We have reached our third and final L country - Libya. I'm going to take a short break from the series after this to build up my strength before plunging into a run of seven Ms.
Today's post would not have been possible without the good folks at Habibi Funk records, who for the last ten years have been releasing interesting sounds from the Arab world. In the last twelve months alone they have released four albums by Libyan artists, all of which feature today.
Without them there would not have been much here. For whatever reason I have found it more difficult to track down Libyan music than for most of the other countries in the series - just a couple of weedy crooners and the two bands that kick things off today (although see the PS below).
Weedy is certainly not a word you would use to describe Oydis, a death metal band from Tripoli. Death metal is not my cup of Libyan tea, but it seems to be almost as ubiquitous as reggae in some parts of Africa. This track comes from their 2019 album "As Humanity Falls", something it has a tendency to do with depressing regularity in Libya.
I know nothing at all about the next group. I'm not even sure of their name. I think they are called Groupe Amnar Awal but they may actually be Chaco, which is the name that Bandcamp has assigned to the album "Awal Akalin". Either way, the album came out it 2015 and might appeal to you fellow Sahel Sounds enthusiasts out there.
The rest of today's tracks come courtesy of Habibi Funk. We'll start with Hamid Al Shaeri, one of the biggest stars of Arab music in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of his success came while based in Egypt but he was born in Benghazi and started his musical career there before moving to Cairo in his early twenties. "Reet" can be found on a compilation of his 1980s recordings titled "The SLAM !Years".
Heading backwards to the 1970s we find The Free Music, a band led by composer/producer Najib Alhoush (whose magical rendition of "Staying Alive" you really need to listen to). The 2023 compilation "Free Music Part 1" features some of their original material from around 1976.
We finish with not one but two big slabs of the finest Mandatory African Reggae. First up is the man known as "the Father of Libyan Reggae", Mr Ibrahim Hesnawi. That is also the title of a compilation of his 1980s recordings that Habibi Funk issued late last year. Then we've got one of his musical offspring, Ahmed Ben Ali. "Subhana" is a compilation of his works from the mid 2000s.
"Internal Strife" - Oydis
"Anar Asanagh" - Groupe Amnar Awal
"Reet" - Hamid Al Shaeri
"Law Yom Saalak Had" - The Free Music
"Watany Al Kabir" - Ibrahim Hesnawi
"Ya Ghalian Alakheera" - Ahmed Ben Ali
PS Since writing the post I discovered the first video and was inspired to track down a few recordings by leading Libyan funkateer of the 1970s and 1980s Ahmed Fakroun. I am enjoying them very much but none of them match the song in the video so we are sticking with that.
PPS I would not rule out the possibility that MC Mego is a Sacha Baron Cohen creation.
I've got that Ahmed Fakroun track on a taped-from.the-radio compilation, so I suppose either Peel or Andy Kershaw must have played it many many years ago.
ReplyDeleteSounds like it is right up Kershaw's street
DeleteI love watching the videos you post in this series. There's something to be written about the universal imagery of pop music, whichever country it's written and recorded in. Not by me though, it'd have to be someone much smarter.
ReplyDeleteYour efforts above and beyond the call of duty never cease to amaze me, Ernie. I echo your comments about Oydis and tea, laud your relentless procurement of Mandatory Afircan Reggae and share Rol's views about the video selections.
ReplyDeleteThe short break will give me chance to catch up with my African Odyssey playlist!