Arab, Persian, Sufi music

totally avoid the album they did with Bill Laswell (Shabeesation). sick, slick middle eastern techno crap.

Furthermore, I second Ned's call for the Scientist, his knowledge of the subject is pretty immense. The only name that comes to my mind is Oum Khaltsoum (spelling varies, search the thread, actually that thread is pretty informative in general so: here it is)

And when you find her CD, copy it for me!!

If pop music is more your thing, try and get hold of some Amr Diab. he is the Egyptian Justin Timberlake, except that he is old.

Also, just see if you can get any of those "Now That's What I Call Arabian Pop" compilations.

If you get one that has Free Baby's 'Papa Fein' on it will you burn me a copy? It was the song of my holiday in Lebanon.

you are correctamundo, sir

D Aziz, are you looking for things without vocals? Most of what I listen to has vocals.

islam - musiques et chants - on the french label auvidis tempo, 1997 - this is the best mix of old school arabic styles on any single disc i've heard, all in a nicely fuzzy/authentic, non-slick, non-digital archival format. ranges from minaret announcements to a few african things to a saudi orchestra using western instruments in a very middle of the century "light music" style... but it coheres very well for me.

masters of turkish music - pre 1950s. if you like rembetika, get this.

ustad omar - virtuoso from afghanistan [recently reissued, 1974] if you like ravi shankar, get this.

farid al atrache - addi errabi - early 70s egyptian classic, a powerful singer in the oum khaltoum style

hassan ramzy - if you're looking for something more on the fun side, ie the highest quality record in the "cassette from behind the counter at the asian market" style with synths and clapping, i recommend this guy. he does experiments like recording a cd with an accordion player, but is basically the frankie yankovic of belly dance.

iran: persian classical music, faramarz payvar ensemble - also from the mid 70s, nonesuch reissue, this is very typical-sounding but real good, solos on various instruments with the zither standing out, and a few with a female singer

rough guide to sufi music/ r.g.t. pakistan - this series is way hit and miss, but these are very solid comps, should be easy to find, have excellent sound and variety. by the way, i have also heard the rough guide to arabesque, which includes a track by the a.k.'s jarring effects, as ref'd above, and i liked it ok but it wasn't quite as cool as a couple other tracks on that [very hit or miss] record... the track, "a muey muey" was a bit dated sounding, influenced by early 90s house, and i myself would balk at a whole lp of that stuff.

anouar brahem - astrakhan cafe - just oud & clarinet & perc, very spare and thoughtful. on ecm records, so aimed at the modern classical buyer, and therefore somewhat "mediated" i would say in the performance: how can i put this... it's university stuff, not authentic, but i like it.

and i must say, if you've never heard the peter gabriel soundtrack lp "passion", ignore the fact that it's a peter gabriel album and consider buying it; it is extremely good and quite impressive, mixing samples, synths and the odd boy's choir on top of a bunch of very diverse jams and compositions with all kinds of famous people who were thereby introduced to the west.

I wonder what you have been listening to from there that sounds too nicely produced! At any rate, that tend to be my favorite area of Arabic music.

I was at Borders earlier today and I saw a couple new Farid el Atrache compilations apparently being marketed in the west more than his stuff normally is. It's part of a series, but I forget the name of it now. I think it's an EMI thing.

