{"title":"Music","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"habibi-funk-025-roger-fakhr-east-of-any-place","title":"Habibi Funk 025: Rogér Fakhr - East of Any Place","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\"East of Any Place” is a treasure trove of songs we came across alongside Rogér Fakhr's acclaimed 2021 album, \"Fine Anyway.\" These tracks, hidden for decades and only passed between a handful of people, offer a glimpse into Rogér’s musical genius and the vibrant scene of Lebanon during a period marked by civil war and social upheaval. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis release serves as a companion to \"Fine Anyway,\" featuring studio tracks that didn't make it into the previous album. Recorded in single day sessions in the late 1970s, the songs remain untouched, preserving the rawness and authenticity of the moment with impeccable folk-driven arrangements and lyricism shining throughout \"East of Any Place.\"\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased December 1, 2023 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlbum artwork by Raphaelle Macaron \u0026amp; Robert Winter, remastered by Munir Khauli, all songs written and performed by Roger Fakhr. The release is under license from Roger Fakhr. All profits are shared 50:50 between us and the artist, master ownership remains with the artist.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"info license\" id=\"license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":49613858767183,"sku":"673790037213","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":49613635060047,"sku":"673790037220","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"SPLATTER VINYL","offer_id":49613645742415,"sku":"4018939545505","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CASSETTE","offer_id":56591456272719,"sku":"673790037534","price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Roger-Fakhr-East-of-any-Place-Habibi-Funk-025-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741617121"},{"product_id":"ahmed-malek-musique-originale-de-films-volume-2","title":"Habibi Funk 027: Ahmed Malek - Musique Originale De Films (Volume 2)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eWe are more than thrilled to share a second collection of deep grooves and unreleased songs from Algeria's Ahmed Malek sound track works with you. Ahmed Malek who has often been compared to Ennio Morricone recorded the majority of these songs in the 1970s and early 1980s. His first releases are standout moments in Habibi Funk label history so we are more than happy to be able to follow up with another presentation of his music in 2024.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInitially we got in touch with Ahmed’s music via youtube and then the stars aligned to connect us with his family in Algeria. During one of those visits many years ago his daughter Henia gave us a box full of master tapes that her father had kept at home and this collection eventually played the foundation for this release.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe were and still are mesmerized by how effortlessly the music would switch between thematic jazz, funk and Algerian folk counterweighted with an undertone of melancholia. Musical perception is different for every person, but there is a good chance that Malek’s music will touch you in one way or another. As Ahmed says, “I didn’t choose music, music chose me.”\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003everöffentlicht am 28. Juni 2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLicensing info: The album was licensed from the family of Ahmed Malek. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. Only project related costs are deductible from the gross income, research and travel costs come out of our own share. Publishing was not included in our agreement (We feel it’s important to be transparent about these deals, therefore we will include these infos in all future releases).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMastering by Audiomoto, artwork by Raphaelle Macaron \u0026amp; Robert Winter\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":49705659531599,"sku":"673790037268","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":49705659564367,"sku":"673790037275","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"BOXSET 3LP","offer_id":49705659597135,"sku":"673790037312","price":100.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"BOXSET 2LP","offer_id":49705659629903,"sku":"673790037329","price":80.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"CASSETTE","offer_id":56599211344207,"sku":"673790037541","price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Ahmed-Malek-Musique-Originale-De-Films-Volume-2-Habibi-Funk-027-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741617010"},{"product_id":"ibrahim-hesnawi-the-father-of-libyan-reggae","title":"Habibi Funk 024: Ibrahim Hesnawi - The Father of Libyan Reggae","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eWe're proud to present Ibrahim Hesnawi release “The Father of Libyan Reggae,” out October 6th. Kingston meets Tripoli in this fiery collection. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHesnawi 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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. \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased October 6, 2023 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":49712357310799,"sku":"673790037176","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":49712357343567,"sku":"673790037183","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":54648761614671,"sku":"4018939545499","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Ibrahim-Hesnawi-The-father-of-Libyan-Reggae-Habibi-Funk-024-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616947"},{"product_id":"charif-megarbane-marzipan","title":"Habibi Funk 023: Charif Megarbane - Marzipan","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eHabibi Funk is excited to share “Marzipan” — our first full length contemporary release courtesy of Beirut’s multi-instrumental producer phenomenon Charif Megarbane. The LP is a journey into Charif’s styling, one he terms “Lebrary”: a vision of Lebanon and the Mediterranean expressed via the prismatic sonics of library music. Drawing influence from artists that encapsulates the Habibi Funk sound such as Ziad Rahbani, Ahmed Malek and Issam Hajali, Charif translates these influences into an LP that is equally at home in ’23. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFollowing his previous release of EP “Tayara Warak” in 2022, “Marzipan” is a sonic journey that seeks to capture the full scope of Charif Megarbane’s habitus in 17 tracks. As a composer and producer, Megarbane touts hugely versatile, sometimes volatile musicianship—his 100+ catalogue of projects (including groups like the Cosmic Analog Ensemble, the Free Association Syndicate, Monumental Detail, etc.) features a huge domain of sonic direction. This collection was previously developed in Megarbane’s own Hisstology which hosts a wealth of collaborative efforts. Now, Habibi Funk represents Megarbane under his own name. Megarbane finds a sonic through-line in his surrounding soundscapes as he draws on the chaotic energy of the crowded Beirut metropolis (“Souk El\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e Ahad”), the warm atmosphere of the Lebanese countryside (“Chez Mounir”), or the lushness of a Mediterranean beach resort (“Portemilio”). Reflecting the aural composition of his direct surroundings into kaleidoscopic instrumentation provides a unique insight into how one musical phenomenon transposes sight into sound.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e  \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased July 14, 2023 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Charif Megarbane. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"info license\" id=\"license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":49712474128719,"sku":"673790037091","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":49712474161487,"sku":"673790037107","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":54648728551759,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Charif-Megarbane-Marzipan-Habibi-Funk-023-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616915"},{"product_id":"ahmed-ben-ali-subhana","title":"Habibi Funk 022: Ahmed Ben Ali - Subhana","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan\u003eLibyan Reggae at its peak grooves courtesy of Benghazi-born Ahmed Ben Ali. After working with Ahmed on the 12” hit “Subhana” (Habibi012), Habibi Funk is back with a full-length release focusing on Ahmed’s releases from the mid 2000’s. The tracks on the LP represent a blisteringly deep collection of heavy reggae rhythms and synthesized grooves from a singular creative force, inspired as much from Jamaican sonics as from Libyan folkloric styles, as Ahmed says, “it’s the Libyan style, not some bullshit.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOur first and major contact with Libyan music began five-or-so years ago, when we were invited to visit an abandoned tape factory in Tunisia. We have talked about this influential visit more at length for the Free Music release (Habibi021), if you’re interested. Anyhow, the place was astonishing. It had a room full of unused - but already printed - inlay cards for tapes and three large rooms spreading over two floors of unsold stock. A rough guess would be more than 100,000 copies already dubbed with music, many of which were produced for the Libyan market. On top of this the owner, Hechmi, also told us of another 200,000 blank tapes held in a separate unit. Much of the music we found there was clearly influenced by Jamaican music, and we soon realized how popular\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eReggae music had been in Libya since the 1970’s.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReggae in Libya has dominated the charts since its arrival in the 1970’s and flourished with some of the pioneers of Libyan reggae such as Ibrahim Hesnawi, Najib Alhoush and The White Birds Band. Composers like Ahmed Fakroun and Nasser Mizdawi also played around with the genre, although they did not dedicate their sound to it. When we started researching into more contemporary recordings, we quickly came upon Ahmed Ben Ali. Ben Ali is a Libyan singer and producer, whose YouTube channel at the time contained four songs (we later learned they had been uploaded more than ten years prior). Despite the fact that these songs seem to be pretty popular, the channel became inactive a few months after its launch. In the comment section you could read appreciative feedback, not only from Libyans but also people from all over the world who seem to share a common passion for Ben Ali’s sound.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGenerally speaking, there is not really a blueprint on how to find the musicians with whom we would like to re-release music. In this case, we did consider visiting Libya, but in the end, it turned out not to be possible for a number of reasons. We focused our efforts on online research, and eventually we were able to connect with Ahmed by phone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eContextualizing his own style, Ben Ali points out that, “The Libyan folkloric rhythm is very similar to the reggae rhythm. So, if Libyan people listen to reggae, it’s easy for them to relate because it sounds familiar. This is the main reason why reggae became so popular here. [...] We played the reggae Libyan style, it’s not the same as in Jamaica. We added our oriental notes to it and if you mix both it becomes something great.” With a bit of laughter, he adds that “...to me it’s still original reggae, it’s the Libyan style, not some bullshit.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased June 16, 2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Ahmed Ben Ali. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"info license\" id=\"license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53861311512911,"sku":"673790037046","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53861311545679,"sku":"673790037053","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":54648708923727,"sku":"4018939545482","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Ahmed-Ben-Ali-Subhana-Habibi-Funk-022-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616834"},{"product_id":"the-free-music-free-music-part1","title":"Habibi Funk 021: The Free Music - Free Music (Part1)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eAvid Habibi Funk listeners may be familiar with Libyan composer \/ producer Najib Alhoush, who’s “Ya Aen Daly” - Bee Gee’s “Stayin Alive” cover - was included in our 2nd compilation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNajib’s group, “The Free Music” produced an astonishing 10 albums, all impressively strong and equally infused by soul, funk, disco and reggae. Groovy synths, thumping bass and drums and Najib’s distinct flavor collide for something special. Self-financed, all their albums are fully dedicated to their unique musical blend, a distinctly infectious groove that unfortunately didn’t make an impact outside of Libya due to the complex political situation at the time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen we made the selection for this album, we could have chosen a completely different number of tracks and the album would be been equally strong. There is a reason why it says “Part 1” in the title.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVinyl and CD come with an extensive booklet featuring background on The Free Music and Najib Alhoush, including words from Najib’s son, Yousef, as well as unseen photos and more.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs always this release is fully licensed, all proceeds are split 50:50 between us and Najib Alhoush's family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased March 17, 2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from the family of Najib Alhoush, the band's founder and leader. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53869188383055,"sku":"673790037008","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53869188415823,"sku":"673790037015","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":54648673960271,"sku":"4018939545475","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"CASSETTE","offer_id":56531102826831,"sku":"673790037510","price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/The-Free-Music-Free-Music-_Part1_-Habibi-Funk-021-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616791"},{"product_id":"maha-orkos","title":"Habibi Funk 020: Maha - Orkos","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eHABIBI FUNK \u0026amp; DISCO ARABESQUO PRESENT:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCompletely unknown album by Salah Ragab's Cairo Jazz Band vocalist Maha, recorded in Cairo in 1979. Features productions by Hany Shenoda of Al Massrieen. Maha’s “Orkos,” originally released on cassette, is one of these standout musical diamonds that combines Jazz and Egyptian vocal traditions with Funk, Latin and Soul. Out via Habibi Funk October 10th.