3 Mustaphas 3 - Shopping

Name: 3 Mustaphas 3
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)

1. Shouffi Rhirou (Regard the Jealosy) 6:44 (Najat Aatabou cover)
2. Selver (The Girls Name) 3:36
3. Xamenh Evtesia/Fiz'n (Lost Fortune / Lost Refrigeration) 6:31
4. Musafir (Oh Traveler)/ 5:05
5. Ljubav Kraj Izvora / Zvezdanovo (Skupovo) Kolo (I Took My Lover To The Well) 4:32
6. Valle E pogradecit (A Dance of That Religion) 5:14
7. Shika Shika (Hold, Hold) 6:20
8. A Night Off Beirut (Descriptive Suite) 6:13
9. Szegerely Farewell (Farewell, Szegerely) 1:20

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

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

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band, and by the looks of the back & the story there in, these folks grew up in the Balkan nations in Eastern Europe, and draw heavy influence from local, roots music of the region...mixed in with influences from whatever was passing by or stopped in from the newly paved motorway. So my guess is Klezmer music with Russian sounding baseline with pop and folk affects fused in.

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)

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Roger Manning - s/t (SST #203~) (Shanachie #5718*)

Name: Roger Manning

Album(s): s/t & s/t (SST #203~, Shanachie #5718*)

Year(s): 1988~, 1997*

Style: Anti-Folk singer/songwriter, Blues

Similar Artists: Bob Dylan, Jad Fair,Neil Young, Violent Femmes

"One Word" Review: Nasally-Energetic-train-riding-solos

Based Out Of: NYC, NY

Labels: SST Records~, Shanachie*

 SST - Cover, CD

 SST - Liner Notes & Back

 Shanachie Cover, CD, Promo Mailer

Shanachie Liner Notes, Back, Mailer

S/T [SST #203] (1988)

1. The #14 Blues 2:23
2. The Pearly Blues 3:46
3. The Lefty Rhetoric Blues 2:19
4. The Hitch Hiker's Blues 3:10
5. The West Valley Blues 4:02
6. Strange Little Blues 2:23 / 
7. The Airport Blues 2:42
8. The #16 Blues 2:33
9. The #17 Blues 3:58
10. Blues For the Chosen Few 2:58
11. The 1010 Blues 2:47
12. The Sicilian Train Blues 3:59

S/T [Shanachie #5718]

1. Grand Teton Blues 0:15
2. The Driving Blues 3:43
3. The Pearly Blues #6 4:39
4. Loisaida Covers Billy Syndrome 0:30
5. The Bohemia Blues 3:36
6. The East 5th St Blues #5 3:30
7. The War Museum Blues 3:21
8. The Driving Blues #2 5:07
9. The Driving Blues #3 4:18
10. The Rearview Mirror  Blues 2:59
11. The Pearly Blues #8 3:52
12. The Hitchhiker Blues #5 (Midnight Blues) 3:32
13. The Hitchhiker Blues #4 3:36
14. The Projection Blues 4:10
15. Homer's Backyard 0:15
16. The Ios Blues #2 4:28
17. The Hitchhiker Blues #3 6:02

Album Rating (1-10): ~6.0

*6.0

Members & Other Bands:

Roger Manning - Guitar, Vox, Producer ~* Engineer* (Young the Giant)

Steve Dansiger - Drums~

Jason Goodrow - Bass~

John Gurrin - Producer~

Veronica Toole - Assistant~

Brenda Kahn - Assistant~

Patricia Lie - Cover Design~

Ilana Storace - Photo~

Ken Greenboy - Drums*

Laura Elmina - Bass, Word*

Conrad Cooper - Bass*

Casey - Word*

Amy - Voice* (Nausea)

Sasha - Fiddle*

Fly - Artwork & Design*

Joe Folk - Engineer*

Richard Joseph - Editing~*

Unknown-ness: Back in 1998 or so, before I had the internet to research or review things, I bought these two albums thinking I was buying Roger Joseph Manning Jr's (from the band Jellyfish) solo albums. I knew I was wrong nearly right off the bat, but I have since forgot what they sound like. I remember being disappointed, but that was just because whatever these are, they were not up to the catchy psychedelic power pop style I was expecting. All I can predict here is that these are not that.

Album Review: Manning is a subway troubadour, playing his acoustic anti-folk, folk songs on the streets, and these recordings pick up as you’d expect to hear him live, with a little drums and bass added sparsely. His website is pretty detailed and complex: he even offers capsulated movie reviews of everything he’s seen and he promotes inline skating.

