Moh Alileche

Alileche, (pronounced ali LESH) Moh was born and raised in the Djurdjura mountains in the Kabylia region of Algeria. From his village, at the age of 9, he taught himself to play traditional Amazigh (Berber) songs on a hand-made-single-stringed instrument, (see picture below) evolving to a guitar and later to the North African 10-silkstringed mandol or "agember" in Tamazight language. His talent on "agember" grew, and soon he became known in his region for his skills as a musician, singer and songwriter, resulting in his very first radio (channel 2) interview in 1980 with hosts Medjahed Mouhoub and Mohand Rachid in the capital city of Algiers.

Since his move to the USA in 1990, Moh has a captivated many American audiences with his authentic style. He has participated in a variety of events, including San Diego State International Festival, UC Berkeley International Spring Festival, San Francisco World Music Festival in California and others in the Pacific Northwest. After the release of his first CD, Tragedy in 1999, several Northern California radio stations interviewed Moh, including KPFA 94.1 in Berkeley, KALW 91.7 in San Francisco and KKUP in Santa Clara. In 2001, some of his music was incorporated in a movie documentary entitled "The Visionary".

His 3rd. Cd "North Africa's Destiny?" was selected best 2005 world music album in the category "Africa", by the Indie Acoustic Project (IAP). In 2009 he released his 4th CD “In Memory of a Hero”, an Homage to his longtime friend, singer songwriter and activist Lounes Matoub, who was assassinated in Kabylia, Algeria at the age of 42 for criticizing the government. Music from this CD was incorporated in the 2012 movie Erased (released as The Expatriate outside of the US) . 
"When the Dust Settles" came out in 2012. Some of the music was incorporated in a short film “Sending Saïd Home” (2014) France/Morocco. 

"This musical instrument was made out of street garbage. For the base, Alileche used an oil can. The neck was a found piece of wood. An old piece of electrical wiring worked as the lone string." -Jonathan Curiel SF Chronicle

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