The Churchill's Band - Israel's Led Zeppelin? Special Post with Rare Unheard Songs And Outtakes - השלושרים.

Welcome to this very special and extra rare rock show from the beautiful land of Israel.

The Israeli scene of the late 60s' experimental art and music could be described as inspirational at best. There were many artists dawdling around Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem at that time; the fastest-growing, most rock-chic cities with a multi-racial metropolitan population. After the War of Independence in 1948, Israeli-Jews began flocking to these two cities mostly to try and make a living, and right after the Six-Day War with the Palestinian and Arab joined-armies in 1967, it was a time of immigrate crest: tens of thousands were leaving their homelands in Europe and other countries to become part of that new ‘little’ land (‘Ieritz HaKtanah’) as Jews call it adding zest and zeal to a rather stick-in-the-mud conservative society.

Israel was ecstatic. The victorious chants were also 'hearable' in other few cities and took shape in a few musical works and artistic films seen in the abundance of 'foreign'-influenced art and a burgeoning garage-band rock scene called 'rhythm bands' or 'Lalkot HaKitziv'. Much of these bands were local r’n’r minimal acts barely capable of leading one another through a typical 'simple meter', 4/4 rock and roll number. The sound was struggling very hard, but as with Turkey’s Altin Mikrofon (Golden Microphone) contest before them, Israelis wanted to get their own Battle of Bands, and called it the ‘Beat Music Festival’. The heat was on, and many bands came and went just as fast lost in total obscurity.

The list of Israeli beat bands is long, but here, I want to feature one band only in one of its earliest ‘garagista’ forms. Please, I know it's a famous sought-after band nowadays that everybody and their dogs know of, but you will get what I'm talking about when you hear the dozen-or-so songs that I upped here by that band. So, be patient, 'kay? Les' rawk awn rawl nows... (drum roll, 'neone?)


The Churchill's:

Most 60’s garage rock aficionados know this band as I've said earlier like their mothers’ names. But, few if any… know its earliest incarnations and/or have any other music by that band other than their sole, eponymous first (and last, sadly), same-titled album issued on the Tel-Aviv label Hed-Artzi in 1970.

The Churchill's in Denmark, 1969.

The band started outside of Tel-Aviv playing as a set with Haim Romano playing lead guitar. Another Briton called Rob Huxley who co-wrote most of what the band sang in English was before joining the band in England, playing guitar in various beat and freakbeat bands and other R’n’B rock groups. He came to Israel on Christmas' Eve, in 1967 to audition with an Israeli beat band at the Casablan club, Jaffa. His other Israeli pre-Churchill’s band was an outfit named rather mockingly, ‘Purple Ass Baboon’, featuring him, alongside Moti Levi, and Yaki Yusha. He left them to join the Churchill’s (Miki Gavrielov-bass, Haim Romano-lead, Yitzchak Klepter-rhythm guitar, Ami Tribtech-drums), along with a Canadian (Stan Solomon, who used to play for an Israeli beat band called The Saints in Haifa), and they became The Churchill's officially on May, 1968.

Cover of the DVD for the film.

The band was trying hard to find its place among the conservative Israeli populace, add to that a this-side-of boring, heavy French-Russian influenced beat scene where new sounds were frowned upon. With this in mind,— they joined forces with French artist-director Jacques Katmor (1938-2001), to make the soundtrack for his first full-length feature artfilm "Mikreh Isha" (A Woman's Case, as some translate it, but it's more like A Girl's Happening in 60s' hip-speak slanguage Hebrew: מקרה אישה), which made it hard for these conservative straight-laced 'squares' to come to grabs with what was maybe, the first art-film ever made in Israel. Thus, the film was a failure and it flunked the local film market.

French director Ketmor and his wife in a self-portrait.

In the following link, you can see Katmor's art-band 'The Third-Eye': a take at Andy Warhol's Factory: Biography.   

Producer Avraham (Pasha Desheh אברהם דשא - 1926-2004) Pashaniel was disappointed, and later went to produce so-called Army-humor bands' films and T.V.-plays for the collective HaGashash HaChiver, and ultimately because of his Yemeni decent... produced videos for the world-famous Yemenite singer Ofra Hazar getting his ass 'Disney-fied'. As for Katmor... well, he lead a psychedelic life with his wife Hillit Yeshurun (the main actress in the film itself), somewhere off in a hippie commune.

The Churchill's, Jerusalem, 1971.

And The Churchill's? They fled to Denmark achieving minor success as a stage band playing along the line with mega rock stars like Deep Purple and Led Zep, then after four months returned back to Israel to put whatever songs they've made for that art-film into record, releasing it on June, 1970. (Note: some date this album way back to 1968, or 1969. Others go five-years-ahead-of-their-times (as one song by the 'Merry-cunt Third Bardo psych-band went...), ballparking it at 1972). The CD reissue/comp. is to blame as it has their first singles, plus some songs by their second, and third incarnations as heavy prog-rockers (Jericho Jones, Jericho). The first go back to yes, 1968 and the latter to 1971-1972. This is 'zactly where the anachronistic mixup has started. Here is a good introduction for the band with some 'Toube vids, too.

A scene shot from Mikre Isha featuring a nude woman.

So, we all know how that much-sought first LP can fetch in eBay auctions 4000 USD $ and shyat. Still, we didn't hear the whole 'story'. Some blogsites took good notice (cheers out there), to this fact, and downloaded some of these lost gems. I will do the same and as a bonus, will include three never-heard-on-or-off-the-web tracks by that band's 'mockumentary' incarnation 'The Chumps' along with some outtakes from the first album. This short-lived band's name (The Chumps) was the Churchill's way to mock how they used to play so much of the The Champs' world-famous song and hit 'Tequila' in addition to paying homage to Rob Huxley's ex-band the 'New' Tornados. They sang in the three songs that you are free to download in Hebrew-only mostly religious songs in a jocular way, too as to flip a middle-finger salute/flagdown to what has kept them in the backwaters for years; or namely, religious zealotry. (Note: Israeli immigrants who came from ex-Communist states where any religious act was so remorsefully restricted and banned are the trouble-makers in Israel and not the eastern or 'mizrahi' ones who are genuine and peace-loving. Arabs and eastern Jews had lived for aeons together and they lived in cold peace until these stupes begun 'flucking' by. Small wonder the War of Independence way back in 1948 wasn't their last one: it was a war fought for no-one and won by neither the Israeli-Jews, or the Palestinian-Arabs. It still is going on... and on until? Soon we all would find out, but one word of warning: the outcome won't be sweet at all. Trust me on this one).

The Churchill's original lineup.

*boom* -ducks- Meanwhile, in a different ditch...

