6/15/2012

Mysticisms, Musijins, And Musical Ecstasies Around The Arab World: Gnawa Music, And Tarab. Next on The Audiotopia...

Heylo, 'gain.

Damn straight, we're coming back soon with a new post...

A group of Gnawa qaraqeb musicians from Essaouira. 40's.

The new post will be of two parts: one designated to introduce you to Gnawa music complete with a full protra-introductory essay on its origins, 'colours', sartorialism, and daemonology (or, what I call, the 'Musijins': Musician Djinns).

Tarab ecstasy dance, Mauritania, 40's.

And, the other will be a lengthy dissertation on Tarab and its earliest manifestations around the Arab world with a liberal invistigation on how it's related to alter-states of musicstasy (musical ecstasy), and neuro-physiology.
Jalsat Tarab in 40's Morocco.

These two posts will discuss in detail both musical genres that are Middle-east-specific, taken from many various aspects: Musical Historism, Musical Stratigraphy, Musical Medicinalism, Organology, Math-Music, Phonosophical; Theosophical, and Soteriological Ethnomusicology, Daemonology and the Ecstatic States aligned with Gnawa and Tarab.
Mehmet Siyah Qalem's 'munamnamah'
or minimalist painting of a 'Musijin'.

You're going to be introduced to these two musical styles as if you've never read about them before, on any source be it on-web, or off. I will open a vista for anyone who has anything to write on these styles if yer interested, intrigued, or happen to be into doing so by any all means. Write me an e @ hythammer at hotmail dot com.

A band of Jewish violinist Malhoun musicians, Morocco, 40's.

I don't want to go on with any verbiage prolixity in 'ere, but this two-part post will have zero, or few sound files to it. I guess after the Mohammed Abdou's last one... most of you are still being busy DL-ing the 100+ album files, or getting to know/read/finish that lengthy post. I am also glad that most of you have really liked it. Thanks for all the comments.

Gnawa musician, 1930's.

Do make sure to enjoy the posts that are already here in the meantime, and stay tuned for more and more as the posts here will only grow in number, audio-quality, subjects' sophistry, and data.


Umm-Kalthoum: Tarab 'Aseel', or 'Original'.
The remarkable voice of Arabic Tarab.

Now, allow me to take my time at writing it (which isn't an easy task, believe me...), but I promise to post it as soon as I finish. It will be here on the Audiotopia within three-to-four days, hopefully. Remember: you can join in. I 'ave no bawns 'bout it. Just 'e' me I.Y.I. (If You're Interested).

Take care, and have fun.


Gotsa dip nows! Woosh!

H.H.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

is there a link for getting all of the Mohammed Abdou all at once? Maybe a test file with a master list of all the ftp links? then JDownloader can just do its thing very quickly, without having to go right-click & 'copy link' every time. I may have missed it, or there may indeed be an easy way that i am just not aware of? thank you! i checked out the two mixes and enjoyed them very much, btw.... in addition to so many things from previous posts... peace & love...

Anonymous said...

...sorry, i typo'd "test file" when i meant "text file"


=(

Anonymous said...

...i couldn't download the bigger yet still 'dainty' 4GB ipod mix, btw. it wants me to go premium, unfortunately... really, the Abdou post was porbably your most amazing, yet... the Dabke stuff from a little while back was also very inspiring. loved all the old pics...

=)

Hammer said...

@Anon.:

Yeah, there is one, but it's a MediaFire Cloud and not a single, DL-able file. From here http://www.mediafire.com/#x103dj2c032s5 you can 'Select All' and commence to download them in tandem as MF has parallel DLs, thankfully so. JDownloader? Gah, never heard of it.

As for the 4gigs file at 4Shared, well... tough cakes. Can't help ya on this one.

Enjoy.

H.H.

Anonymous said...

nope, your link just gets me to my own mediafire files, not yours. probably b/c i don't have premium?

i tried going to one of your own mediafire links & seeing if it owuld gve me a "browse all of so-&-so's shared files," like the raga archives, and other archives we all know about, but no dice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JDownloader
try it, you might like it. it could even change your life?

thank you again!

now that i realize how important the dabke is to an entire region, i really want to lean the basic steps and a few chestnut/evergreen songs, break out the drums and play it. being a desert dwelle, i feel a special kinship with that part of the world. i'm sure someone has put a "how to do it" video on youtube, but i might get a stupid one that's meant more for tourists. any suggestions? thanx again!

;P

Hammer said...

@Anon.:

Nyet. You should sign off in case you open that link while still logged on. Try it again.

