24 PERFUMES

MOHAMED-ALI KAMMOUN

& ARTISTS FROM THE 24 TUNISIAN REGIONS

24 Perfumes of the pianist and composer Mohamed Ali KAMMOUN is a vibrant tribute to a diverse and multifaceted Tunisia. It is an artistic project that offers an authentic, young, and modern musical portrait of Tunisia. 24 perfumes is inspired by the musical aromas and sensations transcribed in the palimpsest of the Tunisian musical heritage to which the composer adds both his own touch and an additional dimension generating a sensational spatio-temporal journey.

The work was carried out over a period of 4 years, from 2016 to 2020, and was articulated in 3 phases: field collection, contemporary creation, and documentation.

GENESIS OF THE PROJECT

2013 – 2015

The project began in December 2013 with a week of workshop-concert creation in Mahdia inspired by the Nûba ‘ardhâwî known as Om Ezzine. The same concept was then repeated in Chenini (Tataouine) in February 2016, then in Dar Sebastien Hammamet in June 2014, and in Tunis in September 2014. In April 2014, the Tunisian National Orchestra presented a concert at the Municipal Theater of Tunis, named Visions/Tba’ wehkâya, dedicated to the music of Mohamed-Ali KAMMOUN. The latter presents his first sketches of perfumes.

Laureate 2015 of the Ministry of Culture and the French Institute of Tunisia, our project “The 24 Perfumes” has benefited from a complete of the “Cité Internationale des Arts de Paris” for one year. This residency allowed us to begin the instrumental writing of the Preludes (instrumental perfumes) and to structure the project in its current form of Moving Caravan. The residency also allowed us to meet and cooperate with the renowned artist Raouf Karray, the graphic designer and director of the visual creation of the project “24 Perfumes”.

FIELD COLLECTION

2016 – 2017

A field collection in all Tunisian regions (24 governorates) was carried out during the first two years of the project, led by Mohamed-Ali KAMMOUN and his band. Among the loyal musicians participating in this caravan are Nourhene Heddaoui and Eya Daghnouj (vocals), Chadhe Hichri (choirmaster), Lotfi Soua (percussion), Ahmed Litaiem (nây), and Habib Ben Attia (violin).

Twenty-one artistic residencies of one week each took place in total, involving more than 300 artists, heritage holders, and young academics.

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FIELD COLLECTION

2016-2018

A field collection in all Tunisian regions (24 governorates) was carried out during the first two years of the project, led by Mohamed-Ali KAMMOUN and his band. Among the loyal musicians participating in this caravan are Nourhene Heddaoui and Eya Daghnouj (vocals), Chadhe Hichri (choirmaster), Lotfi Soua (percussion), Ahmed Litaiem (nây), and Habib Ben Attia (violin)

Twenty-one artistic residencies of one week each took place in total, involving more than 300 artists, heritage holders, and young academics.

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The Show

2018 – 2022

Mixing Tunisian music, jazz, symphonic music, and visual arts, an orchestral creation named 24 Perfumes was created in 2018. The show was made up of heritage pieces developed and arranged for a large multicultural orchestra, as well as instrumental compositions named preludes and bearing the names of mythical and symbolic places in Tunisia: Nafta, Sicca Veneria, Kasba, Sakiet Sidi Youssef, etc.

The show had a great success during its Premiere on August 17, 2018, at the Closing of the International Festival of Carthage, where masters invited from the regions were honored…

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Double Album

Released in 2022

Since the end of 2018, a new important phase of the project has been initiated: “24 Perfumes, la doc.”. Its ambition is to immortalize the whole experience lived, firstly by the artists of different generations, and of various artistic disciplines, and secondly by all the stakeholders (artistic director, organizers, technicians, media, public, etc.). The documentation produced for this project, based essentially on a double audio album and a documentary film, reflects the entire approach to the creation, enhancement and revitalization of the musical heritage adopted in the “24 perfumes”.

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Double Album

Released in 2022

Since the end of 2018, a new important phase of the project has been initiated: “24 Perfumes, la doc.”. Its ambition is to immortalize the whole experience lived, firstly by the artists of different generations, and of various artistic disciplines, and secondly by all the stakeholders (artistic director, organizers, technicians, media, public, etc.). The documentation produced for this project, based essentially on a double audio album and a documentary film, reflects the entire approach to the creation, enhancement and revitalization of the musical heritage adopted in the “24 perfumes”.

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Zied Zouari

“This double album, to which I had the honor of contributing as a violinist, is the result of a colossal work. The recordings began in December 2018 and were completed in November 2020, between the Gammarth and Aouina (Tunis) studios. The work achieved represents for me a turning point in the history of contemporary Tunisian music and the guarantor of a multiple and deep cultural identity. Mohamed Ali KAMMOUN is today the ambassador of this new Tunisian music of which he is both a fine connoisseur and a faithful composer and arranger. But the “24 Perfumes” cannot be summed up in a musical project. It is an extraordinary human experience, an invitation to a dreamlike journey through the regions of the country, whose richness never ceases to surprise us and invite us to invent.”

DOCUMENTARY FILM

To be released in 2022

A feature-length documentary film called “Caravan of the 24 Perfumes” is currently being made, supported by the Tfanen Fund. It retraces all the experiences of the project and pays tribute to an ancient musical heritage of great richness, which is in danger of disappearing. In search of lost treasures, a caravan traveled for two years through the Tunisian regions, creating a sound and visual portrait of a woman. Musical and visual creation residences were filmed in the regions, as well as backstage recordings of studios, shows…

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