Very interesting new instrumental album from Marcel Khalife. He's mixing jazz elements with Arab music, not an original idea I realize, but I like what he's doing here more than I like just about any other combination of Arab music with jazz that I've heard. I'm glad he is getting away from the big orchestral works which all sounded the same to me, and which I didn't like to begin with. The personnel includes his sons (I assume): Rami and Bachar Khalife, Peter Herbert (who typically plays with jazz musicians) on bass, and a cameo appearance by violinist Omar Guey (soloing). The first three or four tracks flow together quite nicely, but the fifth--what is this--this thing? I heard something very similar in a song on an older Khalife album. It's like an extended Chopinesque version of "Happy Birthday To You!" Unbelievably sacharine. I have no idea what he is trying to do here. Nothing else on the CD is like that one track, although I'm not crazy about his son Rami's piano playing in some cases. A little too influenced by Romantic era classical piano. (Both his sons are trained in European classical music.) Overall, I like it quite a bit. The use of vibraphones (played by Bachar) adds an unexpected color, which works extremely well with Arab rhythms. The second track has an odd disjunctive sort of rhythm that seems to borrow from free jazz. (It's not Arab, I'm sure, and it's not a straightahead jazz rhythm.) Also, the audio quality is very high. I hope this Khalife CD gets some press. (I hope the label is sending out review copies, and not just to "world music" magazines, but to other places where it might have a chance of being covered.)
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 31 December 2003 01:22 (twenty years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 29 February 2004 21:14 (twenty years ago) link
Jaz Coleman & Anne Dudley's Songs from the Victorious City.
I'm finally getting around to listening to this again (after not hearing it for a long time). I don't really understand why they import non-Arab rhythms into this. The rhythmic resources in Arabic music are very rich.
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:43 (nineteen years ago) link
I'm amazed Natacha Atlas hasn't been mentioned in this thread. Highlights are Disapora, Gedida, and parts of Ayeshteni. Despite being largely Belgian/Moroccan/British, her artistic leanings are toward Egypt, and it really shows.
In the interest of variety, Mezdeke's a good example of Turkish rhythms, and exemplifies just how broad Arabic music can be. The CDs can be hard to pick up though; you'd do well to try your local Lebanese bakery.
Amr Diab? Meh. Doesn't do anything for me. Habibi's the obvious number [everyone's heard it at least once].
― You're the Wish You Are I Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:55 (nineteen years ago) link
http://www.shweir.com/Images%207/P1010009.JPG
x-post
I don't like it (the Dudley/Coleman thing). It starts off okay, but a lot of what they do rhythmically on that recording is kind of weak compared to what is possible using Arab rhythms (to repeat myself). Also, they draw excessively on the biggest cliches of the big Egyptian string section sound. I like the way the album starts off, but by the time it hits the "It could just go on forever" segment, the best part of it is over.
Atlas is interesting in spots, but I'm not into her.
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 23 May 2004 23:01 (nineteen years ago) link
What did Coleman contribute? It just all sounds like Dudley's work to me.
― You're the Wish You Are I Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Sunday, 23 May 2004 23:04 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Sunday, 23 May 2004 23:05 (nineteen years ago) link
RAHIM ALHAJ Iraqi Music in a Time of War (Voxlox)
Last February, mild-mannered Iraqi matinee idol Kazem al-Sahir played a sparsely populated Beacon. His 17-piece orchestra was exotically anodyne to me, painfully nostalgic to the attendant Iraqis. But either way it was steeped in denial. Recorded April 5 at Manhattan's Sufi Books, with Baghdad under attack, this solo oud recital is the opposite. The conservatory-trained AlHaj is a Saddam torture victim who escaped in 1991. Yet he is appalled by the destruction of his homeland. And yet again he betrays no rage: however uninspired as "concepts," the "compassion, love, and peace" he preaches are courageous as music. With little knowledge of oud or taste for classical guitar, I'm struck by how unexotic he seems—how his sound, melodicism, and note values bridge East and West while remaining Iraqi. I'm impressed by how modest virtuosity can be in a classical tradition that honors simplicity. And I'm drawn in by the historical context, which implicates me in that tradition. B PLUS
― Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 25 May 2004 18:53 (nineteen years ago) link
The audio quality is poor, but it's good enough for me. I like the sound of the instrumentalists accompanying him. This music avoids some of the excesses of the old Egyptian popular music arrangments. I like the fact that there is practically always a guttering ney playing along the lines he is singing. (As I typed that, the ney and just about everything else dropped away to make room for a kanun solo. I like that too.)
