Album: Shopping
Year: 1988
Style: World Music, Middle Eastern, Caribbean/Island, Russian, Polka
Similar Bands: Harry Belafonte, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Zap Mama, Immigrant Suns, Gipsy Kings, Residents
"One-Word" Review: Upbeat Mos Eisley Fusion
Based Out Of: London, England
Label: Shanachie Records Corp., Ace Records Ltd.
Cover, Record
Back, Record
Newsletter Sign-Up Card
Shopping (1988)- Shouffi Rhirou (Regard the Jealosy) 6:44 (Najat Aatabou cover)
- Selver (The Girls Name) 3:36
- Xamenh Evtesia/Fiz'n (Lost Fortune / Lost Refrigeration) 6:31
- Musafir (Oh Traveler)/ 5:05
- Ljubav Kraj Izvora / Zvezdanovo (Skupovo) Kolo (I Took My Lover To The Well) 4:32
- Valle E pogradecit (A Dance of That Religion) 5:14
- Shika Shika (Hold, Hold) 6:20
- A Night Off Beirut (Descriptive Suite) 6:13
- Szegerely Farewell (Farewell, Szegerely) 1:20
Members & Other Bands:
- Isfa'ani [Salah Dawsom Miller]- Djembe Bendir-Krakab, Tam-Tam, Tama, Gangoqui, Conga, Bells, Ganza, Tambourine, Pandeiro, Cuica, Darbouka, Ti Bois, Campana, Cymbals, Electro Gamelan (Polly Bolton, Paul Dunmall, Indigo Girls, Eddi Reader, Justin Adams, Saladin's Orch, James Horner, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Vanessa Mae, Reem Kelani, Tinariwen, U-Cef, Juldeh Camara, Les Triaboliques, Sonia Slany)
- Sabab Habar [Colin Bass] - Bass, Vox, Fond Memories (Camel, Jugala Allstars, Stella Chiweshe, Clancy, RBC, Steve hillage Band, Velvet Opera, Quidam, Amarok, Eddie Quansah, Gasper-Lawal, Oumou Sangare, Jozef Skrek, Etran Finatawa)
- Hijaz [Ben Mandelson] - Cumbus, Keman, Guitar, Bouzouk, Fiddle, Banjo, Szegeruele (Stella Chiweshe, Blue Blokes 3, Les Triaboliques, Amazorblades, Billy Bragg, Lemez Duo, Magazine, Orchestre Jazira, False Beards, Mighty Cloud of Dust, Kirsty MacColl, Jah Wobble, Mathilde Santing Combo, Gasper Lawal, Shriekback, Robert Wyatt wti the Swampo Singers, Sussan Deihim, Richard Horowitz, Abana Ba Nasery, English Country Blues Band, Susheela Raman, Abdul Tee-Jay, Cechomor, Imagined Village, Oi Va Voi, Shtetl Superstars, Bob Copper, Yiddish Twish Orch )
- Niaveti 3 [Tim Fienburgh] - Vox, Flute, Bulgarian Kaval, String Writing, Tulum (The Republic)
- Kemo "Kem-Kem" [Kim Burton]- Synth, Keys, Tumbador, Conga, Accordion (Onward International, Working Week, Vic Godard, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Fairgrond Attraction, Maddy Prior, Rick Kemp, Steve Arguelles, Eddi Reader, Patron Saints of Imperfection, Billy Rain, Kirsty MacColl, Eric Matthews, Aterciopelados, Negrocan, Maryam Mursal, Chris Haigh, Ingrid Laubrock, Viramundo, Barb Jungr, Davide Mantovani, Sierra Maestra, Joglaresa, Jackson Sloan, Amira, Tracey Thorn, Dunja Knebi)
- Houzam [Nigel Watson]- Drums, Conga, Fond Memories (Stella Chiweshe, Orchestre Jazira, Element of Crime)
- Expensive [Chris Batchelor]- Trumpet, Tenor Horn (Abana Ba Nasery, Oysterband)
- Duane Mustapha - Guitar
- Uncle Patral Mustapha Bib Mustapha [Lu Edmonds] - Saz (Blue Blokes 3, Les Triaboliques, Damned, Mekons, Athletico Spizz 80, Billy Bragg, Blabbermouth, Jane Aire & the Belvederes, Pulic Image Limited, Raz3, Shriekback, CrashBaptists, The Edge, The Spizzles, Unlaunched Orchestra, Tuvan throat singers Yat-Kha, Laurie Anderson, Waterboys, Kirsty MacColl, Jon Langford, Carl Marsh, Howard Werth, Yat-Kha, Laurie Anderson)
- Lavra Tima Daviz - Vox
- Madagascar [Tarika Sammy]- Crickets (Musical group from Madagascar)
- Loquat Pathfinder Dance Club - Dancing
- Joss [Jocelyn] Pook - Viola (ABC, Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, Peter Gabriel, Communards, Regular Music, Electra Strings, Jools Holland, Mark Knopfler, Stranglers, Cranberries, This Mortal Coil, Nick Cave, Divine Comedy, Paul Weller, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Michael Nyman, Laurie Anderson, more)
- Clare Finnimore - Viola (Britten Oboe Quartet, Britten Sinfonia, Guildhall String Ensemble, Virginia Astleu, Corelli, Robert Salter, Field of Blue, Oxford U. Press House Composers, theaudience, Suggs, Boyzone, Paradise Lost, Muse, Jocelyn Pook, Cousteau, Cirque Du Soleil, Moloko, Feeder, Robin Milford, Ten tenors, Snow Patrol, Christopher Benstead, Tom Jones, Kiki Dee, White Lies, Pixie Lott, Sting, Magic Numbers, Aziza Sadikova, Kylie, Melanie C, Girls Aloud, Siobhan Lamb, Gerard Presencer, Theodore Shapiro, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jonathan Dove, Peter Warlock, James Newton Howard, Jaga Jazzist, Marco Beltrami, Nick Urata, Charlie Wood, Kazuma Jinnouchi, John Powell, Lianne La Havas, Michael Giacchino, Mick Cave & Warren Ellis, Benjamin Britten, Woodkid, De La Martinez, Lontano)
- FEZCO - Producers
- Ian Caple - Engineer, Mixing
- Corinne Turner - Photos
- Adam Skeaping - Post Production
- DKB - Designer
Album Review: Although the music is all over the place, style-wise; Middle Eastern to Caribbean to Polka, the underlying grooves make the album fully cohesive. They are a British band, and I even get a Welsh vibe to a couple songs ("Musafir" perhaps because I am a big fan of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci). The vocals are passionate and sometimes quite silly, but they are having a great time all the while, and it translates in their music, perhaps summarized in their punny musical catch phrase "take it to the fridge" and adopted motto "forward in all directions!"
Although their Balkan roots from a town called Szegerely with adopted Mustaphas names and being smuggled into England in refrigerators was a humorous ruse, it was a good story to set the stage for their eccentric and unique (there was no World Music genre) brand of blended musical styles. They lasted about 9 years, from 1982 - 1991, with revivals in 97 & 01. They recorded seven times with John Peel, and found themselves playing at a variety of festivals and venues, almost every time, requiring a fridge full of fruit on stage to "take 'it' to." In complement to this, they requested the audience to bring mysterious cheeses to their shows for the band to identify.
Stand Out Track: Shouffi Rhirou (spelled Choufi Ghirou on later versions)
Links:
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