Oum Kalthoum: Zikrayat
Zaloumni al Nass
Yalli Kan Yeshjik
Udkhurini
Soundtrack: Widad
Soundtrack: Fatima
Raqq el Habib
Qussat al-Ams
Nahj el-Burda [live]
Ila Arafat Allah
Hayyart Qalbi
Hallit Layali el-Qamar
Hagartak
Gulubt Asalih Fi Rouhi
Gaddedte Hubbak Leh
Agharu Min Nasmat el-Ganoub
Aghani Wataniyyah (National Songs), Vol. 2 and 3
Fairouz: Ana Ou Sehrani
Chante Philemon Wehbe
Chante Zaki Nassif
Christmas Carols
Christmas Hymns
Damascus Festival 1960
In concert at the Olympia-Paris
Houmoum El Hob
Immortal Songs
Jerusalem in My Heart
Qasaed
Rajioun
Safarbarlek/Bint El-Harass
Chat Iskandaria
Ya Tara Nessina
Yes’ed Sabahak
Farid El Atrache: Hallet Layali Helwa
Sountracks: Risala Min Imra’aa Majhoula & Yown Bila Ghad
Fook Ghousanaka Ya Lainoma
Adnayani Bil Hajar
Ya Weili Min Hobon
Taksim/Kelmet Itab
Mohammed Abdel Wahab: Cleopatra
Koulina Lahib al Kamar
Fil Bahr Lam Aftakim
Archives of Arabic Music vols. 8-10
Abdel Halim Hafez: Fatet Ganbena
Hawal Teftakerny
Abed Azrie: Epic of Gilgamesh
Mahmoud Fadl: Um Kulthum 4000
Love Letter From King Tut
The Drummers of the Nile Go South
The Drummers of the Nile
Marcel Khalife: Stripped Bare
Nazem al-Ghazali: Best of v.1 and v.2
Omar Bashir and Sahar Taha: Baghdadiyat
Saddon Jabir: Nazem al-Ghazali Songs v.1
Sayed Darwiche: The Classic Egyptian Songs from the 20th Century
Samir Siblini: Zaman al-Samt-Taqsim Ney
The 4 Seasons
Various Artists: From the Libyan Folklore Music
Various Artists: al Waha
Ibraham Hassan: Damascus Passage
Wadi el-Safi: Natrak Sahran
Mohamed Matar: Mohamed Matar Plays Bouzouk
Various Artists: The Finest Mawawel from Iraq, Vol.1
Basem al Ali: The Finest Mawawel from Iraq, Vol.2
Mohammed el-Bakar: Port Said
Adib al-Dayikh: Courtly Love
Sheikh Ahmad al-Tuni: The Sultan of All Munshidan
Nassima: Andalusian Music from Algeria
Various: Maqams of Syria
Various: Music of the Nile: Original African Sanctus Journey--[Field Recordings by David
Fanshawe]
Farid Ghosen: The Storm “Al Asfia”
George Michel: Melodies of the Oud
Sami Shawa: Masters of the Arabic Violin
Karim Mahmoud: Egyptian Oud and Vocal
Filfel Gourgy: The World is Happy
Sheikha Ahmad Barrayn: Sufi Songs (I heard some clips from this at the www.rashid.com website and thought it sounded really good)

Plus some Qur'anic recitation:

Shaykh Saad al-Ghamdy: Arabic Quran Recitation Set
Mustafa Ozcan: Kuran-i-Kerim Assorted Short Surahs & Azam
Mohammed al-Barak: Barak - Part 29 (Juz Tabarakh)
Various: Calls of the Holy Mosques
Khalil al-Hussary: Complete Qur’an (Slow Tarteel)
Abdur-Rahman al-Sudais: Surah Baqarah

And related music:

Issa Hassan: The Art of the Buzuq (Kurdish Lebanese musician, if I recall correctly)
Ooleya Mint Amartichitt: Praise Songs (Mauritanian)
Parvin Javden and Zohreh Bayat with the Avaye Doost Ensemble (Iranian)
Kudsi & Suleyman Erguner: Sufi Music of Turkey

I mostly rely on www.maqam.com or www.rashid.com for this stuff. (I am in the U.S. These are both U.S. distributors.)

I hope you took a look at the Oum Kalthoum thread, because it has lots of other stuff. Also, for Arabic music, just put those words into the search enging at the bottom of the page. You won't find much on Persian music, even if you try under that phrase, though you will find other mentions of Sufi music, especially qawalli. In Persina Classical music I can recommend Mohammed Reza Shahjarian, but his name is so well-known that I feel a little stupid bringing it up (especially since otherwise I hardly know anything about that music).

^^^ TRU INDEED GOD, TRU INDEED

Plz consolidate the information in this thread below or I google for a refined sandblogger

Rockist Scientist: Which of those titles are not 'World Music' knamean?? What do terrorists bump / which sufi's are not fundamentalist wannabes?

If I understand your question, I would say most of the titles I listed aren't "world music." Anyway, it's mostly music that was made for an Arab (or other non-western) audience. It's frightening how many of those CDs on my list I went on to buy.

if i'm looking for more music similar to this spectacular track (warning: it's 30mb, 20 mins), what would you recommend? everything i've found on my own has been too timid (although some of it is still very good), i want the crazy intense chanting

Arabic is so cool looking, like snake trails in the desert.

This one woman told me her reading of arabic has thousands of meanings of many words. Is there a definitive sufi artist in translation

one of my favorite cds bar none:

http://www.posteverything.com/2005/06/13/10549/sr97_328.jpg

I haven't heard that many Sufi ritual recordings, sorry. I would just like for other examples of zikhr (or sometimes dikhr, I think).