The name of the band (I mean, The Churchill's), has nothing to do with Anglophilia as some might think, or that fat lard-bucket Sir Winston Churchill. Nah. It's a name taken from the combination of two, or hmm, three Hebrew words to make a new meld-word. To wit, one should write it first as 'Chercaiels': The Song of God. It's short for the Hebrew words 'Ha Chir Shal Iel'. Right on. Their music was so close to Godlike levels, it still resonates with the utmost musicstasy, and one like myself 'ere can only be superglad that many people are starting to clear the ear-dirt inside their brainboxes enough to give bands like The Churchill's a good listen.

So, babes... I shall give y'all first what most of you have surely heard before by this band, and then up as a bonus the stuff that no-one's listened to before. Their first album came with its ten tracks as-it-was released back in 1970. Dig dawgs:

The Churchill's - S/T (Full Original Tracking).

Ah! God fuck it! Whenever I see this cover, I remember how it felt when I got the CD in my mail-box in 2008: I swear it was one of the best moments in my entire life, and wish for those of yinz who've never listened to this album the very exact same. The first time I heard the band was in 1995, though as I still strongly recall. I listened to them by happenstance through  'Galgalatz': the Israeli Army Radio. It's where I myself learned my weakwater Hebrew by just comparing whatever the speaker on the radio says to that of Arabic words. The similarities between our two languages is enormous: Hebrew and Arabic are actually the same Semite language (Aramaic), and then tribes searching for better pastures for their flocks... gave them this 'split-tongue' audible when some letters or words are uttered assbackwards in both langs. There are some strong resemblances letters vis-à-vis. It's just the sad fact that these two nations (Arabs and Jews) might never realize how 'one' they are... or, were. And, will never do. *deep sigh*

HaChurchillim: Rare Unheard-Before Songs.

This link above has 14 individual tracks that feature the real 'garage-y' sound of the band (The Churchill's/ Chumps/ Jericho Jones), along with alternate takes, outtakes from their first album, and a bonus track or two of Jericho playing live in the late 90's one of my favourite songs of all time (if not THE most): 'When You're Gone', written by Yonathan Geffen; a well-known Israeli singer, sung in both English and Hebrew at a concert somewhere in the late 90's. Another version of this beat-iful(beat-beautiful) song from the film Mikre Isha sung in Hebrew only. Unmissable!

May peace reside in our hearts, and the love of music unite us again. Aye-men!


Thank you. That's all for now.


Trax:
1- Mikre Isha מקרה אישה (Case of A Woman) - In Pieces.
2- Mikre Isha מקרה אישה (Case of A Woman) - When You're Gone (English/ Piano Version).
3- Mikre Isha מקרה אישה (Case of A Woman) - Comics  (A.k.a. It's Hard) - (Instrumental Intermission).
4- Mikre Isha מקרה אישה (Case of A Woman) - Song From The Sea - (Intermission).
5- Mikre Isha מקרה אישה (Case of A Woman) - The Doll.

6- The Chumps - Adonai HaSlichot (Forgiveness My Lord).
7- The Chumps - Ma'lach (Angel) - (Short Instrumental).
8- The Chumps - Ve Taher Libenu (Our Pure Heart).
9- The Churchill's - Danielle Sanders Walks Through The Park - (Outtakes 1+2).
10- The Churchill's - Little Johnathan (Instrumental).
11- The Churchill's - Sunshine Man - (Outtake).
12- The Churchill's - When You're Gone (Hebrew).
13- Too Much In Love to Hear - Jericho - Live (Bonus).
14- When You're Gone - Jericho - Live (English-Hebrew Bonus).



H.H.

Fahd Ballan: The Arabic Tom Jones? - فهد بلان.

As for now, we're taking a bus-ride from Jordan to Syria...

Fahd Ballan (the man that we've mentioned in the previous post), is one helluva man in all seriousness. This Syrian singer-actor had a very distinctive singing style bordering sometimes at yodeling, mixed so heavily with his body and arm movements, and above all his very weird facial expressions and googly-eyes as he tried to roll each eye with every word he's singing (or, vise versa), making his voice the most-notable instrument, drowning an Arabic 30-plus strong orchestra in the process as his pan-sized eyes and his extra-large maw led the show! Yes! He was something else. (This calls for a 'Yoube link as I am sure words can do Ballan no justice when it comes to describing his facial expressions). Ogle this one tunestalgia on YouTubia:

و أشرح لها عن حالتي - فهد بلان

He was nicknamed 'Manhood's Singer' at the Syrian music-show 'Alwan' ('Colours'), by the Syrian boob-tube meister Najib Henkish. Very much the Arabic answer to Tom Jones, he has the similar, 70's dressing order with puffed-out butterfly shirt-collars, corduroy smoking jackets, velvety pants that shone like a thousand stars... what can I say? Unlike Tom Jones, he didn't get frillie underwear and a ton and a half of smelly bras thrown at him. Still, he was a macho-man nonetheless: he married Lebanese singer Sabah *wink wink nudge nudge*.

For over 40 years, his singing career (plus, a very healthy acting one), developed into a charismatic level unseen else where at that time; especially in Jordan which gave him T.V.-stardom in the Jordan T.V. studios back in the early 70's.

Born in 1933, Fahd Hmoud Ballan (also spelled Fahad/ Fahid Bellane), was raised to hard-working labour in the southern part of Syria called Suyiedah. This provincial agricultural part of Syria is the birth-place of all Arab musical genres. The Arabic world learned how to 'debka'; sing 'zajal', shout 'atabah', and basically sing and dance every other style of popular music bearing the clear mark of Sahl Houran: the large area that covers southern Syria and north Jordan.

On-stage in the 80's. Jordan.

Ballan was just the natural singer: his voice so sonorous and earthy like the land from which he came: a vast, open land full of green pastures. It has its own echo-effect, as he played with his tongue and basically, every part of his mandibles to create a very self-distinctive voice that even Umm-Kalthoum herself has said once that it was, "a new voice, nothing's like his voice in the Arab world". She's right to a sinning point. He was all his own league and many performers and comedians tried to mock his voice at their stand-up acts just for hearty giggles and laughs.

His early starts: Ballan was discovered as a musical talent in a singing competition that he won and led him to the bright-light/ big-city of Damascus to start a singing career in his early 20s as part of Syrian Radio orchestral chorus in 1957.  

With Baligh Hamdy, Cairo circa late 60's.

After few years and in 1964, he left Damascus for the bigger-lights/ brighter-city of Cairo, and met Farid Al-Atrache, and the Egyptian musical genius Baligh Hamdy who gave him two or three of his own tunes to sing which means Ballan's got it all in the can.

