A little list of various Sudanese Jazz artists, I hope you enjoy it.

Sudani Funk

Introducing Kamal Keila: Kamal is a Sudanese singer active since the late 1960s (الترجمة العربية أسفله). He incorporated a wide range of influences from afro beat to funk to his often very political songs. He recorded both in Arabic and English. We just signed him to Habibi Funk this week and will release a full album of unreleased music later this year. "Agricultural Revolution" is taken straight off a master tape Kamal found in his basement. Shout of to Yasir (AFRODUB) and Larissa for the help. نقدم لكم كمال كيلا: كمال مطرب سوداني بدأ رحلته الموسيقية منذ أواخر الستينات. 
 .لقد دمج انواع موسيقى كثيرة ومتنوعة كالفانك والأنغام اللإفريقية مع أغانيه ذات الطابع السياسي. سجل موسيقته باللغتين الانجليزية والعربية . هذا الأسبوع، قمنا بالتعاقد معه لاصدار ألبوم يضم أغانيه الغير منشورة وسوف يتم اطلاقه نهاية هذا العام. الأغنية "ثورة زراعية" مأخوذة من شريط وجده كمال في قبو منزله.

Introducing: Kamal Keila - Agricultural Revolution (Sudan, 1992)

Pre Order: https://habibifunkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/habibi-funk-007-an-eclectic-selection-of-music-from-the-arab-world

"About a year ago we started talking to Sharhabeel, one of our favorite Sudanese musicians, with the help of his son and our colleague in Khartoum, Larissa, about re-releasing some of his old music. I had never been to Sudan before and despite some great help in making the release happen we figured it would be a good idea to actually visit Sudan and finalize the release with Sharhabeel. In preparation of the trip I started to dig deeper into Sudanese music trying to identify artists and sounds to dive into. On Youtube I found a musical blog dedicated to Sudanese jazz bands run by Amin Rabih (who is a music researcher, currently writing a book on the history of jazz music in Sudan) and Yassir Awad. The Sudanese interpretation of jazz is fairly different to the Western but it opened up a new world for me of around a dozen bands and singers that I wanted to learn more about. Luckily Yassir, a Sudanese IT expert living in Khartoum, was more than happy to help me prepare my trip and learn about the musical scene of the nation’s capital in the 1970s. Kamal Keila was a name that came up here and there, coined the James Brown or Fela Kuti of Sudan. When I asked Yassir about him he said that he has extended family ties with him and that he could set up a meeting. We spent an afternoon in Kamal’s living room somewhere in the dusty outskirts of Khartoum. In our conversation it turned out that even though his career started in the 1960s, he had never released a record on vinyl and that (apart from one album which still remains to be found, he can’t remember about a cassette tape release either). He did however record sessions for Sudanese radio.
In Sudan the radio stations were not allowed to play the recordings produced by music labels on air, therefore they had their own studios and invited musicians to record music for their program. In most cases the musicians would not receive a copy of the recordings out of fear that they would release the music themselves. But luckily Kamal Keila had gotten his hands on two sessions and had kept those two studio reels all these years. Both ta- pes were in the most horrible condition with mold everywhere and obvious signs that they had gotten very wet at some point. But to our surprise they played very well. Each included five tracks. One with English lyrics and another with Arabic ones. Musically you can hear the influence of neighboring Ethiopia much more than on other Sudanese recordings of the time, as well as references to Fela and American funk and soul. His lyrics, at least when he sings in English, which indicates more freedom from censorship, are very political. A brave statement in the constitutional climate of Sudan of the last decades, preaching for the unity of Sudan and peace between Muslims and Christians. Be on the look out for the full Kamal Keila album later this year, from whom we also licenses the music from."
written by Jannis Stuertz

IG: habibibfunk
FB: facebook.com/habibifunk

Pre Order

Kamal Keila - Al Asafir (Habibi Funk: An ecclectic selection of music from the Arab world)

Pre-order and infos: https://habibifunkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/habibi-funk-008-muslims-and-christians

Kamal Keila - Muslims And Christians

We're super happy to announce the release of our 9th release. It's the only album by Sudanese band "The Scorpions" with Saif Abu Bakr on vocals  (الترجمة العربية أسفله)With original copies on eBay selling for up to 1000$ we're excited to make it finally available for everyone (Outside of that shitty bootleg that was available a year or so ago. FUCK BOOTLEGGERS). The album was recorded on tour in Kuwait. The music is a unique combination of incredibly powerful horn arrangements, a vigorous drummer contributing a funky backbone and Saif's uniting all of these 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 traditional rhythms from the diverse regions of Sudan and even an excursion into Congolese 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.

