Born in
Aurès, Houria Aïchi went to study
psychology in Paris in the 1970s. While teaching sociology, she started to perform in 1985, singing traditional songs of her childhood (
lullabies, love songs), accompanied by traditional instruments (
gasbâ,
bendir), Her first two released albums did not open doors. Houria Aïchi also participated in the music for the film
The Sheltering Sky by
Bernardo Bertolucci (1990). Her third album,
Khalwa (meaning
A Mystical Retreat) was a collaboration with which was devoted to the sacred songs of Algeria, including those of
dhikr and
soufi. Houria Aïchi performed both in 2008 and 2013 at the festival
Au fil des voix (
fr). She performed regularly in Paris from the 1990s. After the winter season of 2017–18 in France, Houria Aïchi was invited to the "Festival Salam Orient" on October 21, 2019, in
Vienna. ==Discography==