5 Stars and couple of crescent moons..
Savka | Vancouver, Canada | 09/30/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Mind-blowingly beatylicious groovefest. Fantabulous CD. This is a compilation of all the best of the contemporary Arabic/Turkish music scene. Infectiously brilliant, it takes you on a magic carpet whirlwind through the shimmering musical luxotica that we call the Middle East. After all, this is the cradle of civilization. High quality rap and hip-hop/Arabic fusion, Turkish latino pop, french chanson and accordion blended with jazzy grooves, and electronica grafted onto medieval eastern melodies. What makes this compilation so exciting and explosive not only the quality of the music, but the fact that it unites a millenium and half of musical styles and cultures. Kudos to Manteca for this awesome compilation (try their Gypsy compilation, it's just as good). CD's like this make you realize the futility and senselessness of wars against those,who after all, are no different from ourselves."
My favorite Arabic music compilation
J Lee Harshbarger | Ypsilanti, MI United States | 11/27/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I have about a half dozen Arabic music compilations (not near enough, as far as I am concerned!); this is clearly my favorite in the collection. This beats all my other favorite Arabic compilation albums I got in 2003, as well as the one from my favorites of 2002, Arabic Groove. My wife picked this up for me in Amsterdam, and I am so glad she did because it is a fabulous album!
The album has a wide variety of music, yet never seems disjointed. A common element bringing cohesion to the whole album is that the songs all have a cutting edge to them, something that takes them a stop beyond typical Arabic music. The songs are mostly heavily vocal and mostly radio length--three to six minutes long--yet there's such a sense of freshness in these sounds that excitement bubbles under them. The tunes are memorable and enjoyable; the singing is engaging.
The album opens with an Arabic hiphop song, performed in English, with a rap that focuses on war and discrimination. There's a bit of minor profanity in it, though, which I would prefer had been left out. The next song is a cute pop song that stops briefly from time to time in the chorus while you hear [kiss kiss]. Next comes a heavily Arabic sounding song with a strong, heavy but medium-slow dance beat. The fourth song uses acoustic guitar in a Mediterranean style; the fifth song features a female vocalist singing in French, accompanied by accordian with Arabic touches. The sixth song, by Celloman, is the best Arabic string performance I've ever heard.
I just described the first six of the fourteen songs, but I think you can get a taste from those the variety of music on this album...always interesting, yet despite the variety never disjointed.
Some other highlights from the last eight songs: "Habibi" by Groove Alla Turca features my favorite Arabic singer, Natacha Atlas, so you can bet I like this track! "Salla" by Makale breaks into a forceful rap about a minute and a half into the song--and this rap is NOT in English. The next song, "Kim Dedi" by Aziza A also includes non-English rapping, this time by a female rapper. The final three songs take on a straight-up dance format, yet the beat in each song is nothing like the others.
The liner notes to this album are very interesting, giving some background on the artists. I'd like to share a few of these with you. These are taken verbatim from the liner notes; if I add anything, that's in brackets.
Clotaire K: One of the most exciting Arabic hiphop acts to appear in recent years, Clotaire K was born to Egyptian and Lebanese parents and brought up in the south of France.
Makale: Who would have believed that Turkish hiphop could exist in Switzerland? Rappers Casus and Cesaret grew up in Basel to Turkish immigrant parents and immersed themselves in a cocktail of old school hiphop, electro, raga, dub, and traditional Arabic music.
Aziza A: The self-confessed queen of Oriental hiphop, Aziza A was born in 1971 to a Turkish family living in Germany. Known as the first female Turkish hiphopper, she quickly expanded to being the first Turkish female presenter on German television and having her own radio show on Berlin's Radio Multi Kulti.
Amina: Amina made her mark by coming equal first in the Eurovision Song Contest and being the first Arabic singer to represent France.
Aisha Kandisha's Jarring Effects: Universally acknowledged as the originators of Arabic techno.
Momo: London has become a hotbed of Middle Eastern breakbeat culture in recent years and Momo, or Music Of Moroccan Origin, is one of the acts spearheading this exciting new scene. Led by ex-Joi percussionist [a Joi album was on my list of favorites for 2001!], Lahcen Lahbib, Momo is the sound of Moroccan youth culture educated on a mix of traditional and electronic rhythms.
That's just seven of the fourteen artists included on this compilation, but I think that gives you a taste for the interesting backgrounds of these musicians, which helps explain why the music is so fresh. If you're looking for some cutting edge Arabic music, I believe this album is the perfect place to start!"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1