Listening now. You might like some crazy Libyan stuff I bought a while back. It's not Sufi though. Wow, this sounds pretty crazy. I will come back to it another time. It's not what I'm in the mood for at the moment. The distortion kind of makes it.

I GOT STUFF - WILL GMAIL IF YOU WANT

from another recording of the gnaoua brotherhood, not as good as ^ cuz its produced by bill laswell :( but still good music - mimoun mamrba

HH, wat u have

05 - La Châdhiliyya - Al-Hadra.mp3

Cofradía Sufí-Andalusí Al-Shushtari (Omar Metioui) - Iii- Al-Imara, Danza Sufí O Hadra (Extasis O Trance).mp3

http://www.zshare.net/audio/3499055c54932a/ I.D.???

Hubbu Hubbu ya Ashab - Hayya `alal Jihad 8

Can anyone direct me to stuff in this vein but with a focus on guitar/vocals, or I guess it might be oud in this context ?

05 - la chadhiliyya - al-hadra.mp3 - 21.60MB

this jihad shit is dope as hell. http://www.zshare.net/audio/350093090d4a2f/
alex baltimore if you sample jack me i'll ddos you if u ever go on irc

http://www.deenport.com/subsections/__mp3/index.php most of this is recordings of real group dhikr sessions of syrian shadhili sufis
especially recommended the ones titled The "Hu" Track and "Drunk on the Wine of Divine Unity - La ilaha illa Allah"

video of the same people:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6761417473258986134&q=hadra

sudanese

http://www.alfikra.org/inshad_view_e.php?inshad_id=109
'Iqd Jawhar one of my favourites

http://www.zshare.net/audio/35048446e5f2c2/

Cofradía Sufí-Andalusí Al-Shushtari (Omar Metioui) - Iii- Al-Imara, Danza Sufí O Hadra (Extasis O Trance).mp3

Does anyone have any Druze funeral music? It's supposed to be very distinctive, but I've never heard any.

05 - la chadhiliyya - al-hadra.mp3 - 21.60MB

-- Heave Ho, Thursday, September 6, 2007 3:32 AM (14 hours ago)

u rool

listening to the Persian Electronic Music compilation on Sub Rosa right now. really excellent.

Rachid Taha's Diwan 2 fits into this category, right? Great disc, especially the second song, Rani.

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22www.icwmedia.org%2F%22+mp3

Has anybody seen this or heard the soundtrack?

NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS

- a film about Tehran’s underground indie music scene

centers around rock band Take It Easy Hospital.

PERSIAN CATS follows young singer Negar and her musician boyfriend Ashkan (Take It Easy Hospital), who attempt to form a rock band after being released from prison. Forbidden by the authorities to play in Iran, and dreaming of performing in Europe, they plan their escape. The necessary paperwork proves impossible to come by legitimately, so they team up with Nader, a fast-talking music promoter, who may be able to provide the connections they need.

With passports and visas being made to order, the trio trawl the Tehran underworld, listening to local rockers, metal-heads, rappers, singer-songwriters, musicians of every sort—all of whom will go to any length to perform their music. But with deadlines looming and authorities on their heels, Negar and Ashkan’s hopes of completing their mission may soon be shattered

Saw the movie a couple nights ago, can't comment on the actual soundtrack, but I'll give a quick overview of the bands.

The main band, Take It Easy Hospital, plays pleasant, decently catchy indie-pop with dual male/female vocals.
There is another indieish band, The Yellow Dogs Band, who have a more Chicago math-rock sound. Decent, not great.
Hichkas, the rapper in the movie, is pretty mediocre
There is a metal band, I don't think they're on the soundtrack; their music is paint by the numbers metal, totally forgettable.
The Free Keys, IIRC, is like this jazz-prog thing, not that good.
Rana Farhan is a single woman doing traditional Persian songs.

To be serious, none of the music is good, but I think that's partially a symptom of not having the networks of criticism and development that are found in American and European countries. You can tell that some of the bands have some song-writing chops but there doesn't seem to be a large 'scene' where they can fully develop their skills.

I enjoyed the movie, it was a decent enough commentary on the pressures faced by underground musicians, but I always have problems with documentaries (or in the case of ...Persian Cats, a semi-documentary) celebrating these bands playing Western music just because they're playing music that's not allowed by the government or encouraged by the larger population. Yeah, good for these mostly middle and upper-middle class kids, but there's never enough critical distance, imo.