In 1997, Fahd Ballan died of a brain hemorrhage leaving his legacy and sweet-funny stage antics that were much-loved by my late father whose most favourite song by him was 'Wash'rah Laha' ('I Shall Explain to Her') which you can watch on the vid-link above and DL from the album-link below.

The Middle-east's macho-est man!
You can almost see him winking...
if you stare long enough!

Fahd Ballan (The Best of) - فهد بلان

The tracks inclusive 'ere are some of his best-known songs.

Track-list:
1- A'aleehum Alah (God Woe Them).
2- Alfein Salam (Two-thousand Hellos).

3- Ana Sayyaad (I'm A Hunter).

4- Bent El-Arab (The Arabian Girl).

5- Eioun El-Najrjis (Iris-Eyes).

6- Enta We Ana (You And Me).

7- Karim Allah (God's Gives).

8- Kif Baddi A'aysh (How Am I Supposed to Live?).

9- Mal We Ihtajab (Went And Disappeared).

10- Qalat (She Said).

11- Wash'rah Laha (I Shall Explain to Her).

12- Ya Banat Al-Mukalah (Oh Girls of Mukalah*).

13- Ya Bint El-A'am (My Niece).

14- Ya Ein La Tedme'ai (Oh My Eye Don't Cry).

15- Ya Emdalaani (You Who Are Spoiled).

16- Ya Hamam Eddouh (O'Doves of The Garden).

17- Ya Haz Min Yehwak (Lucky Are Those Who Love You).

18- Ya Sahira'l Aynien (You With The Magic Eyes).

19- Ya Salimah (Oh Salimah).

20- Yesaed Masaha (May Your Evening be Happy).

*Al-Mukalah: 'a port city in Yemen'.

Funny, yet really sweet: that's music, that's life.

Dig'em!

H.H.

Abdallah Safar: The Jordanian Omar Khourshid? - عبدالله صَفَر.

Greets from... Jordan.


Many people don't know the Middle-eastern kingdom called Jordan from a regular bar of soap. It's understandable, because this country we're talking about here is a small, dickwater-nascent kingdom home to just 6,8 million people.

Jordan (or, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to give you but the full name), has a central geographical position in the levantine area called the Mid-Rim (no laughs there at the back, babes), and this centralized emplacement gave it a gravitational force for almost all musicians from nearby, border-sharing countries like Syria; Lebanon, Egypt, and Israel/Palestine to come and play in the 60's and 70's.

The country has no underground life like that of Beirut, unfortunately which never helped the place to grow its own distinctive musical identity. Especially, when the world was so rocking to British-invasion sounds that came in the 60's as we all know, and changed the face of popular music for ever and a day. Still, and through my relentless search, I managed to trace some bands that played in and around Amman; the capital, in the late 60's and early 70's. These 'garage' bands were formed for few months only by mostly Circassian young'uns who played their cheaply-bought instruments (I even saw some electric guits that didn't bear any maker brand!), and did so jus' for their own enjoyment, and to impress the local chick. Needless to say what kind of bands they were trying to become sound-alike with: the Beatles and Rolling Stones (two curse words, trust you me love-muffins). Now, when one asks about the reason for the absence of such scene in Jordan when say, in Lebanon, around 100+ garage bands were active and playing the local bars like billyo... one should realize that the financial 'shituation' here was-and-still-is so terrible that it forebode anyone with a real musical endeavour to go ahead with their plans.

Omar Khourshid in one popular, Egyptian 70's film
holding his famous honey-burst Fender Strat guitar.

The sob-story takes a more-cheerful turn not far from Jordan in Egypt, home to King Tote-Axe-Omar: a wholly, insanely-cool Guitar God ('Godtar'), who played music on his simplistic, electric musical instrument in a way no-one in their dreams thought possible (some critics even compare his music as something completely off this planet), and all of that was before Dick Dale (an Arab by birth being half-Lebanese), or Aris San (an Israelite-Greek whose playing's a mere carbon-copy of Omar's impeccable fret-manship) were famous. Omar Khourshid played in and out of Egypt when the real-dealio was to play where the coo'kats convened in Beirut, Lebanon butts-to-nuts with mega-monied playboys, international druglords, and mafiosos.

Arabs are one nation. There are no real; tangible, impending borders between us. If one wants to go to Egypt, they won't feel out of place. Same for Omar when he came to Jordan in the mid-80s (and, years before that), to celebrate with his 'Arabrethren' the holidays season at one of the big-buzzing, five-star hotels around the capital city of Amman; namely, the Intercontinental. And at one new-year's Eve party, the in-house hotel-band's leader Abdallah Safar finally was able to meet his God.

This was around 1985. Money was flowing in from returning expat Jordanians coming back from the Gulf area for a few weeks to enjoy the meek weather here better than stay in the Gulf peninsula where as they say, 'if you'd leave an egg on the curb, it'd boil in three secs!'. The expats were the fuel inside this barely-worth-it musical scene in Jordan. Regardless of haves and have-nots... it lubricated the cogs well enough to turn on until the early 90's, at least, when the Gulf War kabooshed the whole thang in a climatic bang in 1991.

Most musicians in Jordan had no chance at making it here, when on the contrary, and in comparison to the late 60's scene in Jordan where new artists like Samira Tawfic (she came from Lebanon), Fahd Ballan (Syria), Fouad Hijazi (Lebanon), saw their first days of stardom, recognition, and fame. Samira, for example, was so famous in Jordan that she was nicknamed 'Umm El-Jiesh': The Mother of The Army from the many times she's called to sing for Jordanian army troops in the 70's. Fahd Ballan himself had a huge following of faithful fans in the eastern townlet of E-Zarqah, and when he died the whole town mourned him as if he's one of them.

A nostalgic, yet futuristic picture featuring
The Guitar Man and what he played later on:
Farfisa org, played by Mohammed Azzam here.

On and on, small-budget, no-goodnik artists like Abdallah Safar had to break potato-sized beads of sweat in badly-AC'd hotels, hopping around from this party to that... until he completely refrained from playing his guitar, and took the always-shitty Korg (Korean Org for the uninitiated), Ketron, and what-the-fuckin'-ever easy-peasy sounds techies try to duplicate inside these plastic dumb non-instruments.

Abdallah & Omar, in the mid-80s.

In the end, Abdallah's fascination with Omar was a sure sign that he wanted to make music that sounded like his. His band 'The Falcons' (الصقور), played some nice medleys but never had he or the band been put into record. He played here in Jordan for a short while before leaving entirely to stay as an expat in that land of Big-Everything: namely, the U-S-of-fuckin'-A to get 'big'. Boh.