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe arrival of the cassette age was a turning point in the music industry all over the world. Manufacturing a vinyl record was a time-consuming process, as well logistically and financially a barrier of entry for many. This soon led to a proliferation of smaller acts and record labels dedicated to a particular sound without the barriers present in making vinyl.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the same time, in Egypt in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, a new generation of musicians and composers made their way into the scene. Hany Shenoda, Mohamed Mounir, Magdy El Hossainy, Omar Korshid, Salah Ragab and Hamid El Shaeri are some names that come to mind. They all made very different music compared to one another but what connected them was their desire to add something fresh and new to what was perceived as the widely monophonic\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emusical traditions of Egypt. Many built their sounds on a combination of their own musical upbringing with influences coming from the outside. The success of these projects varied but for each one of these artists there were numerous lesser-known bands and singers. A lot of these often-short-lived projects would release their music on cassette on tiny labels.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaha’s “Orkos” album fits this category, and it’s fair to say that it was not a success when it was originally released in 1979 by Sout El Hob. While nobody remembers the exact numbers, sales must have been very limited and the project was quickly forgotten about and no follow up release was produced.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome years ago, we had released “Al Massrieen,” music which is the passion project of their composer, Hany Shenoda. Most of the music of this band was released by the Sout El Hob label and after our reissue they were happy with the extra visibility allowed us access to their back catalogue to assess whether there might be more projects we might be interested in. Maha’s “Orkos” was immediately a stand out album. A strong and energetic voice equally grounded in jazz as well as Egyptian vocal traditions, singing over instrumentals that offer a very wide range: from the funk sounds of “Law Laffeina El Ard” excursions into Latin music in “Orkos,” to the moody mellow sounds of “We Mesheet.” Nobody at the label really remembered much about the release or Maha herself. At the same time, we knew that this was an album we wanted to turn into a re-release.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile we could license the music from Sout El Hob, we didn’t want to commit to this project without the blessings and involvement by the woman who created it. We called her in late 2021 and she was clearly surprised to have someone call about music she recorded more than 40 years ago. But she also seemed interested in the idea to bring her music back to people’s attention and so the next time we were in Cairo we planned to meet. A few weeks later we were speaking with our friend Moataz, who runs the Disco Arabesquo project and showed him this great new album we found and to our surprise he knew the album, since having found a tape copy of it a year or two ago in Cairo. Thus, it was an obvious decision to team up for a collaboration for this project.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUpon meeting, she told us about how her brother got her introduced to music, and how she played with various bands, including Salah Ragab’s “Cairo Jazz Band”. She also told us how, in the mid 1980’s, she decided to leave music behind for a different life. But she also discussed the struggles and challenges of a woman trying to make it in the music industry. Luckily, she kept a great collection of old photos and she even had a spare copy of the promotional poster made for her release. We explained our vision to her and the idea behind making her music available again. She approved and was happy to share her story to provide valuable information and contextualization, found in the booklet accompanying the vinyl and CD release.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased October 10, 2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn collaboration with Disco Arabesquo.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53869331775823,"sku":"673790036896","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53869331808591,"sku":"673790036902","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":54648658952527,"sku":"4018939545468","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Maha-Orkos-Habibi-Funk-020-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616759"},{"product_id":"ferkat-al-ard-oghneya","title":"Habibi Funk 019: Ferkat Al Ard - Oghneya","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eAn absolutely legendary album from Lebanon by Issam Hajali’s group Ferkat Al Ard, “Oghneya” stands out as one of the great musical gems of the Arab world. A groundbreaking release from 1978 that represents the meeting point of Arab, jazz, folk and Brazilian styles with the talent of Ziad Rahbani, who did the albums arrangements. Filled with a variety of sounds and genres, from Baroque Pop to Psych-Folk to flashes of Bossa Nova, Tropicalia and MPB, “Oghneya” is like if Arthur Verocai took a trip to Beirut in the 70’s to record an album.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSadly there are two tracks from the original release of “Oghneya” that did not make it onto the reissue. “Ghfyara Ghaza” was replaced by the song “Juma’a 6 Hziran.” while “Huloul” was taken off without a replacement. This happened as a precondition from the band for this reissue to happen. We would have loved to include all tracks, but the decision ranged between having either a reissue like the one we put out or no reissue at all. Thus, an easy choice for us.\u003cbr\u003e__________\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn late 2016, our friends Ernesto and Natalie of Beirut Groove Collective invited me to DJ at one of their parties in\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eBeirut. A year or so before that, I had heard Ferkat Al Ard’s music for the first time, a Lebanese trio compromised of Issam Hajali, Toufic Farroukh and Elia Saba. I was ecstatic about the groups unique blend between traditional Arabic elements, jazz and Brazilian rhythms going hand in hand with poetic-yet-politically engaged lyrics. I learned that the band was active in the left-wing movement of Lebanon of the time and that they communicated their political ideas candidly through their songwriting.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI tried to search for information about the band and eventually found a recently published interview on a very small blog with Issam Hajali, the band’s singer. The only clue the article gave was to mention as a side note that Issam has a shop on Mar Elias Street, Beirut. This sounded to me like a great and precise piece of info, but it became less illuminating after I realized that this street is more than one kilometer long and is nothing but small shops. Nevertheless, I went there on a Thursday in early December 2016 and started asking people whether they knew where to find Issam Hajali. I ended up having an hour of nice, yet unsuccessful conversations until a tea vendor pointed me to the right place.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn our mind the idea was to see whether Issam was interested in re-releasing “Oghneya.” He was not opposed to it, but also made it clear that it was not his priority for a first project. He suggested we start with his first album, before Ferkat Al Ard was formed, “Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard,” which was recorded in 1977 in Paris together with his friend Roger Fakhr (whose work we have been privileged to re-release in the meantime as well.) “Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard” is melancholic, stripped-down, guitar-based folk intertwined with jazz-fused breaks, and here and there the unique sound of the santour glistens through. While the music is very accessible, some song structures are rather atypical, neglecting common patterns of verse, hook, verse, hook. The lyrics mostly trace back to the poetic work of Palestinian author Samih El Kasem, with one song also written by Issam, who composed the music for the whole album.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe re-released Issam’s “Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard” in 2019 to a great reception, with positive reviews all over the place. There is an ongoing appreciation for the album that to this day does not\u003cbr\u003eseem to diminish the way many albums tend to fade from the public eye a few months after the release. This also meant it was time for us to undertake an “Oghneya” re-release again!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you compare “Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard” and “Oghneya,” one apparent distinction is the strong Brazilian influence in the music. Issam Hajali explained to me that you can already hear traces of this influence on his debut, but it’s “Oghneya” where this musical relationship really peaks. Lebanon and Brazil have had a strong connection for nearly a century due to the continuous flow of immigrants from one country to the other. Today, Brazil has the largest Lebanese diaspora in the world, the “Brasilibanês” [for further reading on this subject we highly recommend Gabrielle Messeder’s article “Brazilian Encounter - Beirut’s ‘Golden Age’, Ziad Rahbani, and Lebanese Bossa Nova” (2021)].\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe migratory route was not a one way street, however, and some Lebanese returned to their home country, taking recordings of the music they learned to love in Brazil with them. They were followed by Brazilian musicians who visited primarily Beirut during the 1960’s and the first half of the 1970’s, just like many other musicians from around the world. In these years between the independence and the beginning of the civil war, Beirut became even more of a cultural center and regional hub than it already was. You can get an idea of the multitude of musical influences in Beirut at the time when you visit the city’s Sunday markets to look for vinyl; you might end up finding everything from Fela Kuti, to Francoise Hardy to Oum Khaltoum.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBossa Nova, at that time, was one of the defining sounds of Brazilian popular music. Issam Hajali remembers hearing it at a bar in Beirut’s Hamra district in 1974, which hosted musicians from Brazil playing the occasional gig. When Issam had returned from Paris in 1976 he got to know Ziad Rahbani, son of Fairouz, who had a shared passion with Issam for a lot of things, among them Brazilian music. Issam showed him some of the tracks he was working on, and Ziad agreed to help with arranging them. The music that evolved from this cooperation between Ferkat Al Ard and Ziad Rahbani’s arrangement is, to put it lightly, outstanding. Issam’s singing is embedded into the uniquely beautiful string arrangements backed by the band’s poignant, swinging groove. The lyrics of the songs on “Oghneya” are based on poems by Mahmoud Darwish, Samih Al Qasem and Tawfiq Ziad, three pillars of Palestinian poetry within the last century, and their influence on “Oghneya” was itself a strong political statement during the Lebanese war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Oghneya” was eventually released in 1978 by the band themselves on cassette tapes. Finding a blank tape that fit the playing time proved to be impossible during the war so they needed to open up the case of each cassette to physically cut down the tape and customize it to the playing time. The album was well received, though some cultural critics deemed it too “occidental” in its sound. While the cassette was circulating, Ziad Rahbani started a label called Zida, together with Khatchik Mardirian. They decided to help the band with a re-release on vinyl in 1979, a year after “Oghneya” was originally released on cassette.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased June 24, 2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Issam Hajali, the band's singer and main composer. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53869460488527,"sku":"673790036773","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53869460521295,"sku":"673790036780","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":54648626643279,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Ferkat-Al-Ard-Oghneya-Habibi-Funk-019-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616687"},{"product_id":"hamid-el-shaeri-the-slam-years-1983-1988","title":"Habibi Funk 018: Hamid Al Shaeri - The SLAM! Years (1983 - 1988)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eIf you were to ask us for a defining Habibi Funk track, there are a few that come to mind: from Fadoul’s “Sid Redad,“ Dalton’s “Soul Brother“ to Ahmed Malek’s “Omar Gatlato.“ However, none are as widely connected with us at this point as Hamid Al Shaeri’s “Ayonha.“ We heard the track for the first time when we were working on selecting tracks for your first compilation and we instantly loved it. We obviously had heard of Hamid El Shaeri’s music before, but only material from his Al Jeel phase when he was already the full-blown superstar he is now. Listening to his releases from the early 1980’s opened a whole new door for us. At the time, Hamid had just left Libya to pursue his career in Egypt via a detour in London, where he recorded his first album.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHamid’s distinct sound of the sound is quintessentially reliant on heavy synths and so it was particularly important to purchase these synths in a timely manner. “Whenever a new one [synthesizer] would come out, we would have to buy it immediately, otherwise someone else would get their hands on that sound.” London also played an important role for Hamid as a musical epicenter. He fondly reminisces about the many live shows he attended there, including some of the biggest international musicians like Freddie Mercury\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand Michael Jackson.\u003cbr\u003eAfter returning to Cairo where he also recorded his following albums, he connected with SLAM! for the release of his debut, laying the foundation of a collaboration that lasted for 5 albums.