so funky and enthralling .. great! i love it!

The greatest track for all ages! I''m really interested in English translation of the lyrics. Tell me please=)

Ahmed Malek - Autopsie d'un complot

Elias Rahbani - Dance Of Maria

Habibi Funk  حبيبي فنك  Douaa – Haditouni

Ibrahim Hesnawi crafts restless grooves with evident buttressing from a reggae foundation. Highlighted across the LP is how Hesnawi essentially pioneered such an effortless synthesis between traditional Libyan music and Jamaican reggae stylings, plus the endlessly disparate funk, jazz, and disco accents which firmly situate Hesnawi in a league of his own. 

In many countries, reggae was a widespread fad before its popularity gradually subsided. In Libya, however, the genre remained popular since its initial introduction in the late 1970s. Reggae’s thematic throughlines like references to Pan-Africanism, liberation, and the end of oppression and exploitation resonated—and continues to resonate—forcefully amongst a Libyan audience. To this day, you will find countless bands playing variations of the genre as are there Facebook groups with predominantly Libyan members sharing old and new reggae tracks with ten-thousands of members. And no matter who you ask, chances are high that the genre’s popularity in Libya will be largely attributed to one man: Ibrahim Hesnawi. 

Born and raised in Tripolis, the capital of Libya, Hesnawi initially was not interested in music, however he credits Bob Marley as foundational to changing his life after having listened to his music in a electronics shop a friend of his was working at. 

Reggae is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat rhythm section. This very particular rhythm is part of the story of why the genre became so popular in Libya as Hesnawi explains: 

"The Libyans are inclined to Reggae for a reason, I think due to our traditional musical rhythm known as Darbuka “Libyan Drum” or Kaska, its rhythm is very similar to the one of Reggae therefore the society got closer to this music and the the nation loved the reggae style and embraced it“ 

There is a handful songs Ibrahim Hesnawi sings in English but the 95% of his output is sung in Libyan Arabic. A conscious choice as this is not only the language that came natural to him but also it allowed him to convey the message of his songs that is so close to his heart in the best way to the young generations of Libya listening to his music. 

The album was licensed from Ibrahim Hesnawi. We pay 50% of the profits of this release. Only project related costs are deductible from the gross income, research and travel costs come out of our own share. Publishing rights were not included in our agreement.

The Father of Libyan Reggae

Habibi Funk 024: Ibrahim Hesnawi - Never Understand

Pre-order:  https://habibifunkrecords.bandcamp.com/releases

Habibi Funk will be a new sub label of Jakarta Records, dedicated to re-releasing arabic music from the 1970s and 1980s. It's a label and platform for funky/soulful and/or psych influenced music from the Arab world of the 70s and 80s.

https://www.facebook.com/habibifunk

Dalton was a band from Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. They came together as a band around 1968 when most of the members studied together at the University of Tunis. The band had five members. Faouzi Chekili on guitar, piano and vocals, Ridha Kouhen on bass guitar, Mustapha Rehouma and sax and percussion, Sadok Gharbi on trumpet and vocals and Skaner Alim on drums and vocals. They were active in the local scene, playing music that was heavily influenced by American soul and funk and at the same time regional musical traditions. In the early 70s the band got a regular gig at a beach hotel called Sahara Beach Resort on the coastline of Tunisia. They had six month contracts for a couple of years in the early 70s and during that time they would play every single night of the tourist season. While the hotel gig required the band to play sets leaning      towards tourist entertainment, the regular work helped put some money into the band's accounts. Using those funds the band was able to travel to Rome to record their one and only 7“ single release "Alech" around 1971/1972. The band eventually dismantled in the mid 70s and returned briefly as a new group with new members in the late 1970s under the name Carthago but that is a different story…… 

"That "Soul Brother" is my jam…. !!!!" 
Lefto 

The single itself impressed us heavily when we first stumbled upon it through French collector Victor Kiswell. While the b-side "Soul Brother“ sounds like a Tunisian version of modern soul / AOR with it’s English lyrics and lush arrangements, the title track "Alech“ is the one that will get every party started. An infectious 3/4 rhythm, a great horn arrangement and brillantly layered vocals that made us think of Brazillian music or the Georgian groove band Gaya. Luckily Faouzi Chekili, the former band leader and composer uses social media communication so he was easy to track down. He is still active as a renowned musician in the Tunisian jazz scene and remains active recording and playing concerts both in Tunisia and internationally.

Restored and mastered by Roskow at Audiomoto Studios.


Habibi Funk 001: Dalton - Alech (Tunisia, 1972, pre-order link in description)

Ain’t Like It Used To Be

Elias Rahbani - Dance Of Maria (1974) (1)

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

Taken from the brand new album 'Mantra Moderne' out now on Mr Bongo https://backl.ink/mantramoderne

Mantra Moderne

Kit Sebastian – Pangea

Ahmed Malek Maya

Rogér Fakhr - Had To Come Back Wet (Lebanon, Habibi Funk 016)

label, dj and platform for a wide range of underappreciated music from north africa and west asia

Habibi Funk 001: Dalton - Alech (Tunisia, 1972, pre-order link in description)

habibi funk - حبيبي فنك

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