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Thursday, 27 May 2004 23:00 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist, Monday, 7 June 2004 18:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist, Wednesday, 23 June 2004 19:04 (nineteen years ago) link
Yousra Dhahbi: Rhapsody for Lute [Female oudist--and there aren't many around, or at least not many who make it onto a CD--from Tunisia.]Ensemble Al-Umayri: The Sawt of KuwaitEnsemble Muhammad Faris: The Sawt of BahrainVarious: Treasures of Algerian Music [2 CDs worth of older, archival, material.]
― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Friday, 30 July 2004 23:45 (nineteen years ago) link
Mohamed Ali Ensemble: Al Hawanem also looks good.
(These are listed on the new releases section at www.rashid.com.)
― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 13:36 (nineteen years ago) link
I think it's interesting that while falsetto is traditionally frowned upon in Egyptian, and I think Lebanese and Syrian music, it seems pretty common in music from the Gulf states. At the very least, I think I've heard a couple Kuwaiti stars sing in falsetto.
― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 23:44 (nineteen years ago) link
It might not even be really good. There's some pretty cheesy stuff going on, but there's still something really great about it.
― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Tuesday, 31 August 2004 23:57 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 1 September 2004 21:24 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 7 October 2004 19:25 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 7 October 2004 19:27 (nineteen years ago) link
― ken taylrr (ken taylrr), Thursday, 7 October 2004 19:30 (nineteen years ago) link
At the very least, they seem to be more about a musique concrete/cut-up approach than simply a presentation of recordings of Arabic music (as though they are simply using Arabic music as raw material).
But then again, maybe I will like them. Maybe they really are making a statement about the aural world that exists in the Arab world. (Call to prayer, Qur'anic recitation, clash of everything else music?)
― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 7 October 2004 19:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rockist_Scientist (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 6 November 2004 15:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS, Saturday, 6 November 2004 16:50 (nineteen years ago) link
The CD itself is a totally unprofessional piece of work, with two or three more songs than there are tracks (and I mean songs that are completely unrelated to what came before on the same track). Plus, sometimes there will be a pause after one song and then another one will begin, then the track will end, then that song will resume with the next track. It's made in Houston, TX.
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Friday, 11 February 2005 12:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Friday, 18 February 2005 12:48 (nineteen years ago) link
― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Friday, 18 February 2005 14:57 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 24 February 2005 12:36 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 24 February 2005 12:37 (nineteen years ago) link
― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 24 February 2005 13:09 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 24 February 2005 13:20 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 31 March 2005 23:46 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 31 March 2005 23:48 (nineteen years ago) link
Accompanied Nazem al-Gazali in Iraq. That's about as prestigious as you can get for that time and place.
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 31 March 2005 23:57 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Saturday, 2 April 2005 23:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 01:53 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 01:54 (nineteen years ago) link
― m0stly clean (m0stly clean), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 03:07 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 11:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS, Thursday, 14 April 2005 02:21 (nineteen years ago) link
http://www.negrophonic.com/words/
"saturday, the Arabesk throwdown in Bruxelles. I´ll DJ with an eastward lean and do a brief collabo with Chronomad (who´ll play Persian percussion thru guitar amps over my beats). My Istanbul point man Serhat Köksal aka 2/5 BZ is gonna blast us with a live audio-visual set. No turistik - No egzotik! Turkish lo-fi punk sampler saz psychedelia never sounded/looked so good!"
― steve-k, Friday, 22 April 2005 13:43 (nineteen years ago) link
― steve-k, Friday, 22 April 2005 13:46 (nineteen years ago) link
― steve-k, Friday, 22 April 2005 20:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Tuesday, 26 April 2005 10:50 (eighteen years ago) link
― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Friday, 29 April 2005 02:11 (eighteen years ago) link
http://www.shahrokhmusic.com/oldmusic.htm
there are samples here. his album "ghoroob" ("dusk") is particularly amazing for the classic psychedelic instrumentation. his "dance mix" album has fantastic irangeles beats.
― vahid (vahid), Friday, 29 April 2005 03:14 (eighteen years ago) link
bombastic = defining characteristic of persian music!
OTOH if some of it sounds saccharine, i'd venture that it's because of cultural distance. same way asian music might sound harsh to westernized ears.
― vahid (vahid), Friday, 29 April 2005 03:20 (eighteen years ago) link
― vahid (vahid), Friday, 29 April 2005 03:21 (eighteen years ago) link
― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Friday, 29 April 2005 03:21 (eighteen years ago) link
― steve-k, Friday, 29 April 2005 12:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Friday, 29 April 2005 12:45 (eighteen years ago) link
On the other hand, I've been extremely happen with some of the trad. pop Syrian things I've been buying, and I really like that (mostly solo) kanun CD by Abrahama Salman, and I definitely am going to look into a couple recent Gulfen releases. (See above.)