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLuckily, we were able to connect with Hamid through our friend Youssra El Hawary, whose extensive network has opened many doors for us within the Egyptian music scene. We met Hamid for the first time probably in 2016 at his office \/ rehearsal studio in the outskirts Cairo. We were expecting a larger-than-life character in-line with his status as a certified superstar, yet the actual person turned out to be very approachable and super easy to connect with. He liked the idea of an effort to amplify his early works again, which, when originally released, were far from an economic success. While he was down to assist with an interview and his blessing for the project he also told us that for any license we needed to speak with the original label SLAM! who released these songs, still held the rights and also remained in business over the decades though they didn’t actively release any new music.\u003cbr\u003eHany Sabet had started SLAM! records in the early 1980s and focused on cassette tape releases, the format that expedited the success of a new generation of record labels in Egypt. By the mid 1980’s, SLAM! had become one of the most successful and economically dominant record labels in Egypt, with Hamid El Shaeri being just one of their key artists, alongside Mohamed Mounir, Hanan, Hakim, Mustafa Amar and many more. Luckily, Hany Sabet turned out to be a friend of our colleague Malak Makar’s father, which probably helped to warm him to the idea of licen- sing “Ayonha” to this - in the scale of his world - tiny label from Germany. Eventually “Ayonha” ended up becoming a widely successful release and either Hany or we brought up the idea of a full album dedicated to Hamid El Shaeri’s work on SLAM!.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis release is dedicated to Hany Sabet, the founder of SLAM! and his wife Rosemary Jane Sabet (who took the photos we used for the cover and the booklet), who sadly passed away during the time it took us to prepare the release.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased February 25, 2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from SLAM, the label who originally released the songs used.. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53869607846223,"sku":"673790036391","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53869607878991,"sku":"673790036407","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54648607080783,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"CASSETTE","offer_id":56519307559247,"sku":"673790037558","price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Hamid-El-Shaeri-The-SLAM_-Years-_1983-1988_-Habibi-Funk-018-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616652"},{"product_id":"majid-soula-chant-amazigh","title":"Habibi Funk 017: Majid Soula - Chant Amazigh","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eHabibi Funk is happy to present a selection of works by Algerian-born, Amazigh artist Majid Soula. With synths, driving drums, prominent repetitive guitar lines, Majid’s music blends the best of Kabyle sounds, disco, highlife and groovy funk into something wholly unique. At the same time for Majid Soula music is a vessel for his political message.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor Majid Soula music is more than just entertainment. He considers himself an activist through music, and foremost a “chanteur engagé”, as he says of himself: “I am not a politician. If I can deal with art and culture it’s already a lot. Above all, I am an artist whose first concern is to present a quality artistic work in order to contribute, however modestly, to the development and enrichment of our cultural heritage. When I fight, for example, for the defense of the Berber culture, it is not by political spirit. It is a natural act. I am against violence wherever it comes from and I do not support injustice. If the essential freedoms were granted, the Algerian artists would have no reason to take on this burden and this mission. They could, like all other artists of the world, devote their talent to making people dream.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI take my inspiration from the daily life of my people and I share all their aspirations, mainly the official recognition of Tamazight as a language, culture and identity.”\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased December 10, 2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Majid Soula. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53869656572239,"sku":"673790036377","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53869656605007,"sku":"673790036384","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54648573362511,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Majid-Soula-Chant-Amazigh-Habibi-Funk-017-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616619"},{"product_id":"roger-fakhr-fine-anyway","title":"Habibi Funk 016: Rogér Fakhr - Fine Anyway","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eI do not exactly remember when I heard the name Rogér Fakhr for the first time. It must have been around 2 years ago during one of these afternoons I spent at Issam Hajali’s jewelery shop on Mar Elias Street in Beirut. We had started working on the idea of re-releasing some of Issam’s music and he proposed his first album “Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard”; recorded before starting his band Ferkat Al Ard. As it happened, Rogér had colaborated with Issam in the process of working on the music and recording. They were both living in Paris for some time after each of them have had left Beirut sometime after 1976.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhenever Rogér's name came up in conversations, it nearly automatically ended up in a praise of his outstanding musical talents. Right off, it caught my interest because neither had I heard of Rogér Fakhr nor could I find any infos about him on the internet. So Issam recounted how they even used to be flat mates for some time and constantly working on music together. Eventually their collaborations came to an end after Rogér emigrated to the USA. In fact, I got to know he initially was on tour as part of Fairuz's band in the US and just decided to stay there ultimately. At some point, Issam mentioned how he had actually kept some of Rogér’s music on\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003etape in his basement but also he couldn’t play it to me before Rogér would green light that.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the story goes, at that period of time a multitude of projects were ongoing and I somehow missed out of inquiring further. Yet Rogér’s name kept on coming up in conversations with musicians of the same generation in Beirut steadily. No matter whether it was Ziad Rahbani, Munir Khauli or anyone else talking about him, every single mention would almost inevitably be followed by a huge praise for his music and approval of his talent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe disparity between him being so highly appreciated amongst his peers, while somehow simultaneously not being part of the researchable musical history of Lebanon (at least to me!) of the last decades, baffled me and at some point I just asked Issam for Rogér’s contact. After we exchanged some emails and he ended up sending me a selection of music recorded in the late 1970s in Beirut. While some of that material had never seen a release, others were released on his album “Fine Anyway” - back in the time, he had hand copied around 200 cassette copies of that album.\u003cbr\u003eTo put it short: I was blown away! The music was a mixture of folk with touches of other genres. Maybe one could also refer to it as “singer-songwriter”, since all of the songs were Roger’s own compositions. Songs of unique beauty both musically as well as lyrically. At the same time they gave me the feeling of them being somehow time and space isolated capsules. Nothing really revealed, where they could’ve been recorded and without knowing it was Beirut, my first guess maybe would have rather been California, sometime in the 1970s. The immersive effect of his compositions and voice are just incredible. I was stunned and proposed Rogér to work on a re-release, which he politely declined, saying he had no interest in this music being reissued.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFast forward a year or two, Beirut had been rocked by the horrible explosion of it’s port on the 4th of August 2020. We (everybody at the label) were truly shocked and after the initial paralysis had vanished and we managed to check in on friends, whether they are ok or in need of something, thoughts on how to help with the rescue and relief efforts happening locally developed. Not being physically able engage with the support groups on site, we figured it would be the most evident idea to put together a compilation featuring some of the Lebanese musicians we had met and adore such as Ferkat Al Ard, Munir Khauli, Toufic Farroukh and Abboud Saadi in solidarity. We managed finalize the compilation within 24 hours and after we were nearly done I thought why not at least let Rogér know about it. He called me back within an hour, excited to be part of the project. In the meantime, his perspective on the idea of reissuing his music had shifted and he was welcoming the idea to make his music heard by a new generation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI hope his music will be a revelation to you listening just like it was for us.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased April 9, 2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll songs written, arranged and composed by Rogér Fakhr.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Rogér Fakhr. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53899242275151,"sku":"673790036063","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53899242307919,"sku":"673790036070","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54648372855119,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Roger-Fakhr-Fine-Anyway-Habibi-Funk-016-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616588"},{"product_id":"an-eclectic-selection-of-music-from-the-arab-world-part-2","title":"Habibi Funk 015: An eclectic selection of music from the Arab world, part 2","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eThis compilation of songs is not meant as a historic reflection of popular music of the “Arab world.” It is a very personal selection of songs we grew to like at Habibi Funk. It is music that historically never existed as a unified musical genre. We think it’s important to make this distinction and to have the listener understand that the majority of the music on this compilation does not come from the highly famous names of the musical spectrum of North Africa and the Middle East. Instead, the final body compiled for this record consists of some – at least for us – nichey pearls and often overlooked artists; resulting in a diverse range of styles from Egyptian organ funk, disco sounds from Morocco, an example of the lively reggae scene of Libya, political songs from Lebanon, soundtrack music from Alge- ria, a musical union between Kenya and Oman, and much more.\u003cbr\u003eThe photo we chose for this cover somehow could be seen as an allegory of the sounds we feature on the label. It depicts Algerian composer Ahmed Malek at an ice cream bar dur- ing his stay in Japan for the World Expo in Osaka, 1970. He later said that his visit to Japan and especially the manga culture left a distinctive mark on the way he created his own compositions. With this in mind, it feels as a suiting visual representation for the mu- sic on this\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecompilation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAccordingly, the compilation you are holding in your hands offers a much wider range of music than just funk influenced sounds. Sure, it brings back Fadoul, who we have already dedicated a full length album to. He was the mystical Moroccan singer who - influenced by the sounds of James Brown- created his own musical vision full of energy but also still very intimate. Another artist we have featured before is Ahmed Malek, the grand Algerian soundtrack composer, whose music is largely connected by a distinct feeling of melancholic beauty or Hamid Al Shaeri, the Egyptian hit producer whose track “Ayonha” was probably the most widely appre-ciated track off our first compilation. But we have also learned that this format of a compilation can serve as a medium to introduce artists to our audience, who we are planning to dedicate full length releases to in the near future, such as Ibrahim Hesnawi. Hesnawi is the father of reggae music in Libya - a genre still widely popular in Libya - and whose presence in the country is commonly connected to the rhyth- mic similarities of reggae with some form of Libyan folkloric music. Nahib Alhoush is another Libyan artist, whose musical output we will spotlight in the near future. In the 1970s, he was the co-founder of Free Music, one of the first Libyan bands introducing western influences into their music. After the band stopped performing together he started an at least equally successful solo career under his own name.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen I got into Arabic music around five or six years ago, I knew pretty much nothing about it. Realistically, I still know very, very little about it and I’m by no means an expert. I just had the opportunity to visit the region frequently, trying to learn about music I might like. Most of the bands, I happen to enjoy, were fairly obscure and therefore a lot of the music on this compilation seems to be largely forgotten. After sharing many of the old records and tapes online through mixes, I have realized that there is a huge disparity be- tween the interest in the music on the one hand and its availability on the other.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll tracks on this compilation are fully licensed, most directly from the artist or in the case of artists, who are deceased licensed from the artist’s family. There are two exceptions: Hamid Al Shaeri’s track was licensed from SLAM! as the label is still active under the name Sonar. Zohra’s “Badala Zamana” from the great Belgian label MTMU, who has reissued this track under license from the producer on 7” format before. As a European label dealing with non- western artists we try to be aware of the responsibilities that derive within the making, regarded from a post-colonial point of view by demanding on ourselves not to reproduce exploitative economic patterns. We split all of the profits from our releases equally with the artists without deducting any costs that are not directly related to the release (e.g. we pay for our research to find an artist as well as all travel costs from our share of the profit). Our agreements are licensed deals with limited terms after which the rights fall back to the artist or the artist’s family. The master rights stay with the artists, we just license them. We do not include publishing rights in our deals. We think it is important in today's reissue market, where too many shady business transactions happen, to be transparent about our licensing policies. We are always available for any questions, requests as well as more detailed information.