نحن في غاية السعادة بالاعلان عن اطلاق تاسع ألبوم لنا وهو الألبوم الوحيد لفرقة العقارب من السودان الذي سجل في الكويت ويشمل المطرب سيف أبو بكر. متحمسين لاتاحة الفرصة للجميع للاستماع الي هذا الألبوم الذي  كان حتي الآن متوفرا اما في نسخته الأصلية علي اي-باي بمبالغ عالية (١٠٠٠ دولار) أو نسخ زائفة مسروقة ومحملة علي الانترنت فقط (ونعتبر هذه الممارسات غير مقبولة بتاتا!). 
تمزج موسيقي الفرقة - في تشكيلة فريدة من نوعها - بين أصوات الأبواق القوية والطبول كأساس للرتم الفنكي وصوت سيف الذي ينجح في توحيد كل هذه العناصر. التيجة.. ألبوم مكون من أغاني تتنوع ما بين المقطوعات الموسيقية التي تذكرك بموسيقي أفلام الجريمة والتشويق من السبعينات والأغاني الأقرب للموسيقي السودانية التقليدية المتأثرة من المناطق المختلفة في السودان (ونسمع أيضا شيء من السوكوس الكنغولي).
 لأول مرة سنطلق البوم كما هو عندما سجلته الفرقة - علي عكس ألبوماتنا السابقة التي شملت أغاني اختارناها من ألبومات مختلفة لنفس الفرقة والسبب في هذا هو قناعنا أن كل أغاني هذا الألبوم علي نفس مستوي الجودة . ولّدت  تأثيراتهم االموسيقية صوت فريد من نوعه والذي يعتبر بالنسبة لنا مقياس ومرجع للموسيقي التي نبحث عنها في حبيبي فنك.

Saif Abu Bakr & The Scorpions - Forssa Saeeda فرصة سعيدة

We're super happy to announce the release of our 9th release. It's the only album by Sudanese band "The Scorpions" with Saif Abu Bakr on vocals (الترجمة العربية أسفله)With original copies on eBay selling for up to 1000$ we're excited to make it finally available for everyone (Outside of that shitty bootleg that was available a year or so ago. FUCK BOOTLEGGERS). The album was recorded on tour in Kuwait. The music is a unique combination of incredibly powerful horn arrangements, a vigorous drummer contributing a funky backbone and Saif's uniting all of these 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 traditional rhythms from the diverse regions of Sudan and even an excursion into Congolese 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.

نحن في غاية السعادة بالاعلان عن اطلاق تاسع ألبوم لنا وهو الألبوم الوحيد لفرقة العقارب من السودان الذي سجل في الكويت ويشمل المطرب سيف أبو بكر. متحمسين لاتاحة الفرصة للجميع للاستماع الي هذا الألبوم الذي كان حتي الآن متوفرا اما في نسخته الأصلية علي اي-باي بمبالغ عالية (١٠٠٠ دولار) أو نسخ زائفة مسروقة ومحملة علي الانترنت فقط (ونعتبر هذه الممارسات غير مقبولة بتاتا!). 
تمزج موسيقي الفرقة - في تشكيلة فريدة من نوعها - بين أصوات الأبواق القوية والطبول كأساس للرتم الفنكي وصوت سيف الذي ينجح في توحيد كل هذه العناصر. التيجة.. ألبوم مكون من أغاني تتنوع ما بين المقطوعات الموسيقية التي تذكرك بموسيقي أفلام الجريمة والتشويق من السبعينات والأغاني الأقرب للموسيقي السودانية التقليدية المتأثرة من المناطق المختلفة في السودان (ونسمع أيضا شيء من السوكوس الكنغولي).
لأول مرة سنطلق البوم كما هو عندما سجلته الفرقة - علي عكس ألبوماتنا السابقة التي شملت أغاني اختارناها من ألبومات مختلفة لنفس الفرقة والسبب في هذا هو قناعنا أن كل أغاني هذا الألبوم علي نفس مستوي الجودة . ولّدت تأثيراتهم االموسيقية صوت فريد من نوعه والذي يعتبر بالنسبة لنا مقياس ومرجع للموسيقي التي نبحث عنها في حبيبي فنك.

Pre-Order

The Scorpions & Saif Abu Bakr - Farrah Galbi Aljadeed فرح قلبي الجديد

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.

Saif Abu Bakr & The Scorpions - Nile Waves

Before we the full album drops next Friday we’re happy to drop the 4th track off The Scorpions & Saif Abu Bakr’s album „Jazz, Jazz, Jazz“ called "Saat Alfarah ساعة الفرح“. It’s actually a personal favorite of mine off the album, then again picking favorites on this album is a hard task. Have a listen and hear for yourself.

Vinyl + Digital

The Scorpions & Saif Abu Bakr - Saat Alfarah ساعة الفرح

Manal bdreldeen - منال بدر الدين كفاية مزاح

We're super happy to announce our 13th release by Sharhabil Ahmed, the actual King of Sudanese Jazz (he won that title in a competition in the early 1970s). Sonically it sounds very different from what Jazz is understood to sound like outside of Sudan. It’s an incredible unique mix of rock’n’roll, funk, surf, traditional sudanese music and influences from Congolese sounds. Original copies of Sharhabil recordings are often hard to find, so we’re happy they will now be widely available, including a booklet with liner notes, interviews and unseen photos from Sharhabil’s personal archive. The release is licensed from Sharhabil himself and he receives 50% of the profits of the sales.

Pre-order

Sharhabil Ahmed - Argos Farfish (Off Habibi Funk 013, dropping in July)

Sharhabil Ahmed - El Bambi (Habibi Funk 013)

Habibi Funk's 13th release by Sharhabil Ahmed, the actual King of Sudanese Jazz (he actually won that title in a competition in the early 1970s). Sonically it sounds very different from what Jazz is understood to sound like outside of Sudan. It's an incredible unique mix of rock&roll, funk, surf, traditional sudanese music and influences from Congolese sounds.

The King of Sudanese Jazz

Sharhabil Ahmed - Zulum Aldunya (Habibi Funk 013)

A citizen of the universe who loves music of all cultures.


Sudani Funk

Muhammad Ahmed