~“The #14 Blues” Acoustic jangley guitars with minimal drums and simple bass line filling in the gaps. There are some progression changes in the song, but it is a straight driving song. Nasally vocals and fast sung lyrics drive this forward like a train.

“The Pearly Blues” is slower, but still has the same acoustic guitar and nasal vocals. No backing percussion and bass on this one. The song tries to capture a youthful intelligence and folksy plays on words, all the while depicting living in a white man’s idea of poverty. Saying this is not a folk song does not make it NOT a folk song. Because that’s what it is.

“The Lefty Rhetoric Blues” brings the driving guitar back as the percussive element to accompany the melody. It is fast sung to keep up with the guitar, and it rises and fades in nasally energy. This one is politically charged, as identifiable by its name.

“The Hitch Hiker's Blues” carries along with it the driving style of a few lyrics and a short guitar hook. But it quickly blossoms into a pretty catchy hook for its chorus. I don’t listen to much Neil Young, but from the little I've heard, his voice reminds me of Neil’s here. But phrases of lyrics are framed by music, which makes this a little different than the rest of the album.

“The West Valley Blues” has a bit of a waltz tempo. The lyrics are staggered along the melody of the song. The message is a personal and political history of the area Manning grew up, concerning nuclear testing, which ultimately is blamed for his father’s (and others’) passing.

“Strange Little Blues” drives from the get go, reminding me of the verse from Violent Femmes song “Lies” without the catchy chorus. Instead the chorus here is a Ho-Ohhhhh, similar to that of a train whistle.

~“The Airport Blues” breaks out the typical song style with obvious forward sounding drums, and a much more musical background, reminding me a little of the verse from James’ “Sometimes,” especially with the bass.

“The #16 Blues” starts with simple strummed chords with a bit of a sloppy sound. This song discusses escaping from NY, if there is perhaps even anywhere else to go for Manning.

“The #17 Blues” is another jangely story song with more dialogue than singing with some hippie contemplations and ideas.

“Blues For the Chosen Few” is a one dimensional chord change in the verse, and barely a difference for the chorus, which is mainly just an instrumental chorus. But the song is oddly relate-able and accessible.

“The 1010 Blues” starts off again, like James’ song “Sometimes” but the song does not paint the same lovely and deadly picture that “Sometimes” captures. And the song is all verse, split by acoustic sections.

“The Sicilian Train Blues” finally used the actual train lyrics over top a train, driving acoustic tempo & melody. The song is solid, featuring a fun, repetitive hook, with minor changes, before returning to the base hook. The lines and verses nicely complete themselves. The instrumental break is a country-ish jam, slightly changing up the familiar melody.

*“Grand Teton Blues” is just a couple of coyote howls

“The Driving Blues” Already this is a more ambitious album. The jangely guitar is less front and center, and the drums and bass take much more of a burden. The song still has a similar train, driving tempo, and yet his vocals have the same nasally tone. This feels like an introduction song, which makes it a good first real track.

“The Pearly Blues #6” ” has a smooth head-nodding rhythm for the intro, but the verses lack the music support, and are all percussive. But the song builds to an obvious chorus. The lyrics are more spoken than sung in this song, reminding me of Dismemberment Plan’s “The Ice of Boston” a little. 

“Loisaida Covers Billy Syndrome” is an answering machine recording with a lady’s voice, some guitar, and an explanation of “art” from Manning.

“The Bohemia Blues” picks up the driving baton and continues on with notable drums and a very Jad Fair/Gordon Gano style of singing.

“The East 5th St Blues #5” has a sleepy, slow start that matches the lyrics of 6am. Thing is, it never really gets going. It treads water in this anticipatingly slow stutter.

“The War Museum Blues” has a fuzzy acoustic strum melody, and a dark spirit. The fuzz makes the sound thick and complex, but really it is just a chaotic echo. Even the fuzz spills over to the vocals here and there, making the album really feel like it could have been part of the alternative craze a few years earlier.

“The Driving Blues #2” is a simple guitar riff with another answering machine message overtop. Then the music finds its hold and a catchy guitar loop plays through a few rotations. In this case, the momentum the beginning had is obliterated by the lyrics, as the song seems to take a different, generic folksy direction.

“The Driving Blues #3” starts with some electric guitar feedback, and then launches into a thick electrified acoustic jam. The music waits for the verse to finish before it kicks back in.

*“The Rearview Mirror Blues” is a catchy fast paced song that starts out promising, with the lyrics called overtop like an auctioneer. It is just not that complex, and leaves you hanging, waiting for a hook that never comes.

