Singing in French and Arabic, dressed in stark white, with flashing eyes and curly black hair he won the hearts of the audience at Alliance Francaise on the weekend.

Madjid did not have any formal training, unlike the other accompanying musicians who studied music formally and teach music as profession. Madjid just listened to popular songs like those of the legendary French singer Edith Piaf, as a child. He was also influenced by his mother who was into music.

Madjid combines Arabic and French in his singing, as he is strongly influenced by both languages. Born in France, of Algerian origin, he wanted to reflect the two different cultures, languages and musical trends. His own origin is mixed and he has listened to a lot of fusion music like that of the Beatles and has been exposed to the music of the east like that of Ustad Fateh Ali. Madjid has always wanted to combine the tunes of the east and west, the problem being keeping the tunes and wordings fluid. He is exposed to the tabla and the sitar and he is fascinated by the music of the Subcontinent. He has sung mainly in Paris and the smaller cities near the capital, where he found the response very warm.

His performance in Dhaka is the first outside France. The lyrics are by Frederic Andre while the tunes are his own. They include songs like "Alger Alger", "Sans vertu ni vice", "A l'amour", "Rose Rouge" and "Assif Yeccay". As he moves about his house, the café and the bar he works on the right tunes. His own choice of music includes everything like jazz, pop, rock and heavy metal. He is into Bulgarian music in particular which he finds quite mysterious and moving. His advice to young musicians is that they should practice diligently.

The Fete de la Musique was a rich programme that brought in a large variety of musical styles. This included piano playing by the "Ecole de Musique" run by Mahjabeen Rahman, along with Tagore and other traditional Bangla songs, by Chhayanaut and young groups like Uronchandi and Meghdol. There was ghazal too by Mesbah.

This celebration was first launched in France in 1985. This was to bring together all music loving people and not just professionals. Music came out of the French cocoon of a national celebration and combined tunes and notes from other cultures too.