Oh, the metal band I was talking about isn't even a paint by the numbers metal band, that would be much better; they're actually a Linkin Park inspired metal band, complete with singer AND rapper.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2010/05/21/tonight-afghan-and-tajik-pop-plus-jamaican-dancehall/

Afghan singer Ghazal and Tajik singer Jonibek touring North America.

damn it I read this as Arab, Persian, Surf music and got really excited

Omar Souleyman was amazing at ATP the other night.

Wish he would come to Washington DC

I recommend the compilation called 'Pomegranates.' Nice selection of Persian pop & psych from the '60s & '70s.

Update on Superstar Tour 2010- The tour has been postponed until further notice, This was a decision made on behalf of Aftab Media Group, Ghazal, Jonibek and Adeeb and Samim Juyan. We will update you with more information about the tour soon. Thank you to all the supporters who came out in VA and NY. From Facebook

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/world/middleeast/06iranmusic.html?ref=arts

Iranian protest music in various genres

please identify this piece of persian pop (@ 1:40)

"some deliciously undulating background vocals bathed in reverb"

I've finally heard some classical Sufi music from Kashmir, and as I noticed before, just from brief clips, it's a curious mix of Indian classical instrumentation and vocals that seem to me to be closest to Andalusian classical (maybe even specifically the Algerian variety, though I know that sounds a bit odd). I'm not sure I particularly like it, but it's a curious hybrid, for sure.

(I mean Arab-Andalusian classical obviously, not like flamenco or something.)

Iranian Music (All Kinds)

Persian singer Homayoun Shajarian is going to be in Washington DC at Lisner February 19 and probably doing other US dates

http://www.facebook.com/Shajarian2012?sk=app_247408211990942

US tour includes NY, Chuicago, LA, Berkeley and Houston

I like his voice from what I have heard on youtube. Quite a range

It really is quite impressive

Shhhh, don't tell the Israelis or the Iranians but Homayoun Shajarian's vocals kind of remind me of some Jewish cantors I have heard (and vice versa)

Have you ever checked out Ayelet Rose Gottlieb's Mayim Rabim? Yes, it's got a modern chamber music/avantjazz thing going, but I still think you'd like it. It's pretty accessible. It doesn't get into the extreme reaches of those genres. It includes some vocals coming from Persian Jewish vocal traditions.

I have not. Thanks, will check her out.

Mordy and I are her main, possibly only, boosters on ILM.

x-post

I see that Shajarian whom I wrote about above once had a show cancelled in Iran because he has 2 women in his band.

Still need to listen to Gottlieb.

I haven't checked tumblr or twitter but it looks like my little Washington City Paper preview of Shajarian is his only non-Farsi press so far for this US tour.

Persian/Iranian music coming to W. DC

Mon. Nov. 12th

Mighty Sam McLain (soul) with Mahsa Vahdat (Iranian/Persian) doing unique, powerful duets melding the two genres at the Atlas Theatre 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC
______________________________________________

Tues. Nov. 13

Rita (Israeli singer born in Iran who sings pop-traditional Persian songs in Farsi on her latest album) at Strathmore

__________________________________________________________
Thurs. Nov. 15

Mitra Sumatra (pre-revolutionary Iranian pop and funk) for free from 6 to 7 (and webcast) at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage and at 10 at Tropicalia nightclub also for free

Need to post some Youtubes for Rudiph to weigh in. Mitra Sumatra feature a half-Iranian singer who used to be in avant-jazz and rock bands. her vocals are a little rougher than the others

You've gott an extra t in her name, but this is okay (sorry, not very weighty in my weighing in):

http://vimeo.com/37086938

oops

Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat was great last night on the Washington DC leg of her 4 city US tour with soul singer Mighty Sam McClain. She still lives in Tehran although she is barred from singing in public there. She teaches and does private shows. She's got a powerful voice and can sing classical Persian music with emphasis, hit high notes, and also softly sing Persian folk music. She plays several instruments but only sang last night. She has also sung with her sister. Various youtubes are available as well as some stuff on spotify.

Iranian-born singer Rita who moved to Israel at age 8 is getting lots of NPR coverage both online and on the radio for her current all Persian project. She's in Maryland near DC tonight.

I kinda like her current release although she's a bit too overdramatic at times and a bit too slick; but much of it sounds good.

http://www.asia.si.edu/events/performances.asp?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D121613644%26key%3Df4af751cad6dce02d62e5a712c6e818d

Longtime Afghan singer Ustad Farida Mahwash, the first female singer there to get the title "Ustad", has been living in California since the 90s after getting asylum after she was threatened with assassination. She is going to be in DC Friday through Sunday doing a bunch of free duet gigs with Khalil Ragheb on vocals and harmonium.

