Name: Mohamed Lamouri
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Nationality: Algerian
Current release: Mohamed Lamouri's Mehari is out via Almost Musique.

If you enjoyed this Mohamed Lamouri interview and would like to find out more about his music, visit him on Instagram, and Facebook. 
 


Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I'm really impressed by songs I heard on the radio. Some of them are real sources of inspiration.

The fact that there is not just the original Raï feeling in my music, may have been inspired by occidental pop:



Reggae:
 


and latin music, as on "Jamais la netferko." 

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Since I'm visually impaired, visualisation is not my way. I can stick to a melody for years, without any idea or concept behind it. This can mean that I'm obsessed by a very simple group of notes, then words will feed the notes. It is a long and repetitive process.

I sing in the metro everyday, taking note of how people react to my work and so the melodies progress. They evolve slowly, and then, at some mysterious point, they are ready to be recorded.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Coffee with a lot of sugar is my fuel, for everything I have to do. And when I'm not singing, I'm listening to the radio.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

At some point they need to grow together. And often they need to be simplified together.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

Good lyrics are not necessarily poetry. In my opinion they have to relate to particular relationships with universal feelings as much as possible.
 
Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

There is something I have to tell.

The stories I'm telling are already lead by faith. I like to describe them as simply and focused as possible. I ask myself: How are my feelings when I tell to myself this particular story?

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

This could happen during studio work, the production process, and the arrangements. But not during the writing and composing.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

Nostalgia and sometimes melancholia are part of my creative state of mind.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

I would say that when the studio work is done, with all the producer's work done, musicians recorded, mix on his way ... when the overall sound of the song is concrete.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

Since the songs are long time maturated before recording, I don't evaluate them  later.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

I realised a maxi, ("Chanteur de paris 45t") an EP (Pas de problèmes) and two albums (Underground raï love and Méhari). Each time when the release date is close I'm already working on long term songs elaboration again.

I don't feel empty with music.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

The paternity of a song is something mysterious and unalterable. Songs are pure expressions of myself - but coffee with sugar is good, too.