Funk & Disco Zamaan

It's spring time, so about time for Habibi Funk's mother label Jakarta Records to drop another seasons compilation in the form of "Spring In Jakarta" and it's only right to for Habibi Funk to be featured too. "La Silence Des Cendres" is an unreleased Ahmed Malek track full of funky drums and a great arrangement. As always "Spring In Jakarta" will be a free DLL with free cassette tape copies available from selected retailer. Also be on the lookout for the limited t-shirt + tape combo we did together with the homies from inflammable.com. 

The track will also be featured on the upcoming Habibi Funk reissue of Ahmed Malek's work which you can listen to and order here:
https://habibifunkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/musique-original-de-films

Ahmed Malek - La Silence Des Cendres (Taken off "Spring In Jakarta". Free DLL soon)

100 Hits of Irving Berlin

I Want to Be in Dixie

I heard about Seif Abu Bakr and The Scorpions for the first time maybe 3-4 years ago. Their album “Jazz, Jazz Jazz” ended up on my radar because of an eBay auction; it might have been the first auction for this particular album on the platform. While the bids kept on rising daily up to a staggering 1000$, if I recall correctly, I was intrigued about the snippet preview bits of the music on this album as well as by the impressive artwork. This album happens to be my first conscious connection with Sudanese music. Habibi Funk must have already existed for a year or so but I had not yet come across any recording from Sudan that I felt fitting in the context we set for our self. I remember I did some quick research in the aftermath of the auction (which I obviously did not win) to gather some information about the band but apart from some vague bits and pieces I could not find anything. In most encyclopedic overviews of the Sudanese music scene of the 1970s the band appeared as a mere footnote. How come? I really do not know. To me the music is a unique combination of incredible horn arrangements powerfully performed, a vigorous drummer contributing a funky backbone and Seif's uniting those elements. The results range from instrumental tracks awaking memories of 1970s crime thriller soundtracks to more Sudanese-rooted tracks, a lot of them modernized versions of traditional tribal rhythms and even an excursion into Soukouss. While all of our reissues so far have been compilations in the sense that we put together our favorite selection of tracks by one artist, this album will be our first 1:1 re-release, simply because the quality of the albums does not fall off on a single track. With its eclectic influences it birthed a one-of-a-kind new mixture and serves as a blueprint for what we are looking for when we release music on Habibi Funk.

Pre-Order

Saif Abu Bakr & The Scorpions - Nile Waves

Issam Hajali might be most known for being the singer and main composer of the Lebanese band Ferkat Al Ard. While they recorded 3 albums only their classic „Oghneya“ release saw a vinyl release and is probably the most in demand record in the Lebanese record collector scene (A copy changed hands in Beirut this year for 5000$). Before the band came together Issam recorded a debut album under his own name called "Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard" in 1977 in exile in Paris. It was originally released in a run of less than 100 copies.

Issam Hajali - Ana Damir El Motakallim

لا تقل لي:

ليتني بائع خبر في الجزائر

لأغني مع ثائر!

لا تقل لي:

ليتني راعي مواشٍ في اليمن

لأغني لانتفاضات الزمن

لا تقل لي:

ليتني عامل مقهى في هافانا

لأغني لانتصارات الحزانى!

لا تقل لي:

ليتني أعمل في أسوان حمّالاً صغير

لأغني للصخور

يا صديقي! لن يصب النيل في الفولغا

ولا الكونغو، ولا الأردن، في نهر الفرات!

كل نهر، وله نبع... ومجرى... وحياة!

يا صديقي!... أرضنا ليست بعاقر

كل أرض، ولها ميلادها

كل فجر، وله موعد ثائر!

كلمات: محمود درويش

I Want to Be in Dixie

Geraldo and His Orchestra