Musically talking now, Abdallah's playing is a sincere copy-act of Omar's. His fluid intriguing string notes grow from stab-attacks much like Omar Khourshid's unparalleled playing. He's not a master, though. But, I'm sure in the 3 available below tracks, one can see how this young Jordanian guitar player has learned from the best. They are from the late 80's, and I will make sure in the coming posts to feature some Jordanian pop musicians worthy of a listen.

Abdallah Safar's Khourshidiyat.

Dig this dog!

H.H.

Lebanese 80's Pop - Part I: The Two Hirsute Hannahs - سمير و طوني حنا - لبنانيات الثمانينيات.

Howdy, 'gain!

Give me one word that describes perfectly what is it to be epic cool... an epicool person all-time reference, and you'd get 'Lebanese'. Lebanese people are a hard nut to fuckin' crack, and a crackin' bowl of fuckin' nuts! Through years and years of endless war they've miraculously  managed to keep their cool intact through hardships and a charging geo-political Mid-Rim region.

First, it started with the gay-o Frenchies, then after getting their collective asses freed from these cunt-dodgers, Lebs went bonkers with the Palestinian vs. Christian-Maronite militia gang wars taking over the streets of Beirut turning its buldings to standing cheese slabs, then Israel in the early 80's trying to eh, invade the country as-if, fer puke's sake even Ame-HURR-ica tried to station its dupe-troops there only to get them back in bits and tiny pieces, scroll back again at Hezbollah's Shii'te fools wading through the populace like a vaginal cancer... wanker-diddle-doo on tiptoes all the way again to Israel experimenting with its war machinery and jet-fighter gunships... Blow me runnin'! There shouldn't be any 'Lebanese' left in Lebanon if one talks logic here. Ugh!

How have they managed to keep this 'cool'... frozen solid-cool?!
One answer: one word. Music. Point.

Popular Lebanese music is known as the ship that begot the Arab world its first 'mega-stars', and 'mega-starlets'. To put this in more simpler English wordings: Lebanese people are the best business people in the entire world. You might think that I'm sucking way too much air right through my passive ass, but naw I ain't: Today... No... TWO HOURS ago the world's richest man for the third consecutive year is still... Carlos Slim Helú! A Lebanese-Mexican cunt-scratch whose face resembles dropped custard pie on the floor licked by a one-eyed dog. This git owns a fistful of bils (No, not bills, as in dollar bills but billions, babes), 69-ing his 69 billion US-fuckin'-Ds, hogging the top-spot at the Rich-List again on the Forbes-500 magazine. Whews! Them thar Lebbos know how to enjoy life, because they know how to enjoy music. 'Music' equal-signs 'Life'.

Lebanese music started as part of the rich Turkish Sultanat music heritage left by still-richer Turkish people. No doubt about it. The Turkish Empire (or, Ottoman), gave Arabs their nowadays ethnic food, music, architecture, clothes etc. Sure thing that's why the faggoty Brits were so adamant at toppling down the whole thang.

Leaving this behind (at least for you wanting to read something about music, and/or download it)...

I have here two special ups by some of the best-known Lebanese eighties singers. One is for Sameer Hannah (Arabic: سمير حنا), and the other is a Various-Artists comp featuring musicians from that 'golden' era as it's often called. Let's begin then with Hannah.


Part I: Sameer Hannah - سمير حنا:

Sameer Hannah's mission was to become famous (and, rich) among the 50 or so singers who ruled the airways back in the early 70's. What to do? He joined forces with the best of them: composer numero-uno Elias Rahbani. This name alone means a heck of a lot to DJs around the world. His music (even if the sound is so basic, primitive, and very skeletune-ic), is now like the holiest of all lost Ali-Babba's caves of wonders. I have to admit here, that some people in the west are pretty much dumb, and are very contriving, too to understand the first molecules of Middle-eastern  music. People here do not just listen to music per se: they live it. As for normal life, well... The eastern people live (or try to anyway fanks to an 'Englamerican' hyper-power trying to rebuild the Roman Empire from its Neronian ashes once again calling it "Empire Lite"). Oh, sheesh y'all!

Sameer (Also spelled as Samir), was one recidivist somnabitch singing in clubs and bars around the capital Beirut in the late 60's. His singing in broad-brush terms is the same with all other Lebanese singers: Mawawil, Attabah, and something allegedly called 'Jabali': mountainous music. His voice is a raspy, groan-tacular hmm... hush-like voice full of manhood and macho. One look at his handle-bar mustache can easily certify this. His is maybe, the neatest-brushed 'tache this side of the Middle-east.

Sameer's extra-long muff-tache!

His very last song released earlier this year, is a testament to this very fact, named rather aptly 'Wihyat Shababi': (I Swear)By My Youth. Some Lebanese musicians went to crazy manscaping extremes in growing their mustaches, but no-one could beat Tony Hannah's. (Note to reader: I am sure some who're reading this know what I'm talking about here: the mustache if shaved a man would be disfigured. So, yeah go figure).

He was born in the Belaba'k, or Belaabak region to a poor family. Yearly, an International music festival takes place there among the Roman ruins of that old city. So, he grew up in a competitive atmosphere making it for him gravely important to reach the top, and reach it at that very fast instead of spending his life singing to pish-faced drunkards all night long.

Today's Sameer Hannah.

In 1977 he released his first single 'Ma Kinti T'hini' (If Only You'd Miss Me). Something worth mentioning here about him is that his songs were so lewd even when they were being released, the whole population was neck-deep in smoking 'hasheehas', fornicating anything with a shadow, and getting drunk till they cry uncle. Themes didn't vary very much: love you, love her, loved you, love me ad nauseum. Noteworthy too is, how every Lebanese woman takes so much care of herself to the extent that they all want to be the next B-Arabie girl. Shit in my chest, babes but I also heard that Mexican cosmetic surgeries were a Pandora's box opened by one 40's expat Lebbo surgeon. Creasus Chrust!

Tony's a greatly respected icon in Lebanon after all. His music is funny, sarcasticool and enjoyable to the max. All the songs that I'm upping 'ere are from his album Dalloa'a (دلوعة: 'Playful Woman'). Please, funjoy.

Dallou'a - Samir Hannah - mid-80's.

The Two Hirsute Hannahs:
Right awn! Bonus? Fuck yeah, why the hell nawt. 8 more songs by Sameer Hannah just fer the sheer 'eck of it. Moar? Bang bang: Tony Hannah gets a guesting-seat here, and also some of his best.

A trax-list with all the Arabic titles translated can be seen here below. Ogle that 'Squigglish' whatchamajigs. (feh, I sometimes work as a Translator FYFI).