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased August 6, 2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from the artists featured on this album. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"2LP VINYL","offer_id":53899343954255,"sku":"673790035912","price":24.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53899343987023,"sku":"673790035929","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"2LP COLOR VINYL","offer_id":54648328388943,"sku":"","price":29.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Habibi-Funk-An-Eclectic-Selection-Of-Music-From-The-Arab-World-_Part2_-Habibi-Funk-015-05-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616546"},{"product_id":"sharhabil-ahmed-the-king-of-sudanese-jazz","title":"Habibi Funk 013: Sharhabil Ahmed - The King of Sudanese Jazz","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eContemporary Sudanese music draws a lot of influences both from Arabic musical as well as subsaharan traditions. “[...]It is rooted in the madeeh (praising the Prophet Mohamed in song). The genre filled out into something quite irreverent in the 1930s and 1940s when haqiba music, the madeeh 's secular successor, caught on. Haqiba, a predominantly vocal art in which the musicians accompanying the lead singer use few instruments, spread like wildfire in the urban centres of Sudan. It was the music of weddings, family gatherings and wild impromptu parties.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHaqiba drew inspiration from indigenous Sudanese and other African musical traditions in which backing singers clapped along rhythmically and the audience joined in both song and dance. The lead singer's incantations induced a trance-like experience in which spectators swayed along to the rhythm of the beat“ as Gamal Nkrumah wrote in a 2004 article Al Ahram Weekly newspaper. One of the first singers we at Habibi Funk came across some years ago and who struck a chord with us was Sharhabil Ahmed. Sharhabil was born in 1935 and he is the founding father of the Sudanese Jazz scene. His aim was to modernize Sudanese music by bringing it together with western influences and instrumentation like he summarized\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eit himself in a 2004 interview for „Al Ahram Weekly“:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[...]Haqiba music, you know, was traditional vocal music with little accompaniment beyond a tambourine. When our generation came in the 1960s, we came with a new style. It was a time of worldwide revolution in music. In Europe, the rhythms of swing and tango were being replaced by jazz, samba, rock- and-roll. We were influenced by this rejuvenation in Sudan, too. I started out by learning to play the oud and traditional Sudanese music, and got a diploma from the music institute of Khartoum University. But my ambition was to develop something new. For this, the guitar seemed like the best instrument. Western instruments can approximate the scales of Sudanese music very well. After all, a lot of Western music is originally from Africa. I have absorbed different influences, from traditional Sudanese rhythms to calypso and jazz, and I hold them together in my music with no difficulty.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReferring to its sonic apperance, Sudanese Jazz hasn’t too much in common with the western idea of Jazz. Sharhabil’s sound feels more like a unique combination of surf, rock n roll, funk, Congolese music and East African harmonies a.o. So it kind of made sense to me, while visiting him in Sudan, to see the records he kept over the years: 2 of his own and 2 by Mulatu Astatke signed to him, further proving the influence of Ethiopian and other neighboring countries. In fact, Sharhabil was not just one of many Sudanese Jazz artist. He is the king of Jazz, literally, since in he won a competion over other artists for that title.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAround the same time we first heard Sharhabil’s music we released a Hip Hop project on Habibi Funk’s sister label by a German producer called Pawcut and a Sudanese MC called Zen-Zin. The two had never met in person but connected over the internet and the result of the exchange was a demo we liked so much that we decided to release it. Zen-Zin was probably the first person we asked whether he knew anything about Sharhabil his answer was, “His son lives next door from me. We actually have a project together, his father and mine are old friends”. What might feel like a crazy coincidence actually turns out to be some kind of recurring serendipity. It’s only one of many stories, in which the stars align the paths in our favor and make projects possible. Be that as it may, Zen-Zin connected us with Mohamed, Sharhabil’s son, who at this point was in the process of moving to New York to pursue his own music career.\u003cbr\u003eMohamed was interested in the idea and shared it with his dad, who was fond of looking into it. We went back and forth to share ideas and suggestions. Finding Sharhabil’s music in a quality that it could be used as source for this release was a particular though task. It was easy to find a lot of songs on the internet but all of them in very bad quality. It took us years to find good source material, with occasional hick-ups like master tapes that also did not produce a satisfying quality.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2017, we visited Sudan for the first time personally and was lucky to meet Sharhabil in his house in Omdurman. Despite being in his mid 80s he’s still very active and mentally sharp with a vivid memory filled with artistic achievement from his musical work to his work as a comic artist, something he his equally known for in Sudan. The following year we featured his song “Argos Farfish” on our first compilation. And what a song it is! Driven by an an electric guitar, horns and Sharhabil’s energetic yet smooth voice it’s a personal favorite on this release. Why this release is only coming out now? I really can’t tell you! But at least finally here it is. The king of jazz is holding court.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased July 10, 2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Sharhabil Ahmed. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"info license\" id=\"license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53905984422223,"sku":"673790035530","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53905984454991,"sku":"673790035547","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54648319410511,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Sharhabil-Ahmed-The-King-Of-Sudanese-Jazz-Habibi-Funk-013-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616509"},{"product_id":"ahmed-ben-ali-subhana-ep","title":"Habibi Funk 012: Ahmed Ben Ali - Subhana (EP)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eReggae from Libya, recorded at Ahmed Ben Ali's home studio in Benghazi in 2008. Ahmed Ben Ali was born in 1971 in Benghazi. He went to boarding to school in Canada for 8 years, and returned to Libya. For a couple of years he also worked in the UK. Music was never his main job but his “main hobby” as Ahmed says. While going to school and also living in the UK he was always playing music and playing in bands. But it would take him years until he started recording his own music after many of his friends encouraged him to do so. This culminated in recording his first album, which he released in 2003. Since then he recorded maybe 40 tracks and released two more albums. He also started playing gigs in Libya with his own band.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2008 a friend of his decided to set up a youtube account for him by starting with two uploaded tracks. He then passed the account to Ahmed, who proceeded with uploading two further songs before he unfortunately happened to forget the password to the account. The account remained untouched since 11 years. At some points two of the tracks from this account started gaining traction. “Sibhana”, the infectious Libyan reggae, which you can also hear on this release and “Damek Majeb”, the second track on this 12 inch. Funnily “Damek Majeb” was uploaded by his friend including the caption “New libyan\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003etraditional music remixed by Ahmad Benali. Hope you enjoy!”, so I assumed the song was a folkloric title modernized by Ahmed Ben Ali, just like a lot of other people who heard the track. When I asked him about the original track he started laughing: „You know this is all a misunderstanding. For whatever reason my friend wrote this little sentence but actually it’s an original composition that I did. It’s not a cover or a remix or anything like that. When I saw what my friend wrote I thought it was funny so I didn’t change it.” The other track “Sibhana” is a song whose lyrics are loosely based on the poem „سبحان اللي هنتك وهونتيني“ by the Libyan poet AbdelKader Bouhedma.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAhmed Ben Ali works as a technical engineer and records music in his own home studio. There he operates as his own sound technician and his own producer recording the music plus writing the lyrics. A one man musical army. Contextualizing his own style Ben Ali pointed out that “The Libyan folkloric rhythm is very similar to the reggae rhythm. So if Libyan people listen to reggae it’s easy for them to relate because it sounds familiar. This is the main reason why reggae became so popular here. [...]We played the reggae Libyan style, it’s not the same as in Jamaica. We added our oriental notes to it and if you mix both it becomes something great.” With a bit of laughter he added: “And to me it’s still original reggae, it’s Libyan style, not some bullshit.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased February 21, 2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Ahmed Ben Ali. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"12\" VINYL EP EDITION","offer_id":53906142921039,"sku":"","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Ahmed-Ben-Ali-Subhana-Habibi-Funk-012-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616469"},{"product_id":"attarazat-addahabia-faradjallah-al-hadaoui","title":"Habibi Funk 011: Attarazat Addahabia \u0026 Faradjallah - Al Hadaoui","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eAttarazat Addahabia \u0026amp; Faradjallah's album came to us as quite a mystery. Our friends from Ra- dio Martiko got access to the studio archive of the Boussiphone label and a reel labeled “Fara- djallah” was among the items they had found there. After listening to the selection of reels they borrowed, Radio Martiko felt it was not a fit for their label and helped us licensing it from Mr. Boussiphone instead. We knew nothing about the band. We just had the reel with the music but very little information. What we knew was that the music was incredible and very unique. Gna- wa sounds were combined with funky electronic guitars, very dense layers of percussions and female backing vocals more reminiscent of musical styles further south than Morocco.\u003cbr\u003eWe started asking around whether anyone knew the band with no immediate success until we asked Tony Day, a musician from Morocco who helped us during our search for Fadoul’s family. His sharp memory came through once again, remembering all the names of the Attarazat Adda- habia band members and even how to contact the bands singer and leader Abdelakabir Faradjal- lah. After visiting him at his home in Casablanca with our Moroccan colleague Sabrina multiple times, he shared his\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003epersonal story.\u003cbr\u003eHis father arrived in Casablanca from Aqqa at the age of six and his mother came from Essaoui- ra. Abdelakabir was born in the neighbourhood of Benjdia in 1942. Abdelakabir Faradjallah stu- died fine arts in Casablanca, graduating in 1962. He also played soccer in the second team of \"Jeunesse Societe One\". His brother-in-law Ibrahim Sadr worked for one of the biggest football teams of the time in Morocco called \"Moroco Sportive Union\", which allowed him to travel to France occasionally. While Ibrahim was never part of the band he brought along a few instru- ments from trips. Yet the majority of the instruments they could not afford to buy were build by Faradjallah and Abderrazak, Faradjallah's brother who passed away early. For instance they had built a Spanish guitar and a drum made of wood barrel and sheepskin by themselves.\u003cbr\u003eHabibi Funk presents:\u003cbr\u003eDuring the 1950s Faradjallah was booked as a singer for surprise parties with friends. He started to write his first songs including \"L’gnawi\" in 1967 and wanted to make people discover Gnawa culture, or maybe rather his take on the culture to be more exact. Faradjallah recalls his first in- teraction with the genre in the streets of the Dern neighbourhood, where he used to go to elemen- tary school. Gnawa is one of the essential musical genres of Morocco. It combines ritual poetry with traditional dances and music linked with a spiritual foundation. Musically a lot of influences originated from West Africa as well as Sudan. Gnawa is usually played by a selection of specific instruments such as the qaraqab (large iron castanets centrally associated with the music), the hajhouj (a three string lute), guembri loudaâ (a three stringed bass instrument) and the tbel (large drums). People would put shells on their clothes and instruments and use incense at their parties. \"Sidi darbo lalla - lala derbo khadem...\" came from Gnawa verses Faradjallah used to sing when he was 14. The lyrics tackle a global (im)balance of power and the question of social status in this course.\u003cbr\u003eThe band Attarazat Addahabia was formed in 1968. The original line-up included 14 members, all from the same family. They played their first small concerts here and there starting in 1969. Later in 1973 they performed bigger shows for instance at the Municipal Theatre followed by the \"Al Massira Show\" at Velodrome Stadium in downtown Casablanca. Their first album \"Al Ha- daoui\" (the one you are listening to) was recorded at Boussiphone studios in 1972 and was never released before. Nobody seems to remember the exact reason why Boussiphone ended up deci- ding not to put the album out. The album's title track also served as the basis for Fadoul's \"Mak- toub Lah\", who frequented the same circles as the band for some time.\u003cbr\u003eTheir shows sometimes could go as long as 12 hours, starting at 5pm in the afternoon, with an occasional break here and there. In the 1980s the band took a brief break. Faradjallah recalled the reason for that break like this: \"Zaki, the bands drummer, had fallen in love with a young girl from Mohammedia. Soon after, he fell very ill. The group members were convinced that the girl had given him ‘s'hor’ (a kind of local Moroccan version of \"black magic\"). For four years, the whole group stopped playing. It was unthinkable to find another drummer to replace Zaki, even temporarily.