Al Fajer Group was established in Kuwait in 1987, co-founded by four artists: Sima Kanaan (Vocals), Bashar Shammout (Guitar) Jameel Saraj (Oud and Guitar) and Nizar Alyan (Percussion). Al Fajer Group became known for their unique frequencies and the transparency of their sound. The band is rooted in acoustic oud, guitar and percussion and they never used any electronic equipment during their sets. When they were first established they would perform Palestinian patriotic songs, related to the Palestinian liberation struggle. They released their launch album, recorded on reel tapes, during the First Intifada in 1988, after which they began composing and writing their own original music. They were unable to release this due to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, when all the band members were forced to leave the country and could not reunite to release the second album. During the limited time in which they were able to work together, they participated in multiple tours in Kuwait, Iraq, Germany and other locations. 
This is the first vinyl release for the band and includes original music, which has not been available until today. 

نشأت فرقة الفجر في الكويت في العام 1987 بمبادرة ذاتية من قِبَل أعضائها الأربعة وهم سيما كنعان (غناء) وبشار شموط (غيتار) وجميل سراج (عود وغيتار) ونزار عليان (أيقاع). تميزت الفرقة بأدائها الموسيقي الشفاف والهادئ والذي اعتمدت به على استعمال آلتي العود والغيتار وبعض الآلات الايقاعية المتنوعة وتجنبت استخدام أي آلات كهربائية. اعتمدت الفرقة في بدايتها على إعادة أداء بعض الأغنيات الوطنية الفلسطينية ذات الكلمات الواضحة والهادفة. أصدرت فرقة الفجر ألبومها الوحيد في ظلال الانتفاضة الأولي في العام 1988 ثم بدأت في تلحين أغانيها الخاصة بها والتحضير لإنتاج ألبومها الثاني، لكن لم تتمكن من تسجيله وإنتاجه وذلك بسبب نشوب حرب الخليج عام 1990 في الكويت حيث اضطر أعضائها للرحيل من هناك ولم تعد الفرقة قادرة على الاستمرار. رغم المدة المحدودة جداً التي نشطت فيها فرقة الفجر، إلا أنها شاركت في عدد لافت من العروض والمهرجانات في الكويت والعراق وألمانيا وغيرها. 
credits
released September 1, 2022 

All rights reserved Majazz Project 

Sima Kanaan - Vocals 
Bashar Shammout - Guitar 
Jameel Saraj - Oud and Guitar 
Nizar Alyan - Percussion 

Album artwork “Melody of Exile” (1990) courtesy of Ismail Shammout 
Black and white images, taken in Berlin 1989, courtesy of Mahmoud Dabdoub 
Graphic design courtesy of Laxmi Isabella Andrews 
Curation courtesy of Momin Swaitat, Majazz Project

Halalalayya - Al Fajer (The Dawn) فرقة الفجر الفلسطينية- هلالالاليا

Ep #147 with Issa Ndour, Fulani flute player. Issa Ndour plays the traditional Fulani flute which combines flute tones with vocal shrieks and singing to create an ear-catching musical dialogue. He is from Senegal where this flute style is popular. He works with his group Noudoumbelane which includes kora, sax, bass and drums. This episode was shot in Senegal at Sobobade and is guest hosted by Tony Vacca.

A Worldsoul Records production  www.derrikjordan.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100063982602329/videos/589015352829391

YouTube: https://youtu.be/sxAUTpqoTI8

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/hilljoy/ep-147-with-issa-ndour-fulani-flute-player

Ep #147 with Issa Ndour, Fulani Flute player

Music of Pulaar (Peulh, Fulani, Fulbe) ethnic group primarily dispersed throughout the Sahel region. 

Many of the tracks do not have particular names as they are excerpts from a long improv set as that type of performing is common for Peulh music. If you wish to find out where I sourced any of the tracks, get in touch privately. I may be wrong about some locations, feel free to correct me, it is proving very difficult to trace some artists.

Track list:

1. Barou Sambarou / Mali
2. Saidou Ba / Mauritania
3. Binta Laaly Sow /  Guinea
4. Damii - Lalle / Niger
5. Kompule by Fulani musicians / Niger/Northern Benin
6. Alimou Aynguel Diallo - Munnyare / Guinea
7. Abou Djouba Deh - Aldiouma 2000 / Senegal
8. Baaba Maal - Fouta Toro / Senegal
9. (Field recording) Gacci Hoddu instrument - Podor, Senegal
10. Suusaan Hiirde, Abuu Djouba Deh,  Galle Njaay / Senegal
11. Nomads of Niger, Fulanis Borers and Tuaregs (Field recording) - La douceur de leurs lits (The sweetness of their beds)
12. Baaba Maal, Tidiane Anne - Pulaagu / Podor, Senegal
13. Binta Laaly Saran / Guinea
14. Abou Djouba Deh - Diabbebe Slow Djiby Oldou / Senegal