Hannah I - Bonus

Download bonus tracks 'ere ↑ for Monsieur Sameer.

Hannah II - Bonus

For the Roid Moustachioed ↑ Tony Hannah 'ere.

Trax on Wax:
Part I (Dallou'a - Samir Hannah)
1- Ya Kamar - O'Moon-like.
2- Ya Mandeelah Ittaer - O'her Flying Headscarf.

3- Kont Bihbik - I Used to Love You.

4- Meen Dalak - Who Told You.

5- Min Balaabk - From The City of Balaabak.

6- Wadeeli Issourah - Send Me Back My Photograph.

7- Ya Helwe - You Pretty One.
8- Daloua - Playful One.

Part II (Sameer Hannah - Bonus Tracks)
1- Ma Badi Asbih Majnoun - I Don't Want to Go Crazy.

2- Mazal Bil Houb R'bina - We Still Grew With Love.

3- El-Layli Ya Wayli - Oh Woe Me This Night.

4- Min Dourah L'Dourah - From One Turn to Another.

5- N'ssina Houb El-Kil - We've Forgotten The Love of All.

6- Ba'saal Betou'li - I Ask And She Tells Me.

7- Kina Sawa - We Used to be Together.

8- Rizk Alah - God Gives.

Part II (Tony Hannah - Bonus Mini-Album)

1- Haya Haya - Let's Go, Let's Go.

2- Haday Hada'i - Near Me, Near Here.

3- Dakhlak Wel Hawa - Beseech You When The Wind's High.

4- Medayie Kalbi We Oumri - Wasting My Life And My Heart.

5- Men Sharadle El-Ghazalah - Who Dared Scaring My Gazelle.

6- Sheroual Jidak Ya Jidee - Your Grandpa's Under-pants, My Grandpa.

7- La Tehalfeeni Bil'Shanab - Do Not Swear Upon My Mustache.

8- Amarou Eiounik - Your Eyes Have Ordered Me.

9- Fina N'Hib - We Still Can Love.

10- Taht El-Ghourah - Under Her Hair Bangs.

11- Tal El-Sahar - The Nights of Fun Are Long.*

*With Salwa Al-Katrib.

'Sall folks! Dig.
 
H.H.

Ighd Al-Jalad: Sudan's Motown Band? - عقد الجلاد.

Ready for more Sudanese music?
Yes, indeed!

This time we're not going to stray far from 'band' sounds of Sudan, but take a few steps ahead in time to reach the early 80's. A ripe time for Sudan, since those who went off to work in oil-rich Arabian Gulf states (as we've mentioned in the previous post), came back loaded to the gills with whatever boons they toiled hard to get from those oil-choked 'cuntries'.

This meant more money to be spent on private (and public) parties. More fun, that is. Sudanese people are very fun-loving, and ahem, some are really quite the heavy drinkers (and by this I don't mean water, nyet).


All and all, money constitutes a great part in what keeps musicians going on. Music in 80's Sudan witnessed the most prolific era in regards to popular artists and bands like this one: Ighd Al-Jalad (Arabic: عقد الجلاد, or 'The Rope Necklace': a famous skin-made necklace worn by women in a province called 'Al-Jourtough' in Sudan. The skin is usually taken from a gazelle, or sometimes from a wild-cat that has a musk-gland. It's known to smell sweeter with age). The band's name is rather quaint in all honesty: it's about a woman's necklace when the band is predominantly male.  Moreover, the band itself is a mystery to many Sudanis, and most know next to nothing about it as it had frequent lineup changes, sometimes dwindling to just four members, and other times... to a howling twelve!

Ighd Al-Jalad in their early years. Early 80's.

Like Al-Balabil, they were a chorus-based band. Group sounds in Sudan were much needed because there were an abundance of solo singers and performers (both, male and female) in the late 70's. Ighd Al-Jalad had singers from both sexes maybe not in an equilibrium, but even that was set to balance by the strong, over-whelming lead 'power-voice' of one of its female singers; namely Manal Badir-Aldin. The other females were Hawa Adam Al-Mansouri who came from Ferqat Al-Samandal ('The Salamander Band')  which was mainly an instrumental band, and Amal Al-Nour.

The Ighd Al-Jalad Band in a cheerful pose.

They started around early 1984, gathering some lyrics to put to music led by the effortless Osman Al-Naou (bass guitarist and literally, its beating heart), taking their time to ripen and 'sweeten' for a handful of years until they've become well-known around the 80's pop music scene. In December, 1985 they'd their first T.V. debut on national Sudanese television, and ever since that day, their public hafla invitations and live acts are still at a good go.

Complete early line-up of Ighd Al-Jalad with best guesses at some of the unknown members' pictures.

This band was unlike any in Sudanese music history, because they broke some of the old rules, and invented more complex rhythms introducing some brave attempts at proto-dub music sometimes. The instruments were too many to care to count, but the main-stays were the lead and bass electric guitars,  percussion section consisting of the ever-present lap bongos, 'two' electric organs (wowsa!), and the charismatic accordion. Oh! Almost forgot! Fadamn! And the Oud!

The band pointedly was a progressive band minus the rock-moniker. They took a different path later on in their career, and popularized madayeh, or adulatory songs sung specifically for the Muslim Prophet, Mohammed. Then become— after a series of quittance and changes — more an entertainment band which can be seen in their perma-blue uniforms shirts.

They still are as sweet as they've started, though. Their music and old songs known to each and every Sudanese whether they are far from their much-beloved home, or close. I do like the older songs, of course without the saw-buzz Korg-y of modern Arabic pop music. In the link below you are to get a glimpse at their wonderful old songs, the same as you did for Al-Balabil:

18 songs in their entirety (I've more, but wanted to up the same number count as that of Al-Balabil's post, even shared the file as a sub within theirs just to make it a blissful experience for all), Ighd Al-Jalad has more than maybe 120 songs known to exist.

Ighd Al-Jalad - عقدالجلاد.

Do enjoy ma brathas and sistahs!

Bubai!


H.H.

Al-Balabil Band: The Sudanese... Supremes? - فرقة البلابل: Ode to Ghost-Capital.

Hurro, again.

Another post by yours truly, this time it will be a dedication to one of the most useful music blogs on the Internet: Ghost-Capital.
Nick's enamoration with the Sudanese pop girl-band Al-Balabil (Arabic: البلابل), has led me to go and show some appreciation for the man who's now fighting to stay 'local' on-line,  presenting in his outstanding blogsite the world's rarest lost records, and a few never-heard-of audio-gems and aurgasms unseen elsewhere on the web... his dedication, good-will, and preparedness always estimable and saught .