\" So they waited four years for Zaki to \"get back on his feet\" before going back on stage.\u003cbr\u003eApart from very few gigs here and there Faradjallah stopped playing music in the mid 1990s. Some members from the younger generations formed a new band and still play frequently to this day. Faradjallah runs a television repair shop coupled offerings beverages and snacks in the Be- levedere \/Ains Sbaa district of Casablanca. While Faradjallah was primarily a musician, he would work for the local cinema and paint their posters for new movies by hand and he designed all artworks and cover posters of the band. And this eventually led to him participating actively in our first exhibition dealing with Habibi Funk’s work in Dubai 2018. He helped us by creating calligraphic complementations on large photo prints for that show.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased July 12, 2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Faradjallah. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"info license\" id=\"license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53906226479439,"sku":"673790034724","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53906226512207,"sku":"673790034731","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54648278942031,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Attarazat-Addahabia-Faradjallah-Al-Hadaoui-Habibi-Funk-011-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616437"},{"product_id":"issam-hajali-mouasalat-ila-jacad-el-ard","title":"Habibi Funk 010: Issam Hajali - Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eThe completely unknown debut album of Issam Hajali (Ferkat Al Ard) fuses jazz and folk with Arabic and Iranian influences into unique beauty. Originally released in a limited run of 75 cassette tape copies.\u003cbr\u003eIssam 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 called \"Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard\" in 1977 in Paris, most likely in May or June. Issam Hajali had to leave Lebanon after the Syrian intervention for political reasons and spent one year in exile in France. At this time he could only afford one studio day to record the whole project together with a band compromised of some musicians from France, one from Algeria, one from Iran and a friend from Beirut called Roger Fahr, whom had left Lebanon around the same time. While you can hear the musical roots of what later became Ferkat Al Ard in \"Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard\", the album also differs from Issam’s later recordings. \"It’s more of just me, whereas the sound of the band was more of a group effort\", he recalls. Melancholic stripped-down\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e, guitar-based folk is followed by jazz-fused breaks and every here and there that unique sound of the santour glistening through. While the music is very accessible, some song structures are rather atypical neglecting the common patterns of verse, hook, verse, hook. The lyrics mostly trace back to the poetic work of Palestinian author Samih El Kasem with one song also written by Issam, who composed the music for all of them. In late 1977 Issam could return to Beirut and took the not yet released album back with him. He could only afford to spend a short time in the studio, just to add little bits and pieces like percussion to finish an album that still felt unfinished to him. Even back in Beirut his economic situation was complicated, and it was impossible to find a label which was still operating under the circumstances of war. So, he started dubbing the tapes himself and producing black and white copies at the corner store. Most of the copies of the album were sold or given to friends. One record shop had them on the shelves on a commission basis. But as the shop owner was no fan of the music, she did little to sell them, hiding the tapes behind other releases. Eventually one of those tapes fell into the hands of Ziad Rahbani, Fairuz's son and a Lebanese musical institution in his own right. Ziad liked the music a lot and used to play on most of Ferkat Al Ard’s releases. And Issam also played on some of Ziad’s recordings and sessions. Nevertheless, the album was never known outside a very small scene of like-minded individuals and musicians of late 1970s Beirut. Issam is fairly certain that less than 100 copies of the tape were made back then in total and he only managed to hang onto one copy himself, from which this recording was made.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased November 22, 2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Issam Hajali. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53906437407055,"sku":"673790034700","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53906437439823,"sku":"673790034717","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54648228217167,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Issam-Hajali-Mouasalat-Ila-Jacad-El-Ard-Habibi-Funk-010-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616403"},{"product_id":"the-scorpions-saif-abu-bakr-jazz-jazz-jazz","title":"Habibi Funk 009: The Scorpions \u0026 Saif Abu Bakr - Jazz Jazz Jazz","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eI 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\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e-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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFast forward to 2017. We had signed a release by Sharhabeel Ahmed in order to finish the project (Yes, this one is still coming...soon.) I planned my first trip to Sudan. Two Austrian friends of mine had just returned from Khartoum and had met Ali Dokka at one of the few remaining live music venues of the city Baba Costa. Ali performs at this Cafe once a week to this day together with his band the Blue Stars. At some point in the 1970s though he used to be the guitar player for The Scorpions. Sure enough I went to see one of his gigs and he was more than surprised to hear questions concerning this particular band from his musical history but which he had nearly forgotten about. He told us to get in touch with Amir Sax. Amir is one of the bands founding members and was The Scorpions band leader from the early 1970s until they parted ways sometime in the 1980s. Unfortunately Amir was not be found or reached during the last couple days of my stay and again a little time passed before I could gather new knowledge about them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI went back to Sudan in December of the same year. In the meantime my local colleagues Larissa and Yassir had managed to reach Amir and he was happy to meet. We got together with him in a Cafe right at the Nile in Omdurman, the city right on the other side of the river from Khartoum. It was a happy occasion for everyone. He told us stories about him meeting Jimmy Cliff and Lewis Armstrong when they visited Sudan and how he and his band mates from The Scorpions played extensively in Kuwait, both in club residencies as well as for television. Amir brought tons of incredible photos illustrating not only the bands history but the vivid cultural live in the many music clubs in Khartoum of the 1970s. During this decade up until 1983 the capital was home to a huge number of clubs and concert halls. This scene started to perish after Nimeiry's turn towards the implementation of Sharia law in 1983. During the first decade of his rule he had actively supported various artists of the Jazz scene and was even taking artist like Kamal Keila along with him to trips throughout Africa. The 1989 coup of Bashir and his generals then caused the final blow to a once thriving scene. Both of these political events within 6 years lead to significant drawbacks for the Sudanese jazz scene resulting into hardly no gig opportunities left and parties and concerts being critically observed by the regime. A number of musicians faced prosecution, most of the time for their political views; some left Sudan for good. Music never completely vanished from public life and even the regime kept selected artists close but for a majority of those bands affiliated to the jazz scene life and making ends became a lot harder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Scorpions dissolved as a group around the same time. After the end of the band's activity Amir continued to be a full-time musician playing at various occasions. Seif Abu Bakr, the bands singer stayed in Kuwait after the recordings of the album and started pursuing a career outside the music industry although he kept on playing to this day with other bands in Kuwait in his spare time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI'm writing these introductory words in early August 2018. It is a Sunday and tomorrow The Scorpions will have one of their first rehearsals again. Seif Abu Bakr returned to his home country Sudan from Kuwait few weeks ago and the plan to re-release the music had been an igniting spark as well. Either way, it seems the narration of The Scorpions has not reached its end yet, let us hope this will only be another starting point within the bands long career. A starting point from which onwards they will receive a little more of the attention they have had deserved right from the beginning; both by a new generation of Sudanese as well as by the rest of the world.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased November 9, 2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Saif Abu Bakr. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53906692604239,"sku":"673790034144","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53906692637007,"sku":"673790034151","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54648007295311,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/The-Scorpions-And-Saif-Abu-Bakr-Jazz-Jazz-Jazz-Habibi-Funk-009-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616369"},{"product_id":"kamal-keila-muslims-and-christians","title":"Habibi Funk 008: Kamal Keila - Muslims and Christians","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eAbout a year or two 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 for the trip I started to dig deeper into Sudanese music trying to identify artists and sounds to dive into. On YouTube I found a music blog dedicated to Sudanese jazz bands run by Yassir Awad, a local IT expert. 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 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. His small house, where he lives with his sons and their families, is located on a little side street. In\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethe tiny garden area he has a number of empty pigeon cages, a\u003cbr\u003etestament of one of his hobbies he actively followed until some years ago. Kamal doesn’t know his exact age but was born sometime in the early 1940s and as much as his age shows when he’s moving around in his house he still lights up full of energy when reminiscing about his music.\u003cbr\u003eIn our conversation it turned out that even though his career seriously 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 tapes were in the most horrible condition with mold everywhere and obvious signs that they had gotten very wet at some point. Much to our surprise they played very well. Each tape 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 political climate of Sudan of the last decades, preaching for the unity of Sudan, peace between Muslims and Christians and singing the blues about the fate of war orphans called „Shmasha“.\u003cbr\u003eWhen we asked Kamal about the year the recordings were made he didn’t remember and the tapes itself didn’t give a clue either. Sonically we assumed they must be from the mid 1970s but we were in for a surprise when we found a little sheet in one of the cases of the reels. The note specified the track titles, durations and the fact that the sessions were recorded on the 12th of august 1992. Both sessions stand as a hearable testament how Kamal Keila stuck to a sound aesthetic from decades ago, while incorporating current events into his lyrics. Some of the songs were already written in the 1970s and have been part of Kamal’s sets ever since, with only small changes for some contemporary references in the lyrics and musically sometimes adopting to „new“ sounds here and there.\u003cbr\u003eKamal Keila’s album is the first in a series of releases covering the Sudanese jazz scene on Habibi Funk. Be on the lookout for albums by The Scorpions and Sharhabeel coming soon\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased July 6, 2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Kamal Keila. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. Since Kamal Keila's passing, royalties are payed out to his family. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"2LP VINYL","offer_id":53906753847631,"sku":"673790033918","price":24.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53906753880399,"sku":"673790033925","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"2LP SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54647635542351,"sku":"","price":29.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Kamal-Keila-Muslims-And-Christians-Habibi-Funk-008-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616333"},{"product_id":"an-eclectic-selection-of-music-from-the-arab-world","title":"Habibi Funk 007: An eclectic selection of music from the Arab world","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eHabibi Funk is dedicated to re-releasing a style of music that historically never existed as a musical genre. We use the term to describe a certain sound that we like from the countries of the Arab world. The songs we chose were created in places quite far from another and under very different circumstances. Some were written and recorded during war times, others in exile. Despite the differences we think there is a musical connection between them. Essentially, we are interested in the musical endeavors, in which artists from the Arab world mixed local and regional influences with musical interests that came from outside of the region. Even though the name suggests it’s all about funk music, our focus is more than just that. Often these influences might be inspired from Western popular music such as soul, pop and rock but it’s not limited to that either. Some of our favorite records are best described as Arabic zouk (a genre originating from the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe) like Mallek Mohamed’s music, Algerian coladera (a popular musical style from the Cape Verdean islands) or Lebanese AOR, which means the process of musical influences displayed on this compilation was much more versatile than just taking Western music as a blueprint and translating it with a local accent. The compilation features 15\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003edifferent artists. Some you might already know thru Habibi Funk’s releases like Fadoul, Ahmed Malek, Dalton or Al Massrieen, while others are meant as an introduction to artists like Kamal Keila, Sharhabeel Ahmed, Attarazat Addahabia \u0026amp; Mallek Mohamed who will all release full length albums on Habibi Funk in 2018.