Fairouz In The Booth

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-40599475/composer-mohammed-fairouz-on-fusing-musical-styles

Dropping this here partly so the link is saved. It's really wonderful. I first came across a version of the main song 'Dam Ishq Fareedi Bharia' on a Badar Miandad CD and then found this on YouTube.

What can you tell me about the scene? It's cool to watch, really goes off by the end (and the final melody kind of reminds me of 'On A Ragga Tip').

https://youtu.be/uBTHSWP9f9o

thanks for sharing...that was great. what exactly is doing on with those dudes making it rain on the band though?

I have no clue about this scene but there are some real fun videos on YouTube if you poke around. I've probably watched this a dozen times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT8Pq7HAurk

I think they are throwing 'money' to show appreciation for the band being on point. In a probably heinous act of cultural appropriation I have GIFd a bit of that for future application.

that Nazir Ijaz clip is great. going to disappear into a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan hole for a few days.

I have seen Nigerians shower King Sunny Ade with money that way too

If you're in the US you should strongly consider buying the copy of this CD for $2. The opening track is an awesome 19 minutes of insistent rhythm and cyclical, rising vocal fervour.

https://www.discogs.com/Badar-Miandad-Khan-Qawwal/release/7639940

is it the same as this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWBU69F5FAM

Yeah I think so. 670k views in two years, not bad.

Pretty sure it's the same recording but the YouTube upload sounds like a very lossy file.

Is there a name for the "Autobahn" rhythm with two hits on the low drum? First starts around 5 minutes in but more apparent later on like around 14m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-tqI0D1CAU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sGau5T483k

I always forget how to find that first one so I've saved it now. Has probably been posted on a Buttholw Surfers thread. It's not Sufi or Arabic though, is it?

it’s Thai, by the looks of the script

from the YouTube description:

"klua duang" sung by phloen phromdaen
words & music: kong katkamngae (sanan moenchomphu)
ทำนอง/เนื้อร้อง: ก้อง กาจกำแหง (ชื่อจริง: สนั่น เมินชมภู)

the original thai tune used by the butthole surfers for their song "kuntz" off the 1987 album "locust abortion technician"

Busy listening to Pakistani vocalist Ali Sethi who did an album Intiha where he improvised ghazals over the electronic sounds of Nicolas Jaar. His more pop effort, a collaborative single with fellow Pakistani singer Shae Gill “Pasoori,” a Punjabi word that translates roughly to “difficult mess, went viral on Youtube in 2022 with hundreds of millions of viewers

This one's a beauty. A collaboration between electronic producers Waclaw Zimpel and Shackleton and Hindustaani vocalist Siddhartha Belmannu.

https://waclawzimpel.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-cell-of-dreams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ1SCoAjlhs

While Jaar's programming underneath Sethi sometimes gets a bit noisy, it's mostly more subtle than Zimpel and Shackleton. Here's a video of the most tuneful Sethi cut with Jaar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN_B9J-7U2k

Really striking soundtrack work here from Saba Alizadeh

https://sabaalizadeh.bandcamp.com/track/weeping-windows

That is striking (I say months later).

I re-opened this thread to note that impressive singer Homayoun Shajarian who I mentioned on this thread a long time ago, is going to be with pianist Anoushiravan Rohani @ DAR Constitution Hall in DC tomorrow night and I just noticed it online. Alas, the show is nearly sold out and I already committed with my wife to going elsewhere. Oh well.

Just noticed that Syrian electro-dabke singer Omar Souleyman who fled Syria around the time of the 2011 rebellion and ended up in Turkey for awhile has recently been living in Erbil, Iraq and his earlier 2024 album is called Erbil. I haven't listened to it yet, but I see Pitchfork wasn't crazy about it. I saw him in DC once at the 930 Club. He's doing some European shows this month

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/omar-souleyman-erbil/

The Vahdat sisters, Mahsa and Marjan from Iran, were great last night at the Freer Gallery of the Museum of Asian Art in DC . They have such strong vocals and their mournful songs with minimalist but there rhythms were especially strong. They were backed by a pianist and a percussionist. They had fled Iran after they were charged with a crime for singing a song together on a Tehran rooftop without head coverings, and with male musicians (and posting a video of the performance on Youtube). They both now live in California . Mahsa said last night that Washington DC needs people willing to sing on rooftops.