This post here is not just about The Nightingales, or Balabil (also spelled as Balabel). It's a small gesture of endearment with all that is Sudanese music. My love for this music harks back to when I was just 6 years old. I used to live in a Gulf emirate where most of our neighbours hailed from The Republic of Sudan. These people are gentle, loving, so generous, and very fun to be around with. Almost all of my friends from school were Sudanis: we played football together, went to each others houses, and reached an understanding and unison on more than the friendship level. Sudanese people have beautiful souls. Their music is how they define their world: a garden full of hope and peace.

I listened to Sudanese music since then, and grew to like their oud music;  unlike other Arabic oud music, theirs is very raw and earthy. The method of playing the Sudanese oud focuses on the upper two bass-strings, and this makes the instrument sound so euphonically melodious... as if the tunes flow from deep within its hollow gourd. Intoxicating, yet very strong like a reverie.

Sudanese popular music started around the early 40's when modernity came to that country, and radio was introduced by the British as part of their 'popaganda', and featured only solo singers and players. Later on, some Sudanese folks started to think with a group mind. Actually, most of Sudanese folklore is based on songs the Sudanese sing at times of weddings, war, or a public gathering, called there hafla. The songs are based on nationalistic themes, and poems strongly recited and memorized by the public. Each Sudani knows his or her favourite singer and/or band like the palm of their hands. This is not a joking matter: these people are serious about their music.


I shall hereby, introduce those of you that never heard any Sudanese music before to two of these 'bands', and not artists. In the knowledge that, famous solo  artists wrote and composed music for these same bands and were backed by a huge following that still listen to their old (and, new) songs after many years.


Let's begin with my ode to GC himself: blogistan's music-meister.

Al-Balabil were a very famous girl-band in the early 70's consisting of three sisters:

Hadia, Aamal, and Hayyatt Mohammed Abdel-Majid Talsam, who were born to a musically-cultured couple in the Wadi-Half region, abutting a lake in the northern Nubia region, then moved with the family to Umm-Durman (أم درمان), part of Al-Kharotum Province; the capital of Sudan. The Nubian girls started singing at their high-school but weren't formed as a choral band. Usually, and in most Arab states, school bands are named koral  and get called upon to sing at times of graduation, independence days, etc. The themes of love and courtship are so deeply-rooted in Sudanese culture, that it's quite acceptable for a group of girls to sing in public long as their music does not exceed the general shame level and common Islamic traditions.

Around 1972, Sudanese musician Bachir Abbas took a hint from Ali Al-Faki Abderrahman and Ja'afar Fadil Al-Maola; directors at that time of the National Theatre Company (Ferqat Al-Masrah Al-Qawmiah), where the 'birds' sang as a chorus, and invited three of the originally four sisters to sing with him as a backing band, because one singer didn't want to join them (her name is Shadia, or 'The Singer', and she had a poisonous headache at that day which makes it quite funny. The sisters have another non-singing sister named Nadia and two younger ones making the total... seven sisters!). 

Bachir Abbas sitting with Hadia and Hayyatt.

The story of the beginning of their singing career has it that, straight after the military coup in 25th of May, 1969 that gave the Communist party the ruling seat headed by J'afar Al-Numieri (a much-hated dictator according to western sources. Ex-Communist Russia was interested in this country, known as being the first producer of agricultural goods in the Middle-east region so much that's it's nicknamed 'The Fruit Basket of Arabs'. Sudan isn't a desert as most it must be. No. It has large water reservoirs from the river Nile, and its land is very fertile, too. Now, we can see how the U.S. took that land, dissected it into two parts: a northern one which population is Muslim majorly, and a southern Jonoub so rich in oil, natural gas, and rare-earth minerals. Yeah, that neo-colonialist greed again?). When that coup took place, most back-singing bands left the scene, temporarily. The Balabil didn't, and were a punctual band of sisters coming at exact times to rehearse. In a turn of fate, one 'Sunaei Al-Nagham (The Music Duo: another two sisters who sang at that time and were famous all over Umm Durman), were absent from a song's rehearsal. Al-Faki presented Abbas with the alternative, and much to his amazement, the sisters did sing very well, placing themselves as the 'new band' at the local music scene in the early seventies.

Al-Balabil singing live in the late 70's.

The name Balabil comes from an Arabic word used to describe those who posses a beautiful voice. Normally, for Arabs, anyone with a good voice, or singing ability is called 'bulbul': a nightingale. There are many Arab poems and songs that depict a woman's voice with that of a nightingale's. Balabil is the plural form, by the way. Also worthy of mention here that there were other names to choose from, but Ali Al-Faki chose that name better than 'The Birds', or worse in Arabic... 'Assafir'.

The earliest known picture of the three sisters and their mother, circa 195?. Look close ans you can see a small girl hiding, sitting on the bench. Probably, that was Shadia herself as she didn't join the band.

The Nightingales' (phews!), first song recorded at Umm Durman's Radio Studios was 'Mashiena, Mashiena' (We Walked, We Walked). Most of their music has this 'walking' thing about them, or has a strong road affinity to them. Call it hodophilia. But, at the early-to-late 70's, a large section of Sudanese people went to seek a better life in oil-rich Arabian Gulf countries. The 'oil revolution' as some call it tore apart families; created a huge chasm between native people and those who went back again to Sudan after amassing what seems at first glance, an easily-earned small fortune in too little a time. These oil-ticks, mind... didn't contribute to Sudanese culture anything save from how most singers saw a 'poportunity' in singing about expatriates and their 'shough', or loss of their original homeland. This was apparent in all other Arab countries, and not one was saved from the 'shough il-gurbah' (expatriate blues).

Al Balabil on stage, circa 1974.

The general atmosphere of the songs went veering on the 'commie' side. Even 'Mashiena' was itself used as a communist marching theme for troops in Ethiopia back in 1974. The Balabil has almost 25 recorded songs in their repertoire and many more that were just 'live' songs, sadly never put in vinyl or even cassette. Only one compact-cassette (see below) known to exist by that group. They might have an RPM record, too. But, nobody knows its whereabouts.

CC Munisphone/Date unknown.

What's so exceptional about them on-stage was how they dressed in a fine way they resembled literally three erm, white birds. They were mainly a stage band, who also did some paid-parties for a few well-to-do Sudanese families here and there. They refrained from singing at weddings like say, Hanan Bolo-Bolo who got herself a lot of death threats from 'Islamainists', and once was attacked along with her stage band. 

The band on-stage, in the late 80's.

As goes for Jil Jilala, the Balabil did start from theatre and sang musicals when they've begun their career right from mid-70's, to late 70's then started singing on-stage in a theatre. They varied from sweet, melodic songs into reggae-like ones, and by the end of the 80's they stopped chirping completely save for some returns by one or two of the Talsam sisters.

