Salim, your art captivates with its gentle power, rooted in your deep musical culture and your ability to deconstruct ideas and rhythms, transforming them into architectural structures built on the language of the soul's rhythm. It etches itself into the human spirit, as if one is journeying through a galaxy of world music, engaging with it without boundaries. I could pause at many moments I have shared with you, where we collaborated on distinguished projects. I can only be proud of that, as my name is now linked to one of the brightest musical architects in our time.

Performing and recording the "Miniatures Algériennes" by composer Salim Dada, as part of my "African Pianism" programme, was a deeply rewarding experience. His music blends North African traditions with contemporary classical language in a way that is both imaginative and expressive. As a pianist, I was drawn to the richness of colour, rhythm, and atmosphere in his writing, as well as the unique perspective it brings to contemporary African art music. His works are a valuable and distinctive contribution to the piano repertoire.

It was a great pleasure and honor for me to prepare and record Salim Dada's guitar music. His music is full of Arab accents without falling into picturesqueness — with high quality, originality and virtuosity at the service of music, and perfect guitar writing too. I was pleased to include "Ya Qalbi" in my album "Romerías" (2010) and "Au chemin du retour" in my album "Sergio Puccini Plays Paul McCartney's A Leaf" (2017). I am very grateful to Salim for trusting me to be the interpreter of his wonderful guitar music.