Ahmed Djamil Ghouli alias DJAM is a singer, song-writer and composer of modern Algerian music. Born in 1985 in Algiers (Algeria), he took his first steps in music at the age of 14, inspired by his mother, a passionate fan of Algiers’ urban music. She encouraged him to join a school specialized in classical Arab-Andalusian music. In 2004, at the occasion of the annual show at his university, he improvised a few Gnawa standards and an original composition that was a great hit with the audience. The response he received pushed him to create his group, a little bit later known as: Djmawi Africa.
The group quickly experienced a prompt success with the youth that fell particularly in love with the charisma and generous performance of the lead vocalist, Djamil. Subsequently, a strong bond started to build between him and the audience throughout all these years. The first album of Djmawi Africa called “Mama” is recorded in 2007 at Canal 93 in a suburb of Paris. The album held the #1 spot of sales in Algeria for a period of two (2) years. The release was not just a commercial success, it was critically acclaimed.
Following the album’s success, a memorable tour across Algeria followed. They went to meet tens of thousands of people that create their loyal fan base that Djamil loved to interact with on social media. On the international level, they have also enjoyed a gratifying variety of opportunities and experiences in: Burkina Faso, Egypt, India, Mali, Senegal, Brazil, France, Zanzibar, Cameroon, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, Croatia, etc.
In 2010, A DVD/Album titled ‘Echfa’ is released as a result of a collaboration between Djmawi Africa and a multitude of musicians from around the world, this lead the group to add a documentary that covered the journey and a LIVE footage of the last show of the tour in Algiers.
With a mind full of dreams, Djamil explores the different worlds of music; he is particularly fond of the African sounds that he delectably consumes abundantly. This fusion culminates in the release in 2013 of Djmawi Africa’s sophmore album called “Avancez l’arrière”, for the most part written, composed and arranged by Djamil.
In the mix of it all, Djamil decided to dab into cinema and participated in the movie “Les Terrasses” by Merzak Allouache. He would then get the leading role of a sitcom “DAR BOB” that ran for two seasons, it was a great hit that created a lot of buzz.
Since 2015, Djamil has been living in France to finish his master in Musicology at the University of Paris VIII. He decided to put an end to his participation in the Djmawi Africa Adventure to concentrate fully on his solo project: DJAM. He built a new team around him of talented musicians that share with him the groove and the sonic vision he aspires to create. He is currently working to finalize his first solo album which has lots of African and Reggae influences, sounds that are very dear to him.