Here's the link (complete with Arabic subtitles for each song) for 18 of those long-lost 'chirps'. Hope you'd enjoy them Nick, really.

Al-Balabil - البلابل

Have fun y'all. And, stay tuned for more music from Sudan in the coming next post at the Audiotopia.

Dig!

H.H.

Jil Jilala: The Moroccan Beatles? - جيل جيلالة.

Howlo.

The Net radiates and shines these days with a lot of hubbub and ballyhoo about copyrights, IP-theft, cultural-piracy, etc... so much, that it's all a pain in the bum just to read. Music, on the other hand, got lost in the shitstorm that was the downing of one cordially-revered by millions upload site called Megaupload.

MU has got itself a lot of vehement heat, and touchy-feely advocacy written by those same music bloggers who have turned full circle with their own adamant dormancy, anonymity, and 'fake' safe blog havens, only to find their selves face-to-face with the ultimate truth: that no-one is safe. All is bullshit. That's what Ameirca teaches its own kids. And, the end-result? The rich got richer. The poor? Uh, only poorer. It's all about the money, after all. 
What can one end-user get using a cheap netline that his, or her p-units usually pay for, is a lot more convincing and a shorter road to getting the damn real-life 'goodies': music, films, books, pictures upped with the sole purpose of making you stand out from a rather dullard, doltish, below-average e-crowd.  But, the industry has its own word. There's now an on-going 'race' to prevent the E.U. from signing the ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) treaty soon. (Read: Infograph ).

World culture is dead. Blogsites couldn't do any resuscitation job for that ailing shitucopia that's the Internet as-it-is today. The media moguls are feeding you their own vomit off their chests, culling it from backlogs of lost, cool, groovy, hip, call it what-have-you... artifacts, archives, and BFE-places you wished you're able to afford to go and see. Then again, they've created a Franken-user out from each one of these 'sadvocates', who try now to self-pin their on-line vomitotropic work as 'libraries' (the utter antonym of what is cool, groovy, hip... etc).

Self-contradicting at best, these bloggers are a mirror-image of what their try-and-die-harder selves want to change about the world, but couldn't change shit-all. They're the butt of all jokes now. Some went to far extremes as to name the closure of these websites and on-line, copycat music blogs as the, "The burning of the Library of Alexandria"? Huh? All you'd get at the end of the long wet soup-fork is something that you will ultimately grow tired off; legitimately so, because you get bored so easily... even from acting 'cool'. And, from music, mostly.
Regardless of rants and blants ten-a-bob abrim in the web, it stays as this gate where one could finally get all that he or she could get off by being just .... on-line! Simple. Even if they don't need to listen to this or that artist/ band.

They still want to in order to join the cabal of seemingly-cool hipsters. Thus, when one takes a look at it from closer quarters, the Net is this sheer body of nonsense where only the wise would use it to allocate their fondness and enthusiasm for what resembles their 'real-life' likes B.W. (Before The Web), or resorting to its addictive use; without the urge to be someone who's somebody in a nowheresville like the Net, and without a single shred of falsity and high-faluting shenanigans most 'lusers' are known for.

Music comes at the top of their wanton-lists. These are the cool mamma yammas. For them, music is a brave attempt to add joints to their lives instead of listening to a rather big, boiling luckpot of sloppy post-everything music. It doesn't matter if the music is old: what's music to do with these two extremes called 'Good', 'Bad'? Or, rather 'Old', and 'New'? Just listen and yeah... shut up in order for you to listen carefully. Blogger as part of this interwebbed maze was never a 'cool' tool (mind me here) for all its worth. Only nerds used it as a 'life-cache' to document their emptiness, filling its pages with useless information, pictures, and yes, music and films, gradually.

Still— and in a more enthusiastic tune (so you won't call me a pessimist of which I am not), it gave others an opening to find something amongst this ever-growing rubble. Like astronauts taking samples on the moon, bloggers silently chose what's theirs and held to it. Diggin' it is how it was so neatly named. I don't think that there went anything wrong through this process of actually choosing what's yours; culturally; ethnically, righteously without having to look back only to find that the whole blogosphere was filled to hilt with 'greediot' Americans and Eurofags trying to 'sell' this as the New 'it' with their impalpable tastes, extreme greediness, and idiocy wanting so demonically to run their turf as if it's WW-II all over again and not just B.W.!

Literally, I saw thousands of these White-trash, Red-neck, and Blue-collared hicks swimming like rats in a gutter stream (blogspot/wordpress/livejournal etc...), trying to break its very foundations with their non-culture, dumbassedry (their much-used word 'dumbass', not mine ), and faildoms. America is a country that has no culture to begin with: it's just a slab of a continent that was discovered only 500 years ago. It never was able to grow a unique culture that dates back to say, 3000 years like that of Persia, which gave them reason enough; generation after generation, to try to 'steal' other people's cultures and align these as theirs. Example? Any other than Megaupload, but shares the 'mega' part, too? Just look at this very ampli-proportioned fat, white woman trying to come out as a belly-erm-dance... *gulp and gasp, duck and run away!!* belly-dancer with her four-fold, thick-as-a-truck-tyre waste of a waist.

Holy ish! The image here shows 'one' in glorious 'royal' moronic maroon suit:

When one starts to see images like this one here, and links with such false 'ideals' like the one above (sorry, I had to post it), in overpopulate places like the U.S., Europe, and other western countries/cultures... one must realize at the end of the gamut run that this is the "vanishing point" (to quote but that "comedian", writer-blogger BodegaPop). Of what one might ask? of all western ideals, one where nothing would hoist the western people up from that toilet they fell so deeply in a long time ago: self-centered egoism. It's a me-me-me world out there. Unlike here in the east where instead of trying to earn something from others, one's asked to give and be selfless and evolve within the general mind-set of a unified culture, only for the west and its so-called powers to come with all the gall in the world trying to teach us democracy (huh? Isn't that a dead Greek philosophy that one shouldn't abide to or try to push-sell everywhere they go on the face of earth because it's: 1.) paganistic, 2.) anti-corporatist, and 3.) self-destructive? Call it 'democrappy', 'stead).

Riots are all over the place where I live. People, the media say, has had it. When? With who? People in the Middle-east were living a good, rustic life without a worry in the world, only... for them to get dissected into different states by colonialist, imperialist fucksoids who couldn't even do it themselves, they'd to hire with money paid by democracy-loving non-people back 'home', sending Orientalists first to study our culture and lo and behold... feed it all again back to us so that we wouldn't know it's even there anymore. This culture-mining and its attributes wouldn't change nary an iota of our culture. On the contrary: it's the west that got the farther end of the stick and ate it a-whole. The oh-ohs were the 70's all over again, and hey, what about these years? God only knows wha' comin' next.