RADIO PULAAR

John Waters movie inspired tracks from 50s, 60s & 70s

Put Your Arms Around Me

Truth Is The Key  / Travelling vol.1
by Analog Dakar Club

Stanley Cowell - Traveling’ Man (Strata East)
Rahssaan Roland Kirk - Ain’t No Sunshine (Atlantic)
Nathan Davis - New Orleans (Universal Sound)
Eddie Harris - This is Why you’re Overweight (Atlantic)
Ramsey Lewis - That’s the Way of the World (Columbia)
Tarika Blue - Truth is the Key (Soul Brother)
Deodato - Speak Low (MCA)
Nil’s Jazz Ensemble - Somos Nada (Vampi Soul)
Ocho - Suena Tu Bongo (Universal Sound)
George Benson - The Ghetto / El Barrio (MAW)
Dave Valentin - Blackbird (GRP)
Azymuth - Pygmalion (Milestone)
Weather Report - River People (CBS)

Artwork : Céline Lequeux/Fifty Fifty https://www.instagram.com/fiftyfiftydakar/

Travelling Vol.1

TRUTH IS THE KEY - Travelling vol.1

1. Thiely - Etoile de Dakar
2. Kana Sarakabo - Bembeya Jazz National
3. N'ga Digne M'be - Amara Toure
4. Vamos a Bailar - Rio Ban de Dakar
5. Gipsy - Tabu Ley Rochereau
6. Marigoundo - Djelimady Tounkara, Rail Band
7. Yeke Yeke - Maradi Diabate
8. Beni Barale - Bembeya Jazz National
9. Mathiaki - Star Number One De Dakar
10. Andree - Sily Authentic
11. Xaadim - Orchestre NGuewel de Dakar

Sai Sai Bar

RUS IN URBE

We recorded this episode in the market. We asked people we met to practice speaking English with us. We all learned and laughed a lot. We hope you like it. 


In The Market - Season Three

Awa Poulo is a singer of Peulh origin from Dilly commune, Mali, near the border with Mauritania. Largely pastoral and often nomadic, Peulh- (or Fula-)speaking peoples are found from Senegal to Ethiopia but predominate in the Sahel region of West Africa. Awesome Tapes From Africa is proud to release Poulo’s newest recording of highly virtuosic folk-pop, fresh from the studio, broadcasting her vision of Peulh music beyond the grazing grounds and central markets of her remote home region in southwestern Mali. 

It’s not very common to find a female singer performing publicly among the Peulh. But Poulo’s mother’s co-wife is Inna Baba Coulibaly, who is a celebrated singer most Malian music fans know. Coulibaly herself was brought into music by forces outside her control when a regional music contest required an entry from her village and she was chosen to be a singer. So, set in motion by a surprising series of events, young Poulo’s entree into the music world was auspicious as she gained popularity across the region. After several locally released tapes and CDs, this record is Poulo’s first internationally-distributed record.

On Poulo Warali, she and her band combine the hallmarks of Peulh music—warm flute floating over cross-rhythmic n’goni (lute) riffs and resonant calabash gourd hand percussion—with broader Malian sounds like lightly-distorted guitar and a heavier, rollicking inertia. Shape-shifting layers of rhythm and woody overtones match Poulo’s commanding voice in a jocular yet deliberate dance.  

This is a relatively rare example of Malian Peulh music played in a modern, cosmopolitan context, reflecting the mixed society of Dilly, where Bambara, Soninke and Peulh-speaking people live among each other. 

Poulo’s conscious lyrics about community concerns speak to the distinctive identity of her broadly-flung people. While Peulh represents less than 10% of Mali’s melting pot of languages, the dynamic music here powerfully resonates well beyond the linguistic borders.

Poulo Warali

Awa Poulo — Poulo Warali

 Extrait de "Gambari 79"
 L'enregistrement de Gambari 79, retrouvé sur cassette au hasard d'un voyage au Mali et restauré par la suite avec l'aide de Kassin, témoigne du talent incomparable de Bara Sambarou, grand griot Peul et maître respecté dans l'art du hoddou (guitare traditionnelle malienne à quatre cordes). Cet album contient également un DVD comportant le documentaire "Bara Sambarou, un griot Peul" (en partie réalisé par Jacques Denis) qui documente la vie et l'art de ce dernier!

Bara Sambarou - Gambari 79 Soul Mix

INSTA -> @adelina_sasnauskaite
@blind.in.1.eye

RADIO PULAAR

Blind in 1 eye

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