“The Pearly Blues #8” slows it down for a hand clap tempo song. But it never really goes anywhere, and hangs around in verse purgatory.

“The Hitchhiker Blues #5 (Midnight Blues)” has a pleasant driving melody, again, and I know I’m saying it a lot, taking me back to the jangle guitar of James’ “Sometimes.” Then a deeper bass line adds some darkness to the song, and the verse begins loosely following the melody. Suddenly out of nowhere there is a chorus of items followed by the phrase “Very Small” but it loses that momentum and steps back into the safety of verse.

“The Hitchhiker Blues #4” was theoretically written before the previous tune, but was placed on the album after #5. It begins like a ramble-y non-directional chain of thoughts. The music is a little of chaos in the fuzzed jangle guitars.

“The Projection Blues” is a liquid sounding, shuffling acoustic song. It too is kinda of directionless and ramble-y. I could even be interpreted as a little whiny.

“Homer's Backyard” is a home recording of one or two young kids singing, with a proud parental laugh to cap it off.

“The Ios Blues #2” is just acoustic guitar strummed and about 1:15, the drums kick in, but only last for a few seconds for an instrumental chorus before returning to the acoustic verse. The instrumental chorus holds a nice head nodding hook, but it comes off pretty typical.

“The Hitchhiker Blues #3”starts with a poetic verse rushed through by Manning for 1:15. There is then a break of silence, and by 1:50, a fiddle begins playing a nervous melody. It levels out into a melancholy display, as only a fiddle can portray. The tune is changed slightly by a higher pitched segment, and a brief moment of optimism comes in, only to be banished by a return to the same melancholy melody. The process repeats four times, and the instrumental ends with the fourth flourish of optimism. 

Stand Out Track: ~The Hitchhiker's Blues

*The Driving Blues #3

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Clint Eastwood & General Saint - Two Bad D.J.

Name: Clint Eastwood & General Saint
Album: Two Bad D.J.
Year: 1981
Style: Dacnehall, Regaee/Ska
Similar Bands: English Beat, UB40
"One-Word" Review: Methodic-Slow Jam-Reggae
Based Out Of: Great Britian/Jamaica
Label: Greensleeve Records, Shanachie Records

Two Bad D.J. - Cover & Record
Two Bad D.J. - Back & Record

Two Bad D.J. (1981)

1. I Can't Take Another World War 3:19
2. Another One Bites the Dust 3:46
3. Talk About Run 4:18
4. Sweet Sweet Matilda 4:07
5. Special Request to All Prisoner 3:46/
6. Dance It Have Fe Nice 3:31
7. Gal Pon the Front Line 3:32
8. Jack Spratt 2:59
9. Tribute to General Echo 3:38
10. Hey Mr D.J. 3:22

Album Review (1-10): 6.5

Members & Other Bands:
Producer : Chris Cracknell & Henry Junjo Lawes
Engineer : Scientist & Barnabas
Mixing Engineer : Mark Lusardi
Vocals : Clint Eastwood & General Saint (Inity Rockers)
Drums : Sly Dunbar & Style Scott & Santa Davis
Bass : Flabba Holt & Robbie Shakespeare
Lead Guitar : Sowell & Dwight Pickney & Chinna Smith & Bo-Peep Bowen
Rhythm Guitar : Sowell & Bingy Bunny
Keyboards : Ansel Collins & Winston Wright & Steelie & Delroy Donaldson & Gladdy Anderson
Horns : Hameed Taroghion & Dave Cummings & Mark Alder
Percussions : Sky Juice & Mikey Spratt, Skully
Mastered: Steve Angel
Cover: Tony McDermott
Photos: Tim O'Sullivan

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of these guys, and know nothing about them. But from one look of the cover and the colorful, playful imagery and song display on the back, I thought this might be some fun old school rap. Especially with one of the guys naming themselves Clint Eastwood.

Album Review: After reading about them, I am interested to hear how these two reggae/dancehall toasters/DJ’s come together to make, as they’ve been reviewed, novelty pop music in Jamaica.

“I Can't Take Another World War” is a slow bubbly groove. Lots of effects take turns resonating in the echoey background adding depth and style to the classic reggae beat.
“Another One Bites the Dust” is an upbeat, but still slow dancehall track, without me knowing too much of the style, I can easily equate this to the English Beat.
“Talk About Run” starts out with drums, but it is carried along with horns, and a slinky, dark bass groove. There is a new solo vocal used at the end of each verse that is much gruffer than the standard two vocals we’ve been accustom to.
“Sweet Sweet Matilda” features keys tat remind me of Madness, although this is all toasting, rather than Madness Ska. This too, is a nice slow head-bobbing grove. It borrows the lyric “down by the school yard” from the Paul Simon song.
“Special Request to All Prisoner” feels like the same song, as it too is minimal, with a simple drum and bass beat, slow to the same tempo as before.