Away from bollotics and media now...

A long time ago and in the east (that was again, the westernized, Coca-Colinized, Americanized east), and in particular in Morocco, people got fed up with these lame attempts, and wanted a change. Not, democracy again... no. Fuck that for a lark. They wanted freedom. Yes, sarcasm, 'neone? The west came fluttering by trying to lure us into a freedom of a pseudo-slavery. A freedumb of sorts to re-use that word again to its 'skunkier' sense. A restriction of all that is yours, where you'll be given only what's theirs or; namely, western culture.

Bands in Morocco in the early 70's could have taken the electric guitar and electric bass and yeah, bought a nice set of drums and verily called themselves stupid, mid-60s' bands' names like, hmm The Ventures. Not the case with those who were close enough to the west as to feel utterly disgusted by it; with whatever the west was trying to throw their way. Imagine the roster call, because there will be no pictures featuring white, dumb Americanus-holes anymore here. (Shall I say that one is always more than enough? Elvis? He was so popular in Morocco at that time, when in Ameh-rica I'd horribly heard that some Ameri-goons were worshiping that fat fag's ass calling themselves 'Presleytarians' at that time! No further comments).

Still, and when one western pop-journalist tried to describe these (or, one of these...) bands, they had to resort to nicknaming them 'The Rolling Stones' of so-and-so, and 'The Beatles' of this and that. How pitiful! What a shame!

Enter Nass El-Ghiwane. Enter again what my post here would shed a small light at: Ferqat Jil Jilala.
So, cliches, extremes, stupid analogies of Beatles (good?), and Rolling Stones (bad?), aside... let me introduce you to this Moroccan band without having to sound like a wikiot (wikipedia idiot).

Jil Jilala -  .جيل جيلالة

Jil-Jilala - جيل جيلالة:

The starting steps of forming the band were held on top of a theatre stage. There was so much space for improvising in music at such a venue, and then getting rid of that medium alltogether for a more spacious, no-strings-attached (pun intended) realm of creating an original sound by using ages-old, tried-and-true instruments, illustrating their much-adhered-to roots as a gesture of respect and gratefulness to their fore bearers' heritage and yes, culture which music makes only a small part of, yet not diverting from the every-day, topical issues, expressing the concerns of ordinary people using a nowtro/newtro old, style inspired by 'Malouf', or literally in Arabic 'what's familiar' (مألوف). People think that they were a gnawa-revivalist band. Some claim that their name came from A'Trika-Jilanyiah which is not true. Not true at all. 

Ever since their first months of performing in September 1972 around Marrakesh; the Moroccan capital, they forged a renowned, authentic, 'ethnosiastic' following that was deeply instilled in the Moroccan culture, and still is. Playing first on October of the same year in font of over 2,000 spectators, the band included for the first time ever in Moroccan music history... a female singer: Sakina Safadi.
Jil Jilala was co-founded jointly by Moulay Mohammed Tahiri Asbahani and Abdelaaziz Derham who both soul-searched for a musical identity amongst the influences of western pop music, permissible Egyptian cinema, and high-brow classical Moroccan smam'ie listening-only music. In short words, they weren't after the money. Far from it. The band was invited by Moroccan T.V. (TVM) and did three songs live in front of home-based audiences, but right after that famous concert, and were not paid. That was not a call for fame and fortune. That was a call for doing what was missing, giving Moroccan music its much-sought after testosterone injection by making the audience part of the human experience that is music.  Moroccan music at that time was almost solely performed by Jewish Moroccans who hail from a long heritage of Andalusian music and qasidah-singing tradition.
 
Later, two other members joined forces and the band was now consisting of Tahiri, Derham, Mahmoud Essaadi, Hamid Ben-Sherif, and Sakina. Moulay Abdelaziz Tahiri Zoughi joined them after disbanding from Nass El-Ghewani to become a full-force six-member performing band. Also notable is the fact that Jil Jilala gave birth to Lemchaheb ('The Torches') when ex-member and buzuq-player Mahmoud Essaadi advised their founder Mubarak Al-Shazli to form his own band (which oddly enough, included also a female singer).Could it be that the Beatles and the Rolling Stones would've ever joined forces like this? Not by the longest chalk. Unlike the west, Arab people are peace-loving, and for all their efforts at painting us as the villains of the piece, history attest our heritage of peace and fraternity whether we are Muslims, Christians, or mizrahi Jews. The word 'salam'/'beslama' in Morocco's almost said a million-jillion times every second. This same Arabic word that the west is trying to render obsolete; raiding it with splintery hate, and war.
Jil Jilala's first record was released on the Moroccan label Atlassiphone two years later in 1974 monikered 'L'Yeam Tndai': The Days Are Calling. It was a cri de cœur at the status quo of the then-ruling monarchy and its tyranny. The Moroccan royalty was placed by none other than the French who wanted to stay in power controlling Morocco's wealth after leaving it giving Morocco its Independence in 1956 which, needless to say, was just a jocular sham-play to invade the country without having any 'casualty', or lose a single soldier in that 'clean war'. Today, Americans call this 'soft power tactics' and all they leave behind is a long trail of war, killings, and more self-generating wars.

Little by little, the band covered every style of Moroccan music: from Gnawa (when L'gnawi Mustapha Baqbu joined the roster from fellow band Nass El-Ghorba which later became known as Tiq Maya), to Raï music that became popular in Algiers first in the late 60's. It was an attempt at joining the west with the east (call it 'Weast' IYI), and finding that middle-ground the band couldn't find on a theatre stage earlier on, or when they were still a budding, performing band on live-stages.

Jil Jilala is a brave call for oneness and unity (even when the band's members left and returned to join the lineup after years and years...), their sound and beautiful mellifluous songs stood its ground firm. The following 80+ songs to be found in these two Mediafire links I really hope would be dug in the best manner of tasting the music and not 'taste'. Let's free ourselves from being such inverted a-holes when it comes to music.

Thanks goes so deservedly to  Tim Abdellah for his wonderful, inspiring Blogsite, and this post by Snap, Crackle & Pop. Mucho respect for being such ethnosiasts and good diggers of music.

f.n.: the quality of the songs is a bit low, because these songs were culled from an on-line reservoir of Arabic music (Sama3y.net) which users use primitive electric gizmotry to digitize the music they collect from old tape cassettes and vinyl records.

Jil Jilala - جيل جيلالة (Part I).

Jil Jilala - جيل جيلالة (Part II).

Enjoy! 

H.H.