― RS_LaRue (RSLaRue), Monday, 2 May 2005 22:33 (eighteen years ago) link
Just be wary of the "jazz" title –
"To Western ears, the title Jazz, Jazz, Jazz will seem something of a red herring. This is music more pop-structured than typical jazz with the nine blood-raw recordings powered by an engine of funky organ work and upbeat guitar lines. Leading most arrangements by the hand are the powerful and striking brass sections." – (Dean Van Nguyen)
― sbahnhof, Sunday, 13 January 2019 06:40 (five years ago) link
Also this past year, the Gisma Group from northern Sudan appeared on a collaborative album in New Zealand, Haja.
The group play traditional wedding music in the style aghani al-banat, "girls' music", which is also associated with Alsarah from Alsarah & the Nubatones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSF7QrzoiD0
On the album, the Gisma Group are centre-stage on the tracks "Haja" and "Like the Moon". More of Gisma's songs are remixed into the other tracks featuring NZ musicians, in a kind of fusion. I like how it's turned out, though something about the remixing seems a bit 'off', not sure what...
- https://nzmusician.co.nz/lessons/x-factory-in-praise-of-the-adults-haja/-
― sbahnhof, Sunday, 13 January 2019 06:42 (five years ago) link
btw there's almost certainly an aghani al-banat rabbithole to go down. The group's leader, Gisma, studied under Hawa al-Tagtaga, who had a role in Sudanese history via her music.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qWzoTh1nv2o/mqdefault.jpg
"Born around 1924 in northern Kordofan, Hawa moved to the capital at the tender age of 14 years to begin the career of a popular performer and entertainer. Over the years, she became an icon of Sudanese womanhood and popular culture. Hawa made the Sudanese happy. She immortalized the key figures of the Sudanese anti-colonial movement in the simple ‘open access’ lyrics and tunes of the nas (common people), and earned a living from the dual function of dance instructor and singer at the weddings of the effendiya and the merchant class."- http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article44931 (Archived)
But I can't find any of her early music online (only songs on low-budget TV shows)
― sbahnhof, Sunday, 13 January 2019 06:43 (five years ago) link
In Sudan, filmed before the overthrow of the government there - a film about the community music program "Yalla Khartoum":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXLSrIncytU
The 2019 uprising that removed al-Bashir was not the first such protest movement in Sudan, and music has often played an important role in these historic events.
Mohamed A Satti writes about a few famous songs, including Mohammed Wardi's “October Al Akhdar” (Green October) in 1964:
Songs of freedom: the soundtracks of political change in Sudan- https://theconversation.com/songs-of-freedom-the-soundtracks-of-political-change-in-sudan-115383
A 2019 song by Alsarah:
Alsarah & The Nubatones - "Men Ana" (Live on KEXP)- https://youtu.be/fBAc8LNCrJs
'"Men Ana / من انا" or "Who Am I" is a new track by Alsarah & the Nubatones.Alsarah says: "The revolution in Sudan has inspired a revolution inside of me. From my heart in the diaspora to all my people on the ground sitting in for weeks now outside the military headquarters in Khartoum and all around the rest of Sudan - I love you."'
― sbahnhof, Sunday, 22 December 2019 08:51 (four years ago) link
That opening mournful flute is really touching in the beginning of first video clip
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 22 December 2019 19:29 (four years ago) link
"Please stop comparing Nadeh El Shazly female singers to Bjork."― Doran, Sunday, December 24, 2017 2:23 PM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink
How about Leila Arab, then? I know I'm late to the party, but Ahwar is a knockout.
― Deflatormouse, Friday, 7 February 2020 23:03 (four years ago) link
How one song got an entire music genre banned in Egypt- https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/thetake/2020/03/song-entire-music-genre-banned-egypt-200327190236398.html
Sadly, it wasn't "Shape of You":
"Egypt's low-tech, high-energy mahraganat music blasted out of the shantytowns to top the global charts on SoundCloud and rack up hundreds of millions of views on YouTube. But one slip-up at a massive concert in Cairo threw the entire genre's future into question.
"In this episode, we hear from Mina Girgis, an Egyptian ethnomusicologist based in the United States."– (Al Jazeera, 28 Mar 2020)
― sbahnhof, Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:53 (four years ago) link
As mentioned in that podcast
WARNING: may contain references to the illegal and delicious hashish
Hassan Shakosh feat. Omar Kamal - "Bent El Geran" (The neighbour's girl)مهرجان بنت الجيران " بهوايا انتي قاعده معايا " حسن شاكوش و عمر كمال - توزيع اسلام ساسوhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHBaHQau8b4
― sbahnhof, Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:54 (four years ago) link
I need to listen to that podcast. Thanks for posting
― curmudgeon, Monday, 6 April 2020 03:58 (four years ago) link