Habibi Funk 007 - V/A

Habibi Funk 007 - Music from the Arab world  (Various Artists)
Habibi Funk

Following hot on the heels of Habibi Funk 008, here's 007. The name's Funk; Habibi Funk.

It's not just sequential irregularities* that will have you scratching your head here... the music within this brand new collection of lost music from the Arab world will pull your brain in a multitude of directions and inspire a giddy mix of abandon, fear, excitement and a pure joy of living. Much like driving in Beirut.

Intoxicating, wild, reckless, bizarre and infectious, the grooves within will ignite the dourest of souls.

The Habibi Funk mission statement is to re-release a style of music that never was. Music that is bound only by its connection to the vast, sprawling and disparate Arab world. Any time, any place. Traditional or western-influenced. It doesn't matter to Habibi Funk, they just want to bring our attention to the peculiar array of songs that would almost certainly remain undiscovered without their diligence.

This compilation features 16 such songs, mostly sung in Arabic and all wonderfully odd. The mix of Arabic instruments and Western influences (rockabilly, rock n roll and garage rock, mostly) make for incredible bed-fellows.

There's a DJ mix previewing the music from 007 by Konbini which offers a tantalising taste of the record, which you can pre-order on a range of formats from Bandcamp below. 

*Habibi Funk Mix 008, blogged last week, isn't really the precursor to Habibi Funk 007. One's a Mix Series, the other is a Record Series. But pretending enabled a rather cheap joke. Did you expect any better? 

Freak of The Week - 6 - Jungle Exotica 2

I'm almost certain that all the bands on this record are white-American, which probably makes it all a bit racist. At the very least, it's almost offensive in its caricaturing of 'tribal' music, like blacking up and shouting 'Um Bongo, Um Bongo, they drink it in the Congo' while your band plays polyrhythyms and make gorilla noises.

But, having said all that, there is something interestingly playful about this collection of madcap 50's/60's 'exotic' rock n' rollers. Occasionally catchy riffs, and a genuine sense of fun pervade. It's probably akin to the Black and White Minstrel Show in its cultural sensitivity. Only the music is actually pretty wild and you kind of can't help but be charmed by the whole thing. Songs called things like 'Arabian Jerk' maybe a touch on the offensive side, but there are a few stand out moments such as The Tides' Midnight Limbo. Annoyingly, a few of the tracks from the CD didn't make the vinyl release, but overall it's a pretty interesting compilation from Crypt Records, and a worthy winner of our Freak of The Week!

Incidentally, I've featured Volume 2 purely because that's the copy I picked up - no idea what Volume 1 is like but I'm interested to find out!

Have a listen here

And buy it direct from Crypt here (US) or Discogs here