to, to the hip-hop kick that appeals to Clem, the clan’s music man and sampler extraordinaire; Diaspora Hi-Fi, their new album, sings with the freedom of spirit of travelling people. They’re free and committed, and above all, they are nomads.

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Watcha Clan in the Press:

Watcha Clan: A Pan-Mediterranean Musical Mix (NPR)
Watcha Clan: Controlled Chaos In Concert (NPR)
Global Beat Fusion: Watcha Clan Live at Summerstage (Huffington Post)