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn todays world there are still many stereotypical conceptions to be found when it comes to the Arab world. Contrary to what a lot of Western narratives and media suggest, the Arab world we got to know through extensive traveling in several countries of North Africa and the Middle East, is a very versatile terrain. A place full of different stories, ideas and beliefs. And we hope that the music we release helps as a tiny, tiny piece of a larger puzzle to establish a diverse, more nuanced yet adequate idea of how musically vibrant this very diverse region once has been and also still is. At the same time we do not want anyone to misunderstand this compilation as a selection of songs to represent Arabic musical history of the 1970s and 1980s. This compilation is nothing more than a very personal curation of songs we like and in no way reflects on what has been popular in a general sense.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll tracks on this compilation are directly licensed from the artist or, in the case of artists who are sadly no longer alive, from the artist’s family. There are three exceptions: Hamid Al Shaeri’s track was licensed from SLAM! and the tracks from Belbao and Attarazat Addahabia were both licensed from Boussiphone. As a European label dealing with non- western artists we try to be aware of the responsibilities that derive within the making, seen from a post-colonial point of view by demanding ourselves not to reproduce exploitative economic patterns. We split all of the profits from our releases equally with the artists without deducting any costs that are not directly related to the release .Our agreements are license deals with limited terms after which the rights fall back to the artist or the artist’s families. We think it is important in today's reissue market, where too many shady business transactions happen, to be transparent about our licensing policies.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased December 1, 2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from the artists featured on this album. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"2LP VINYL","offer_id":53919021859151,"sku":"4018939328931","price":24.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53919021891919,"sku":"4018939328948","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/An-Eclectic-Selection-Of-Music-From-The-Arab-World-Habibi-Funk-007-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616298"},{"product_id":"al-massrieen-modern-music","title":"Habibi Funk 006: Al Massrieen - Modern Music","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eWe’re happy to present a reissue of “Modern Music”, the last album by the iconic Egyptian band Al Massrieen, originally released in 1984. This was the final installment in a five-album run that marked the group as one of the most unique acts to emerge from Egypt at the time. Al Massrieen developed a distinctly modern sound shaped by funk, disco, and pop, written in Arabic lyrics and rooted in Egyptian musical tradition but with a twist.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe group was founded in the late 1970s by Hany Shenouda, a prolific composer and producer. He assembled a collective of musicians to form Al Massrieen, which included talents such as Eman Younis, Mona Aziz, Tahseen Yalmaz, Mamdouh Qassem, and others. Shenouda wrote and arranged most of the band’s music, and his vision guided the group throughout its career.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile many contemporaries leaned on the more classical or shaabi styles of Egyptian music, Al Massrieen carved out a new sonic space with a stronger pop sensibility and a clearer use of electronic instruments.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNotably, it is also the only one of their albums that was pressed in Lebanon, rather than Egypt, which makes original copies particularly difficult to find. Even inside Egypt, the record is rare due\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eto limited distribution and availability at the time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis reissue was licensed directly from Hany Shenouda, who also took the time to sit with us and share the story of the band and this particular album.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased April 28, 2017\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53919154635087,"sku":"673790033130","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53919154667855,"sku":"673790033123","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54647600415055,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Al-Massrieen-Modern-Music-Habibi-Funk-006-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616263"},{"product_id":"ahmed-malek-flako-the-electronic-tapes","title":"Habibi Funk 005: Ahmed Malek \u0026 Flako - The Electronic Tapes","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eTHE ELECTRONIC TAPES\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the early 1980s, Ahmed Malek was already in his 50s, when he discovered synthesizers and electronic music for himself and started to experiment with sounds. None of it was ever released but we got a huge box of master tapes from his family and we're happy to present this different side of Ahmed Malek's music. It was compiled and co-produced by Flako, a fan of early electronic and synth music. This is not a remix album though, Flako's aim was to create an album out of 2 hours of material that sounds like it might have if Mr. Malek would have finished it himself before of his death. Fully approved by the artists family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eفي بداية الثمانينات، أحمد مالك في خمسيناته اكتشف الموسيقى الإلكترونية و بدأ بتجربتها في أغانيه. هذه الأغاني لم تعرف الجمهور بعد، و قد حصلنا على مجموعة منها من طرف عائلته، و نحن جد سعيدين بتقديمها و تقديم هذا الوجه الجديد من موسيقى أحمد مالك. لقد تم إعدادها و ساهم في إنتاجها المنتج الألماني \" فلاكو \"، المولع بالموسيقي الالكترونية و ال synth.\u003cbr\u003eهذا ليس البوم رميكس، فقد سعي \" فلاكو \" لانتاج البوم مدته ساعتين، مكون من اغاني شبيهة بما كانت سوف تكون عليه أغاني أحمد مالك لو أنتجها بنفسه قبل مماته.\u003cbr\u003eالألبوم بموافقة تامة من عائلة الفقيد.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased February 24, 2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from the daughters of Ahmed Malek. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53919216632143,"sku":"673790032973","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53919216664911,"sku":"673790032980","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"SCREEN PRINT LTD VINYL","offer_id":54647584850255,"sku":"","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Ahmed-Malek-Flako-The-Electronic-Tapes-Habibi-Funk-005-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616229"},{"product_id":"carthago-alech","title":"Habibi Funk 004: Carthago - Alech (EP)","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eWhen we first decided to start Habibi Funk, a label dedicated to re-releasing „funky\" Arabic music from the 1960s to 1980s, a band called Dalton was the first release we worked on. Dalton was a band from the Tunisian capital of Tunis and they played a unique mix of soul \u0026amp; funk with an Arabic DNA. We licensed the release from the band’s composer Fawzi Chekili, and when we spoke to him on the phone in preparation of the release he mentioned another band he was part of, called Carthago. Our work with Habibi Funk is like a big treasure hunt. There are too many great bands that fully vanished into obscurity and didn’t leave any traces in the digital sphere yet. We are so used to the internet providing all informations we might be looking for, but Carthago was one of those bands where the internet largely failed to provide any infos despite the fact that Carthago created some incredible music in the form of an highly infectious Tunisian take on disco music. Luckily most of the members of the 1970s musical scene of Tunis are still around to tell their story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCarthago was founded in the late 1970s as a fusion of Dalton and a second band called Marhaba Band. Both bands frequently played at hotels and night clubs in Tunis and Sousse. They had similar musical influences and despite the fact that they were\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecompetition for the most part, they came up with the idea to join forces for a new band. Musically Carthago kept on walking on the musical path of Dalton and Marhaba but incorporated disco music, a new style that was making its way to North Africa from Europe and North America. The band had quite some success on local radio and played a number of big shows with thousands of people showing up. The band’s concerts were a mixture of their own compositions as well as cover versions of the hits of the time from Stevie Wonder to Chicago. At the end of the 70s they went to Paris to record their only, self titled album. For our reissue we picked out two of our favorite tracks: „Hanen“ and the outstanding disco version of the Dalton track „Alech“ which has proved to work on every dance floor we played over the last two years.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen I came to Tunis for the first time after the Dalton reissue I met Fawzi in person. He still lives in Tunis and still works as a full time musician though his focus has shifted more towards Jazz over the years. Luckily he did not only keep a spotless copy of the Carthago album but he also kept the master tape of the instrumental versions of the album which to this day were unreleased. Being able to add exclusive content to a reissue is something that is rare and we feel highly privileged to be able to do so. Futher more we are so happy that we will be able to add something new to the bands legacy not only musically but also visually: One day I realized that most of the releases from Tunisia I liked, be it from Dalton, Carthago or Marhaba Band had the same photographer credit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHassen Turki started taking photos at a young age and when he was 18 he started going to the gigs of the bands of the time that were playing in the Marhaba Hotel which was managed by his father at the time. He became friends with the bands and ended up being the person to be asked when it came to shooting the photos for the covers of the records. After some research I managed to get in touch with Hassen and met him in his hometown Sousse. Luckily he kept most of the negatives of the photos he took so we’re more than happy to be able to share these unseen photos with whoever is interested.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOur gratitude goes to all the members of Carthago, Marhaba Band and Dalton: Fawzi Chekili, Hedi Ben Ali (Dede), Ridha Kouhen, Ferid Ben Cheikh, Skander Almi, Hechmi Miliani, Mustapha Rehouma, Kamel Sellam, Claude Chiarello, Taoufik Sellam (Fouka), Sadok Gharbi, Fernando Marino (Nando), Jamel Bel Haj Khelifa and to Hassen Turki for allowing us to use his photos.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased December 2, 2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Faouzi Chekili, the band's leader and main composer. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"12\" VINYL EP EDITION","offer_id":53919368249679,"sku":"4018939308063","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Carthago-Alech-Habibi-Funk-004-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616202"},{"product_id":"ahmed-malek-musique-originiale-de-films","title":"Habibi Funk 003: Ahmed Malek - Musique Originale De Films","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eI still remember the first time I heard Ahmed Malek. It was 2012. Back then I didn’t know much about Arabic music, but I was about to leave Berlin for a couple of weeks to go to Tunisia. I was working as a project manager for a music recoding session which ended up being released by Jakarta Records as the “Sawtuha” release. I knew I would have some time off during my stay and I was certain that I would dedicate some of this time to diggin. I asked some people whether they knew of any titles that I should look for. Roskow, who also ended up re-mastering this release, told me about an Algerian composer called Ahmed Malek whose music was also released in Tunisia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFast forward three years: Arabic records have become my number one hobby and luckily I got my hands on a copy of Ahmed Malek’s “Musique Originale De Films” album. I already knew some of the tracks but listening to the music the way it was originally released, and not as a crappy Youtube version, made me fall in love with Malek’s compositions all the more. It manages to create this very special mood: melancholic and reflective, emotional and touching, but never depressing. Even without having seen any of the pictures created for this, it immediately brings visuals to one’s imagination.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAround that time I became captivated with the idea of\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ereissuing some of Ahmed Malek’s music. I knew some people had tried to locate his family but, but with no success. In the end it was an incredible amount of luck that made it possible for you to read these words and listen to this record. I had a DJ gig in Beirut playing old Arabic records and I mentioned my passion for Ahmed Malek’s music to a friend. She said she knew one person in Algier, and as much as it would be a shot in the dark, she could ask her if she had an idea of how to find Malek’s family. Two weeks went by before I heard back, and what I got was incredibly good news. Her Algerian friend was the neighbor of Ahmed Malek’s daughter! I’m not a spiritual person, but it felt like the universe wanted to see this release happen.