Bahaha! Nah babe... I am not a good debke dancer. But, anyways... it's simple: you stand in line, hold the guys/girls' hand who's in line standing next to you (two on each side, remember this dance needs at least 4 to make a go-go), and then throw it down your arms extended all the way (fingers clutched) together pointing to the floor, and as you do so... you bring them back up again till they reach all the way to your waist while moving... I repeat... MOVING one foot only to the right, then the same foot back but as you do so... move your body onwards to the side still clutching your dancemates' hands. After doing this move, bring forward the other foot, then again back and move to the side.

Slowly, and by practicing these not-so-difficult steps one can see how this dance was meant to make the dancers involved a moving, solid unit. It's feet that moves forward and backward, but the whole line gets moving altogether.

Once you've mastered these basic moves, grow slower... then faster or just throw your arms in the air and dance and move as much as you want improvising all the way.

It's cool. Dig that thang.

H.H.

Anonymous said...

i can't sign out, b/c i never signed in. mediafire has a free service, it recognizes your IP. i don't have premium. anyway, great debke instructions, i think i've done that before in some folk dance classes. very fun! any vids of really cool examples? parties we all wish we'd attended? the pics in your post were really evocative. nice work!

Hammer said...

Well, Anonymous... I added a coupla more at the original post-page.

YouTube? Hmm, you can copy-pasta one of these terms in case you're into some crazyass debke screen time:
- دبيكة
- مجوز نار
- دبكة حريقة

Etc... Most of the vidz that you'd find at the Tube are new dances that are similar to the old ones in some parts. But, most of these dances (and, their songs...) were heavily altered by the advent of the KORG (Korean Organ: read... two cursewords) in say 1995.

Still, I hope you can enjoy your searchin' because I honestly don't search for videos at all when it comes to debke: I jus' watch it in meatspace, real-life, ... etc.

Dig dawg.

H.H.

Anonymous said...

heck yeah -- real-life debke, that's cool... i hope i make it over to your part of the world, sometime. looks like a lot of fun... also glad someone else out there can't stand the newfangled organ, hahaha! right on...

well, adding a link to download a text file with those Abdou links master list reeeeally would be helpful, but anyway thanks for everything!

=D

yeah, i plugged in the first term & am watching some people practically flying thru the air... brings the pics to life, so i'll keep searching for some old archival footage & jst keep diggin' it all...

Anonymous said...

Some blogs (not many...) are just too good to be true and close/get shut down just after I find them. Hope this isn't one of those! Not just damn fine music but knowledge, too - and how rare is that!. Thank you so very much for bothering.

MarkC

Hammer said...

http://www.mediafire.com/?x103dj2c032s5

Try this link Anon. Hope it works.

H.H.

Anonymous said...

works great, thanks!

Anonymous said...

i've been having fun with your blog roll, too... not the same stuff that everybody has in their blog roll! and i found a lot of the *different* kindsa music that i am looking for (not the usual music that evrybody recycles in the same old blogs on everybody's blogroll, dig?)... DJ Cinamoon was the first I found, and then Lola Vandaag and a few others. That's just so far what I really liked, b/c I'm still exploring... Nice one, all around...

=D

Hammer said...

@Anon.:
Dug.

Music is fun, that's correcto mundo. Still, all I am trying to offer here is (as much as you've described it in a neato way yerself...) to provide something else for people all over the world to enjoy when it comes to music.
Music for me is a life-affirming change. It can be for the better, and ultimately; hopefully... the best.

At the moment, I'm writing a huge dissertation on the origins of music in general, and Gnawa and Tarab in partic. It isn't easy, trust me. So many so-called 'scholars' tried to prove to their select audience that they have something to offer when in all reality, they didn't know shit from Shinola. I confer to be not just the opposite to these ass-wedges, but a true and genuine human being who's still baby-stepping in his search for the truth behind music.

Watching the MUCH Music Video Awards (or, eh the MMVAs) that took place yesters in downtown Toronto, I got a sad feeling that this world is still abrim with fuckedup realities and commercialism so much that it needn't any git like meself here to come 'correct' it, musically-spieling. These uggo 'pop-musishitans' and VJs and what-all are a collective of bleh-inducing, yawnsome stupes.

And, hey... Let's face it: Today's world lacks music. Full-fuckin'-stop.

Hope I can be somebody who's someone trying to yeah, never be like the 'Telect' and the various shit-between-the-ears Steerage Class sheeple.

I don't go baa! baa! Sire... I howl 'stead and I bang.

Dig.

H.H.

Anonymous said...

i really don't know how people can listen to some of that stuff? well, here's to our little club of true music-lovers, life-lovers...

Hammer said...

Ayemen. Posit prosit to that.

Funjoy.

H.H.