Ahmed Malek (أحمد مالك), born March 6, 1931 in Fort-de-l'eau and died July 24, 2008 in Algiers, is an Algerian artist, musician and composer.

Biography

Eldest of three brothers and a sister. At a very young age, he began working in factories to help his father provide for the family. Ahmed Malek's mother died when he was 12 years old. It was then that he decided to become a musician. After completing his schooling, he enrolled at the Algiers Conservatory.

Very early on, he was recognized by his peers and won numerous international and national awards. The "First Prize for Composition Arts and Letters", in 1972, the gold medal at the "Panafrican Festival", in 1976, and the "National Merit Prize for Musical Composition", in 1987.

He composed film scores for television shows, documentaries and especially for the cinema. He was also interested in the use of new technologies in music (MAO, synthesis, etc.), thus ensuring a link between traditional Algerian music and a more modernist movement.

Head of the Algerian Television orchestra, Ahmed Malek represented Algeria in several international events such as the universal exhibitions of Japan, Canada, Cuba, Spain, in France at the Printemps de Bourges...





Ambassador of Algerian culture throughout the world to represent his country of origin, he later taught at the Algiers Conservatory and was the pioneer of electro-acoustic arrangements.

By the late 1990s, his health began to deteriorate. Ahmed Malek died on July 24, 2008 at his home in El Mouradia, Algiers, at the age of 76, leaving two daughters Maya and Henya.

Documentary & Tributes

In 2019 with the help of the musician's family, the German label Habibi Funk decided to reissue, in the form of a compilation, fourteen pieces by Ahmed Malek, including two versions of the theme from "Omar Gatlato" by Merzak Allouache. There will also be themes taken from the soundtrack of "Inspector Tahar's Vacation", the great public success of Moussa Haddad, of "Silence of the Ashes", the unique production of cinematographer Youcef Sahraoui, of "Autopsy of 'a plot' by Mohamed Slim Riad and 'A roof, a family' by Rabah Laradji.

The Algerian Cinematheque in Algiers paid tribute to him with a retrospective in 2021, "Ahmed Malek, the Algerian Ennio Morricone",

Museum of modern and contemporary art in 2019, "Planète Malek – A retrospective": an archival exhibition of the composer and musician Ahmed Malek, Algiers.





Discography / Filmography

1972: Inspector Tahar's Vacation by Moussa Haddad
1972: The Charbonnier by Mohamed Bouamari
1974: Massinissa - documentary
1974: Forbidden Zone by Ahmed Lallem
1974: El Massoul
1974: The Legacy of Mohamed Bouamari
1975: The Children of November by Moussa Haddad
1977: Omar Gatlato by Merzak Allouache
1977: The Uprooted by Lamine Merbah
1977: Algeria
1977: Leïla and the others by Sid Ali Mazif
1977: Barriers by Ahmed Lallem
1978: Autopsy of a plot by Mohamed Slimane Riad
1979: The Adventures of a Hero by Merzak Allouache
1980: Aziza by Abdellatif Ben Ammar
1980: Moussa's Wedding by Mefti Tayeb
1982: One roof, one family by Rabah Laradji
1985: How much I love you by Azzedine Meddour
1986: The Man Who Looked at the Windows by Merzak Allouache

http://www.discogs.com/fr/artist/3860005-Ahmed-Malek