France is seen as a land of asylum not only in the political realm but also in the cultural one. On the music side many foreign artists have found, via French record companies, a recording contract and at the same time the perfect springboard for an international career (Cesaria Evora is one of the best-known examples).

Originating from a different sunspot than the diva of "la morna", Ishtar, whose mother is Egyptian and her father Moroccan of Spanish origin, has been surrounded by what is known today as "World Music" since childhood. Moving about between her singer grandmother and musician father, she learned to sing and initiated herself in theatre. At the age of 24, Ishtar left the nest and set out to discover the big wide world. After having travelled across Asia and Australia, she stopped off in Paris where she met Charles Ibgui, a producer by trade. Her stay, which should have only lasted one week, has turned into five years.

France discovered Alabina...and exported her, Ibgui then signed her to his label, Atoll Music, and offered her a song "Alabina" which today she admits to have accepted for the love of her grandmother to whom she dedicated the song. To accompany the beautiful Andalusian-Arab, Charles Ibgui set off on the search for gypsy musicians.

After several months of auditions, he hired the group Los Ninos de Sara (Sara's Children) whose four members lived in Montpellier (in southeastern France) and frequently performed at gypsy celebrations in the area. Together they formed Alabina - we don't really know if the name refers to the group or its figurehead/singer (cf Blondie)-. Soberly called "The Album", Alabina's first opus came out in 1996. The song "Alabina" progressively invaded the airwaves and sold like hotcakes (more than 150,000 sold) like the following single "Ole y Ola" which qualified as a silver record following the example of its predecessor. The album followed suit and ended up a gold record (almost 190,000 sold to this day). During this time the group, who some considered as a mere dance product due to the musical arrangement of the songs, went out on tour and travelled around several countries and played some prestigious places, like Olympia in Paris, and treated itself to the luxury of being the opening act for Carlos Santana's 1997 French concert tour. This rudimentary work, which took them from Los Angeles to New York passing by Israel and even Armenia, paid off. During this time the album began selling in many countries: 70,000 copies in the USA, 35,000 in Spain, 25.000 in Italy, 20,000 in Israel...

Autumn 98: The moment of truth...

October 13th 1998 will remain an important date in the history of Ishtar and her associates. That was the day that the group's new album "Sahara" was released in French-speaking countries. The much dreaded exercise of the second album really binds careers...between now and the end of the year "Sahara", renamed "The Album II" in certain places, will be available in Mexico, Australia, Canada, Russia, Honk Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, The United Arab Emirates, the USA, and Central and South America. The first signs are encouraging. "Sahara", which uses the same recipe that created the appeal of "The Album", has sold 35,000 copies in France after only three weeks and is already ranked 8th in Billboard Magazine's Top World Music in the USA. Constantly performing, the group won't play in France before March 6th where they will be awaited at the Palais des Congres in Paris as part of a national tour.

Gilles Rio

"Sahara" (Sony/Atoll)