From Bab'Aziz-Le Prince Qui Contemplait Son Ame (2005)

translated poem:

O day, arise
the atoms are dancing
thanks to him the universe is dancing 

The souls are dancing,
overcome with ecstasy 
i'll whisper in your ear where their dance is taking them

All the atoms in the air,
and in the desert know well they seem insane

Every single atom,
happy or miserable

Becomes enamored of the sun,
by which nothing can be said.

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī



Poem of the atoms - Armand Amar (Bab Aziz)

Yasmine Hamdan - Beirut

Get the album now: http://glitterbeat.com/glitterbeat_store/

Voiced with deep passion and grace, Aziza Brahim's music adeptly travels the expanse between her Western Saharan roots and Barcelona, the European cosmopolis where she now lives. Aziza is both a contemporary sonic poet and a prominent and eloquent spokesperson for the Saharawi people and their ongoing struggle for recognition and justice.

Born and raised in the Saharawi refugee camps lining the frontier between Algeria and Western Sahara, Aziza’s life has been marked by both daunting hardship and inspired will. Fleeing from these camps and the regime of political oppression that followed Morocco’s 1975 invasion of Western Sahara, as a young teenager Aziza travelled to Cuba for her secondary school studies. There she experienced first hand the deep Cuban economic crisis of the 1990’s and the subsequent denial of her request to pursue a university degree in music.

Music had been Aziza’s passion since she was a small girl and despite this setback she returned to the Saharawi camps in Algeria and began singing and playing in different musical ensembles, a process that continued when she moved to Spain in the year 2000. There she founded the eclectic Saharawi/Spanish band Gulili Mankoo with whom she released two acclaimed self-produced recordings: the EP “Mi Canto” (2008) and an album “Mabruk” (2012) both on Reaktion, a French label specializing in Saharan music. In the last years Aziza has performed extensively appearing at major festivals and venues including WOMAD Cáceres (2012) and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London (2009).

Aziza’s new album Soutak (“Your Voice”), her debut for the Glitterbeat label, is her first recording to predominantly focus on the cadence of her majestic voice and the soulful critique of her lyrics. The album was produced by Chris Eckman (Tamikrest, Ben Zabo, Dirtmusic) and was recorded live and direct in Barcelona in June of 2013.

In the liner notes to the album Aziza describes her vision for Soutak: 

“Feeling the need to make an acoustic record, I imagined a somewhat modest musical outline, which would not involve too many instruments and in which the voices would take the expressive emotional lead. I wanted to further explore the range of possibilities found in the Haul, the Saharawi’s traditional rhythmic sources, played on the tabal and a source of inspiration for the Desert Blues.”

The hand picked band she assembled for the album consists of Spaniards Nico Roca (percussion) & Guillem Aguilar (bass), Malian Kalilou Sangare (acoustic lead guitar), Aziza’s sister Badra Abdallahe (backing voice) and in addition to singing, Aziza contributes acoustic rhythm guitar and the tabal, the traditional Saharawi hand-drum.

The music on Soutak is a powerful and nuanced mixture of musical cultures and features Malian, Spanish, Cuban and contemporary Anglo-European motifs all held together by Aziza’s deeply rooted knowledge of traditional Saharawi song and sound.  

Throughout Soutak, the band frames Aziza’s voice with dignified restraint and leaves unvarnished space for her lyrics, lyrics which range from the sharply political “Gdeim Izik” (named after the “Camp of Dignity” crushed by the Moroccan-backed authorities) to the whispered enigmas of “La Palabra/The Word” (“Cradled by the wind it left/ it went around the world and returned/ and there beyond the word was heard”)

The song “Julud,” dedicated to Aziza’s mother, is possibly the most emblematic song on the album combining intimate and stark desert poetry with an unyielding faith in the Saharawi political struggle:

You are like the night and the stars/ Your voice goes beyond the top of the clouds/ 
You are the smiling breeze of today/ You are an example of humanity and of fight.
Resist, immortal, resist.

Though the songs on Soutak can be unsparing in their details of oppression, there is more often than not a “smiling breeze” to be found. Aziza’s essential voice, headstrong commitment and subtly inventive music are that breeze. 

With Soutak Aziza Brahim has delivered an empowered flight to freedom; an alternative world where hope is imminent and dancing is justified.


Aziza Brahim:
Homepage: http://aziza-brahim.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aziza.brahim.official
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AzizaBrahim1

Glitterbeat Records:
Homepage: http://www.glitterbeat.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Glitterbeat
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/glitterbeattv
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Glitterbeat_Rec

Aziza Brahim - Julud

Stephan Micus - The Child

Nas Asas Do Fado - Katia Guerreiro - Amina Alaoui

Vengo (2000) soundtrack

Written by Tomatito, Sheikh Ahmad Al Tuni and Tony Gatlif
Guitars: Tomatito
Percussion Ramón Suárez Escobar and Israel Suárez Escobar
Violin: Bernardo Fernández Calvez
Palmas: Rafael García Serrano 'El Electrico' and Antonio Torrez Fernández
Singer: Sheikh Ahmad Al Tuni
Kamarga: Fath Abbas Hashem and Mostafa Benhmad
Oud: Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel Megid
Rapp: Rashidi Khamas Rashidi
Derbouka: Solman Al Tuni and Kamal Daas
Duff: Abbas Baktuari

Fusion Flamenco Soufi

Excerpt from the film "Mediterranean - A Sea for All" directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand & Michael Pitiot. Vocals: Gülay Hacer Toruk. Piano: Julien Carton. Drums: Hervé Teboul.

Our Heritage - Armand Amar

Sur tes pas - Titi Robin & Mehdi Nassouli

Qiyan Music Of Al - Andalus

Bazen geleneklerle yapılanlar sansasyon yaratır. FisFüz, geneneksel müzik öğeleriyle sansasyon yaratmanın sırrını çözmüş bir Türk-Alman grubudur. Grup, kendisini iki ulus ve kültür karşılaşması arasında kısıtlamıyor. Bunun yerine yaklaşık olarak 3000 yıllık kültür tarihi olan tüm Akdeniz ve Orta Doğu`yu müziğinin temeli olarak sayıyor. Müziklerinde hem çok eski ve gelenekselleşmiş hem de yepyeni öğeler, İspanyol, İtalyan, Türk, Oryantal ve Kuzey Afrika`ya özgü öğeler caz ile birliktebirleşiyor.

Bu albümde, yanlarında sayısız müzik aletleri ile birlikte yolculuğa çıkan müzisyenler, müziksel anlamda Akdeniz`i bir ucundan diğerine katediyor, Orta Doğu ülkelerinden geçip İran`ın uçsuz bucaksız topraklarını keşfedip Hint Yarımadası`nın güneyine Madras`a varıyor. Yol, hedef; oryantal zenginliklerin bolluğu ise müzikal azık onlar için. Bu kez perküsyonda uyumlu müzisyen ve bu heyecan verici müzikal yolculuk için ideal bir yoldaş olan olağanüstü Ramesh Shotham da gruba eşlik ediyor. 
Detaylar: http://aysaorg-music.com/musicians/ensemble-fisfuz/

Ensemble FisFüz - Bosphorus Winds

Ross Daly

Dar Donya ye to Saat Chand ast?
غنلي شوي شوي

Qiyan Music Of Al - Andalus

eashma

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