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI started to speak with Henya, Ahmed Malek’s daughter and she was more then happy with our idea. She assured us that her father would have loved the plan as well. She provided us with tons of awesome material, from great photos, to unseen video footage and unreleased tracks; she also told us more about her father’s life:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAhmed Malek was born on March, 6th 1932 at Bordj El Kiffan, Algiers. He was the oldest son of a family of 3 brothers and one sister. He went to work at a young age in factories to help his father to raise the family. His mother died when he was 12. It was then that decided he wanted to become a musician, and after graduating school he studied at the Algerian Conservatory. He gained recognition for his craft from an early stage and won several prizes and medals nationally and internationally (The \"Premier grand prix des arts et des lettres de la composition\" in 1972, the golden medal at the \"Panafrican Festival\" in 1976, and the \"Prix du mérite national pour la composition musicale\" in 1987). He was the conductor of the \"Algerian Television Orchestra“ for many decades and represented his country at international events such as the Expo In Japan, Canada, Cuba and Spain. During his time as an active composer he wrote the music for dozens of movies, television shows and documentaries. Then, in the late 90’s, his health deteriorated. He passed on the 24th of July, 2008, at his home in El Mouradio, Algiers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased May 13, 2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from the daughters of Ahmed Malek. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53919779389775,"sku":"673790032416","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53919779422543,"sku":"673790032423","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Ahmed-Malek-Musique-Originale-De-Films-Habibi-Funk-003-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616169"},{"product_id":"fadoul-al-zman-saib","title":"Habibi Funk 002: Fadoul - Al Zman Saib","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eI came to Morocco in 2012 as the tour manager of Blitz The Ambassador, who back then was playing at Mawazine Festival in Rabat. It was the last date of the festival tour so I ended up staying a bit longer, adding some extra days in the rough yet beautiful city of Casablanca. In the 1960s and 1970s the city used to be the central hub for the Morroccan musical scene and recording industry with more than a dozen labels releasing a wide range of music.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStrolling through the city in 2012 I ended up in a particularly rundown part of the medina. I took a couple of side streets and found myself in front of a tiny shop that was over and over filled with broken electronic devices. I would have nearly passed it unnoticed until I realized that behind the electronics trash were piles of dead stock records. It turned out the owner of the store used to run a record label himself in the 1970s and sometime in the 80s his business shifted towards electronics after cassette tapes took over the market. It took me nearly a day to go thru the piles of records of mostly 7“s I had never seen before. There was one record in particular that caught my attention. It was by a band called „Fadaul et les Privileges“ and mentioned James Brown in the writing credits of the song „Sid Redad“ on the a-side. Needless to say my\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eexpectations were high. The first time I heard the record I was blown away. A cover of James Brown’s „Papa got a brand new bag“ sung in arabic and backed by a rawly recorded three piece band. It’s hard to describe the music without having listened to it, but as time went by I somehow ended up summarizing it as Arabic funk played with a punk attitude. A description, that I feel, comes fairly close. Soon I became obsessed by the record but nobody seemed to know anything about the vinyl or the artists, even google didn’t help. A true gem forgotten about through the passages of time. I kept on traveling to Morocco trying to find infos about the artists, which did not end up being fruitful during the first couple of trips. What kept me going was the fact that over the course of the next years I kept on finding different records by Fadoul, in the end a total of four. They all had the raw sound aesthetic of „Sid Redad“. Energetic performances, a mighty voice and a very lively atmosphere that was preserved in the recordings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt took me until 2014 to find first infos about Fadoul and the news I got through members of another Moroccan band called the Golden Hands. They told me that Fadoul had passed away a long time ago. As sad as it was to hear this, it was the start of a hunt that started with a phone call to another Morroccan singer called Tony Day who knew where Fadoul’s family used to live in the 1980s. Another trip to Morocco, countless taxi rides, and numerous phone calls and street conversations later we were standing in front of the house of Fadoul’s family in central Casablanca. We ended up meeting one of his sisters who shared beautiful stories with us about her brothers life. A creative spirit who painted, played theatre and eventually ended up dedicating most of his energy to music. He spent some time living in Paris soaking up the music of James Brown, Free and other American bands, laying the foundation of his unique mix of arabic and western musical influences. After his recording career he kept on making music in the 1980s, exploring new musical grounds. One of the jingles of a big Moroccan orange juice brand is composed by him. He got married and had two children. Fadoul passed 1991 in Casablanca at the age of 50.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNeedless to say it sitting in the living room of Fadoul’s family was an emotional moment for for all of us. For his sister and family who would have never thought that Fadoul’s music gained this much attention outside of Morocco and who hadn’t heard his music for 30 years due to the absence of a record player in the house. And obviously also for me as the 3 year search came to an end. I was more than happy that they loved the idea to re-release Fadoul’s music. So here we are: \"Azmanah Sa'Ib (Time Is Hard)“, Fadoul’s first LP 45 years after his music was originally released.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased December 18, 2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from the family of the artist. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":53920000180559,"sku":"673790031884","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":53920000213327,"sku":"4018939545451","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53920000246095,"sku":"673790031945","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Fadoul-Al-Zman-Saib-Habibi-Funk-002-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616120"},{"product_id":"dalton-alech","title":"Habibi Funk 001: Dalton - Alech","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eDalton 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……\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"That \"Soul Brother\" is my\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ejam…. !!!!\"\u003cbr\u003eLefto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased July 30, 2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from Faouzi Chekili, the band's leader and main composer. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. 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.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"7\" VINYL","offer_id":53920472760655,"sku":"4018939282738","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Dalton-Alech-Habibi-Funk-001-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1741616051"},{"product_id":"habibi-funk-limited-002-charif-megarbane-hamra-red","title":"Habibi Funk Limited 002: Charif Megarbane - Hamra \/ Red","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eCharif Megarbane is an incredible composer and musician from Beirut, Lebanon. We released his album \"Marzipan“ last year. He is not only a gifted musician though, he is also a super productive one, on his Bandcamp he has shared over 100 albums with the world. In order to find an outlet for his productivity, we figured we should start a little series of limited edition releases. The vinyl is on pre-order now, all tracks will drop in 2 weeks. 172 copies, each cover is unique with a signed original polaroid. Charif said the following about the release: \"Hamra \/ Red“ is a grainy, beattape-style collection of instrumentals loosely attached to the perception of a colour, or a place (Hamra, the red one, is an eternally bustling Beirut neighbourhood). Each sleeve design composition and adorning polaroid might be unique, yet they´re all connected by their elements, their instruments. Just like the songs, leaving the cracks in intentionally. The colour red manifested itself throughout the assemblage of this project, whether in objects inspiring the song titles or the happenstance of encountering poppy flower fields during polaroid sessions. The singles reflect these different facettes: \"Pesce Rosso“´s mid-tempo march innocent and wide-eyed, \"Stella Marina“´s dubby echoes more exuberant and snarky. Two sides of one colour, two colours of one side.“\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased July 5, 2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll songs composed, mixed and produced by Charif Megarbane.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":54711442309455,"sku":"","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Charif-Megarbane-Hamra-Red-Habibi-Funk-Limited-002-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1742560854"},{"product_id":"habibi-funk-029-cheb-bakr-samh-ameaad","title":"Habibi Funk 029: Cheb Bakr - Samh Amea'ad","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eWe’re happy to announce our 27th release, a 7“ by Libyan singer Cheb Bakr titled “Samh Almea’ad,\", Our journey with Cheb Bakr’s music began when Yousef Alhoush, whose father Najib Alhoush led The Free Music from Libya, generously lent us boxes of cassettes to digitize. For three days in a hotel room on Zamalek island in Cairo, we sifted through nearly 100 tapes, finally landing on several from Cheb Bakr that dated back to the late 1990s and early 2000s. His albums stood out for their fresh, genre-defying sound—Bakr’s vocals flowed effortlessly over R\u0026amp;B and hip-hop beats with touches of jungle and drum and bass percussion We noticed familiar rap verses on a few of Bakr’s tracks—verses by none other than Ahmed Ben Ali, who was about to release an album with Habibi Funk. When we asked Ahmed about his connection with Bakr, he explained that they’d collaborated closely at Jamaica Studios in Benghazi.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDespite having lost touch for years, Ahmed helped us reconnect with Cheb Bakr through mutual friends. Their reunion took place in Bakr’s living room, where we joined them on a video call to discuss Bakr’s career and his influences. He explained how he sought to reinterpret eastern Libyan folk sounds for a new generation, blending them with contemporary\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003egenres.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis 45 marks the beginning of our work with Cheb Bakr, there is an album to follow next year. For now these introductory songs offer a glimpse into his unique musical styl Side A features “Samh Almea'ad,” a reinterpretation of a 2003 New York classic with Bakr’s signature spin. Side B, produced by Ahmed Ben Ali, features “Rjana Lamta,” a track that hints at American influences alongside a nod to Ahmed’s “Dameek Majeb.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleased December 6, 2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLicensing info: The 7\" was licensed from Cheb Bakr. We pay 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. Only project related costs are deductible from the gross income, research and travel costs come out of our own share. Publishing was not included in our agreement (We feel it’s important to be transparent about these deals, therefore we will include these infos in all future releases).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMastering by Audiomoto, artwork by Raphaelle Macaron \u0026amp; Robert Winter\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"7\" VINYL","offer_id":54711538450767,"sku":"673790037374","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Cheb-Bakr-Samh-Almea_ad-Habibi-Funk-029-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1742561871"},{"product_id":"habibi-funk-030-charif-megarbane-hawalat","title":"Habibi Funk 030: Charif Megarbane - Hawalat","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eIf Hawalat sounds like a world tour that’s because it essentially is. “As much as Marzipan is a picture of Lebanon from the inside, Hawalat kind of picks up from where Marzipan finished but more looking to the outside, the diaspora, to the notion of exile.” Megarbane says he is interested in the connections between the global and the domestic, the mundane and the cosmic, and wanted to create space for non-linear progression.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHawalat is based on the idea of hawala, informal money transfers that you can make to certain countries impacted by a lack of currency or unstable political and economic contexts. His use of the term on this album is not a financial one, Megarbane explains, but a nod to notions of creative exchange between “places, persons, generations.” It is the first time Megarbane called on other musicians in this way to inform his sound, including a collaboration with Sven Wunder on the song Helia featuring strings by the Stockholm Studio Orchestra.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album opens with first single Hanadi, a punchy Somali-inspired track with warm non-lexical vocals and saxophone. It immediately pivots to the Dreams of an Insomniac, which balances soft, effortless vocals and keys with urgent violin intrusions. Al Dollarji feels like Megarbane’s bread and butter, that is Mediterranean sounds with intricate strings, while Al Bahriye takes this staple and introduces hip hop inflections. The result is a rich 17 track album that effortlessly blends genres and styles.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleases April 11, 2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eComposition, production, arrangements and mixing: Charif Megarbane (except Track 8 composed, mixed and produced by Charif Megarbane \u0026amp; Sven Wunder), Liner notes: Armani Syed, Artwork: Raphaelle Macaron \u0026amp; Robert Winter, Executive producer: Rabih Daher\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"license\" class=\"info license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":54711643963727,"sku":"673790037398","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":54711643996495,"sku":"673790037404","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":54711644029263,"sku":"673790037435","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"CASSETTE","offer_id":56598965420367,"sku":"673790037527","price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Charif-Megarbane-Habibi-Funk-030-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1742562455"},{"product_id":"habibi-funk-031-a-selection-of-music-from-lybian-tapes","title":"Habibi Funk 031: A Selection Of Music From Lybian Tapes","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cspan\u003eA gorgeous heavy box set (same style as the one we did for Ahmed Malek) includes:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lightweightBreak\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHabibi Funk 031: A Selection of Music from Libyan Tape - 2xLP\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHabibi Funk 032: A Selection of Music from Libyan Tape - Bonus EP\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lightweightBreak\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe box set comes with an extensive booklet (32 pages, the longest we ever produced) with interviews with all the artists from the compilation. The bonus EP is exclusively available as part of this box set\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eWe're more than happy to announce our 31st release which happens to be our 3rd various artist compilation. The album is dedicated to the cassette tape scene in Libya from the late 80s to early 2000s, from disco to reggae to pop. We also have a box set with a bonus LP available which for now is only available on bandcamp. The full release is dropping on the first friday in July. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis compilation isn’t a sweeping history of Libyan music — it’s a personal journey into the sounds we fell in love with while digging through tapes, conversations, and stories across Libya and beyond. Rather than spotlighting the country’s most famous musical exports, the compilation brings forward a mix of overlooked gems and local classics of the cassette era: artists whose work thrived in spite of political limitations, and scarce international exposure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe music featured here blends reggae rhythms, synthy disco grooves, gritty pop, house, and funk, a vibrant collision of genres that reflects Libya’s unique sonic landscape from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Many of these recordings were recovered from the TK7 cassette factory in Sousse, Tunisia, a now-demolished site that once played a quiet but vital role in distributing and manufacturing Libyan music. Other tracks were digitised in a Cairo hotel\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eroom in 2021, where we transferred nearly 100 tapes over the course of three days, on-site using a high-grade cassette deck brought into Egypt with us.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom that trove emerged artists like Ahmed Ben Ali, Cheb Bakr, and Najib Alhoush \u0026amp; The Free Music, who have already featured on our earlier releases. Their sounds sit alongside contributions from this release from the likes of Khaled Al Melody, Fathi Aldiyqz \u0026amp; Sons of Africa Band, City Lights Band, Libya Music Band, and Group Hewaya.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDuring this era, Independent artists relied on makeshift home studios or travelled abroad to record in Tunisia and Egypt, gradually building their own infrastructures for creativity. By the 90s and early 2000s, as access to digital equipment increased, a few of the artists began setting up their own studios — a shift that gave rise to a more self-sufficient recording culture across the country. The resulting sounds are anything but homogeneous. They reflect Libya’s geographic and cultural crossroads: North African rhythms meet Arab melodies and deep African roots. Reggae, in particular, took on a local Libyan flavour — not just musically, through the slowed-down cadence of traditional shaabi beats, but socially, as a vehicle for expressing identity and pride. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat ties all the artists on this comp together is a boundary-pushing approach to genre and style: recorded in small studios, exchanged by hand, and shaped by a cross-pollination of influences, from Benghazi to Tripoli and beyond.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ca\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleases July 4, 2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe album was licensed from the artists. We pay out 50% of the profits of this release as royalties. Only project related costs are deductible from the gross income, research and travel costs come out of our own share. Publishing was not included in our agreement (We feel it’s important to be transparent about these deals, therefore we will include these infos in all future releases).\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"info license\" id=\"license\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"cc-icons commercial\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eall rights reserved\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"BOXSET","offer_id":55418243514703,"sku":"673790037473","price":55.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false},{"title":"2LP VINYL","offer_id":55418243547471,"sku":"673790037442","price":24.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":55418243580239,"sku":"673790037466","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Habibi-Funk-A-Selection-Of-Music-From-Libyan-Tapes-Habibi-Funk-031-01-digital-Cover-Compilation.jpg?v=1750952531"},{"product_id":"habibi-funk-033-ara-kekedjian-bourj-hammoud-groove","title":"Habibi Funk 033: Ara Kekedjian - Bourj Hammoud Groove","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003eThis release shines a light on one of the most distinctive voices to emerge from Beirut’s Armenian community: Ara Kekedjian. Born in 1946 in Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon, Ara became a central figure in the Armenian pop scene of the 1960s and 70s. With his mix of Armenian rhythms, hard-hitting drums, funky guitars, and charismatic stage presence, he carved out a bold sound in Estradayin (Armenian) pop rock.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter the displacement of Armenians, the Beirut suburb Bourj Hammoud became a hub of creativity. By the 1970s, it was home to countless labels, record shops, and venues.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAra’s records stand out for their energy and inventiveness. Unlike many classically trained singers of his generation, Ara’s delivery was new and playful. Tracks like “Seta Seta” and “Ghapama” showcase his talent for turning familiar melodies into driving, dancefloor grooves. His performances across Beirut and the region often electrifying crowds with theatrical guitar and organ solos cemented his reputation as a showman and innovator.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCompiled by Habibi Funk in collaboration with Darone Sassounian (who first introduced many to Armenian sounds with his Silk Road compilation), This release brings Ara’s work to a wider audience. Thanks to the support of Ara’s extended family in Lebanon and Los Angeles, the album is fully licensed, with all profits split 50\/50 with his estate.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-about\"\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"tralbumData tralbum-credits\"\u003ereleases October 31, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":55862611083599,"sku":"673790037480","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CLEAR VINYL","offer_id":55862611116367,"sku":"673790037589","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":55862611149135,"sku":"673790037497","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Ara-Kekedjian-Habibi-Funk-033-01-Digital-Cover.jpg?v=1756988936"},{"product_id":"habibi-funk-034-charif-megarbane-ali-tirakat","title":"Habibi Funk 034: Charif Megarbane, Ali - Tirakat","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTirakat brings together Jakarta-based trio Ali and Lebanese composer and multi-instrumentalist Charif Megarbane in a collaboration shaped by long-standing cultural exchange between Indonesia and the Arab world. Ali’s blend of 1970s Indonesian psychedelic funk, Melayu traditions, disco grooves and Arab melodic forms meets Charif’s long-running exploration of cross-regional sound, rooted in a shared musical vocabulary rather than genre.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRather than approaching the project as fusion, Tirakat reflects a way of making music that feels already interconnected. Melodies, grooves and textures move fluidly without signalling their sources, grounded in a performance-led process shaped by intuition, repetition and trust. Western instruments are played through techniques and sensibilities formed in Indonesia and Lebanon, emphasising circulation of influence.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe title Tirakat refers to a Javanese practice of discipline, patience and devotion, derived from the Arabic tariqa (“path” or “method”). This layered meaning mirrors the album’s focus on process and continuity. The result is a record that feels both contemporary and timeless, where Indonesian and Arab sounds intersect naturally through groove, texture and melody.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":56818720964943,"sku":"5051083232401","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":56818720997711,"sku":"5051083232395","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":56818721030479,"sku":"5051083232418","price":26.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/LP_Standard_3mm_HF35_ali3.jpg?v=1774949948"},{"product_id":"habibi-funk-035-beirut-city-pop","title":"Habibi Funk 035: Beirut City Pop","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003ePre-Order\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e. Shipping will begin on or after \u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eOctober 16th, 2026\u003c\/span\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeirut City Pop brings together ten recordings from Lebanon's private press cassette scene of the late 1970s and 1980s. Created by short-lived bands and studio projects, these songs move between disco, pop, soul, jazz, bossa, rock and AOR. Produced during the Lebanese civil war, many were copied at home and circulated only among friends and local communities, with some surviving solely on hand-copied tapes. Many of the musicians were connected through Ziad Rahbani's Bypass Studio, collaborating across projects and sharing a common musical language. Inspired by the blend of genres found in Japanese city pop, the title reflects both the sound and spirit of these recordings. Featuring artists including Stephanie Stephanou, Force, Games, Andromeda and Walid Itayim, Beirut City Pop documents a close-knit musical community whose creativity and musical camaraderie endured despite extraordinary circumstances.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThis is a \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003ePre-Order\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e. Shipping will begin on or after \u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eOctober 16th, 2026\u003c\/span\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":58148051026255,"sku":"04262568670040","price":22.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":58148051059023,"sku":"4262568670057","price":14.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":58249433776463,"sku":"04262568670064","price":25.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Cover.png?v=1780394812"},{"product_id":"kazdoura-ghoyoum-غيوم","title":"Kazdoura - Ghoyoum غيوم","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHabibi Funk will be handling the shipments for this LP from the EU.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRooted in Levantine Arabic music and fueled by genre-bending experimentation, Kazdoura’s debut album Ghoyoum is a vibrant fusion of Arabic Maqams, groovy rhythms, psychedelia, and soulful jazz saxophone.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBorn from resilience and cultural connection, the project unites a Syrian singer (Leen Hamo) who was forced to leave her homeland due to war and a Lebanese multi-instrumentalist (John Abou Chacra). Their paths crossed at a Toronto fundraiser following the 2020 Beirut explosion—a moment that sparked a powerful musical synergy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Ghoyoum” is tribute to their heritage and personal journeys, echoing the voices of Arab artists who transform lived experiences into sonic storytelling.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":58249518219599,"sku":"4262568670170","price":28.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/Kazdoura.jpg?v=1784282443"},{"product_id":"habibi-funk-036-nechazz-pieces-of-a-dream-copy","title":"Habibi Funk 036: Nechazz - Pieces of a dream","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUNRELEASED 1988 MODERN SOUL MEETS CITY POP FROM LATE 1980s JORDAN: Recorded between 1988 and 1989 in a small 8-track home studio in Amman, Pieces of a Dream captures a side of the Arab music scene rarely documented: a group of musicians deeply inspired by jazz, soul, yacht rock and city pop, creating music that sounds closer to late-night LA or London than what most would associate with Jordan at the time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNechazz was formed by Palestinian-Jordanian musician Basim Said \u0026amp; Khaldoon Nasser and Iraqi singer and guitarist Kassim Sabounchi. While the trio became locally known for their live shows at the iconic Amman club Rumours, the music they wrote and recorded together was never officially released and remained unheard even among friends and family of the band\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe album blends smooth RnB, jazz and sophisticated pop arrangements, drawing inspiration from artists such as Bobby Caldwell, Steely Dan, Michael Franks, early George Michael, Tears For Fears, Level 42 and Stevie Wonder, while still sounding entirely their own creation. Tracks like “Love Meeting Love” and “Over You” showcase the band’s smooth harmonies, synths and musicianship.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe release began as a cassette found in a family\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bcTruncateMore\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003earchive and has now eventually became one of our most pleasantly surprising resurgences of late 1980s Arab independent music: a timeless collection of songs made between rehearsals, nightlife shifts, aviation careers and everyday life in Amman.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Habibi Funk Records","offers":[{"title":"VINYL","offer_id":58283375427919,"sku":"04262568670095","price":23.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":58283375460687,"sku":"4262568670088","price":15.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"COLOR VINYL","offer_id":58283375493455,"sku":"04262568670071","price":23.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0690\/2205\/6743\/files\/RoundedRectangle12.png?v=1780394572"}],"url":"https:\/\/habibifunk.com\/collections\/music.oembed","provider":"Habibi Funk Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}