Rita Ray
June 2004 - Youssou N'Dour's Egyptian Orchestra
Hi everyone! This summer I’m into a North African vibe. One album I can't stop playing is Youssou N'Dour's latest album Egypt.
Youssou N'Dour's Egyptian Orchestra
Released earlier as Saant Allah (Praise Allah), the album is totally different to anything he has released before. For this project Youssou got together with the like-minded Egyptian musician and producer Fahty Salama. Egypt features the strings, flutes, and percussion of an Egyptian orchestra as well as traditional musicians from Dakar and Cairo. This is Youssou N'Dour's celebration of the Senegalese way of Islam - very topical and illuminating in these times of religious intolerance. It's amazing that he recorded it 6 years ago. I think it's his best release by far.
One of the string instruments that really gets me in North African music is the oud. Of all the various types of lute, it is the oud, the classic Arab lute that is used in classical and traditional Arab orchestras. No wonder it is considered the 'sultan' of musical instruments. Soulful yet raunchy the fat bottomed short necked oud has a special place in the music of Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Sudan with each nation boasting a distinct style of playing. Was it the lyrical striking and plucking style of masters like Sudan's Hamza Al Din or the UK based Mustafa Al Sunni? (He seems to have disappeared – will anyone who knows his whereabouts get in touch?). Or was it the driving edge of the three leather clad Algerian oud players in Rachid Taha's band who made me sit up and want to hear more of this instrument.
There are opportunities coming up to listen to the oud live as the festival season is upon us. All over the UK there are inviting music events going on and a lot of them are free. The stunning Algerian rocker Rachid Taha will be headlining the Croydon Festival on the 17th of July before he comes back in October to launch his new album Rock The Casbah at the Barbican. The album features oud solos by Hakim Hamadouche.
Hassan Erraji, the blind oud virtuoso from Tazart in Morocco, will be playing at the ADKC (Action on Disability Kensington and Chelsea) Summer Festival in London's Holland Park, 18 July 2004, enriching the festival with his unique blend of Arabic music and jazz. He’ll be on stage from 1:55 to 2:35pm. For more information contact festival@adkc.org.uk .
Yazid Fentaz
Yazid Fentazi is another talented oud player. Born in Algeria and London-based, Yazid has worked with some of the great names of Rai - the popular music of Algeria - including Cheb Mami, Chaba Fadela and Cheb Sahraoui, he has worked on film music with Robert Plant and composes the music for his band Fantazia. (Visit the Fantazia website www.fantaziamusic.com for more info.) You can hear him on the new CD from the feted Ali Slimani on Real World called Espoir - Hope.
You can catch Yazid on the World on your Street stage at the WOMAD festival on the 24th of July. The Friday is a full Africa on your Street day on our stage, and I’ll be introducting all the acts, so come and say hi! As well as Yazid’s group El-Andalus, we’ll have the talented Doreen Thobekile from South Africa, a mesmerising duo Seydina Insa Wade and Oumar Sow from Senegal, and singer-songwriter Coco Mbassi from Cameroon who has recently moved from France to the UK.
Abdelkader Saadoun, the charismatic self proclaimed king of Rai in the UK, is also a mean oud player – look out for him around the UK’s major festivals this summer. Abdelkader has a new album coming out called Freedom, a gutsy fullblooded mix of Algerian rhythms and Jazz and Rock.
Going full circle, on the 24th of July Culture Musical Club - Grand Orchestre Taarab de Zanzibar (Tanzania), one of the oldest Taarab orchestras in the world will be playing at WOMAD Reading. Taarab means to be moved or agitated. It is the popular music of the Islamic Swahili East African coast. Imagine an Egyptian orchestra complete with violins, oud and kanun, driven by African rhythms provided by dumbak and tabla drums. With the stately poetic vocals sung in Swahili by a number of soloists including the the charismatic 90-year old queen of Taarab Bi Kidude.
If you get to any of these festivals, or if you’ve got your own North African favourites to recommend….or even if you just feel like saying hi, please leave your comments – I’d love to hear from you.
Rita
Rita Ray's Recommended CDs
Youssou N’Dour – Egypt
Hamza El Din - Escalay (The Water Wheel) - Oud Music
Check out my recommended CDs this month in the CD Reviews section or go to Music Search to look at our archive of recommended CDs.