“Dance It Have Fe Nice” is a more mixed song; the vocals possess a more direct attacking rhythm. There are more effects mixed in that give it a dance-floor feel.
“Gal Pon the Front Line” is a stripped down beat, driven by the vocals more than anything else. The drum keeps it going and the bass mimics the vocal melody. There is also some back and forth girl guy communication.
“Jack Spratt” is a more funky, nursery rhyme based song. The vocals are steady and verge on standard melodic singing at times.
“Tribute to General Echo” is a tribute to a famous deejay who was shot and killed by Jamaican police without sufficient explanation or reason. The melody is sullen and honorable.
“Hey Mr D.J.” is just a beckoning from the singers for the deejay to play their favorite song. It is the final song with a slow, methodical drum n bass rhythm.

Stand Out Track: Another One Bites the Dust

Links:
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Dissidenten - Life at the Pyramids

Name: Dissidenten
Album: Life at the Pyramids
Year: 1986
Style: World, Prog
Similar Bands: Firewater, some XTC, some Talking Heads, (very uneducated in World Music)
"One-Word" Review: India-African-Disco-Pop-Prog
Based Out Of: Berlin, Germany
Label: Shanachie, Exil Musik

Life At The Pyramids - Cover & Record
Life At The Pyramids - Back & Record

Life At The Pyrmaids (1986)

1. Sultan Swing 5:56
2. Mata Hari 5:48
3. Telephone Arab 6:05
4. Blue Nile 2:00/
5. At The Pyramids 4:38
6. Berlin Beduins 4:20
7. Roots of Tanger 3:20
8. Do the Pharaoo 6:10
9. Song for Winnie Mandela 2:30

Album Rating (1-10): 5.5

Members & Other Bands:

Marlon Klein - Drums, Perc, Keyboards, Vox (Gary Wright)

Uve Mullrich - Bass, Oud, Guitar, Vox

Friedo Josch - Wind Instruments, Keyboards
Sheik Abdul Al Rashid - Recording
Marlon Klein - Engineering, Producer
Gunni Heidler - Recording
Stella Chiweshe - Recording, Vox, Mbira
Arno Declair - Photos
Ernst Wirz - Photos, Visual Dissidenten
Hartmut Bremer - Cover
Dan Behrman - US/Canada Booking
El Houssaine Kili - Guitar, Vox, Lyric & Musical Background Info
Hamid Barudi - Vox
Rabii Youmni - Vox
Cherif M Lamrani - Vox, Mandolincello, Lyric & Musical Background Info (Lem Chaheb)
Richie Arndt - Guitar
Charlie Genwo - Fluegelhorn
Roman Bunka - Guitar, Oud
Mohammed "Zain" Adnani - Nay, Vox
Abdelkader Zefzaf - Gimbri, Vox
Roland Spremberg - Keys, Computer Programming
Ernst Walder - Visual Dissidenten
Daniel (Apropos) - Visual Dissidenten
Lilo Nido - Visual Dissidenten
Nadine Fachard - Ethnological Advice

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of these guys. But from the name (along with lots of dental work I’ve had recently) “Denten” sounds like it is related to teeth. And from the high energy on the cover and the group photo on the back, I am under the impression that they will be like Adam Ant or Midnight Oil or some new wave, tribal/roots based band. However, most of their songs have a middle eastern theme to them, so I really don’t know what to expect, except that I picked this up because I like the look of the album and there name has a lot of energy in it too.

Album Review: Reading about these Germans, they moved around Europe and Middle East; even to parts of Africa to incorporate the culture, tribal and national sounds to create a conglomerate sound of world music before world beat was created. They have been sited as the grandfathers of the genre. I do not know much, if anything about world music, so this will be a review taken from the background of minimal jazz and prog rock jamming. Please forgive my naivety and probably unintelligence in this review when it comes to musical descriptions.

“Sultan Swing” starts off with a slow fade up into an Arabian sounding flute, tribal drums, and a general hum in the background. The drum beat picks up a ceremonial dance beat, and Middle Eastern (M.E.) style music commences. Vocals and chanting are laid over top in melodic parallel to the music. The little bit of music I listen to that has a similar to this is Firewater’s most recent album, Golden Hour, and some of XTC’s late 80’s music (think “Terrorism”) sound very similar. I’m even to naïve about the music to try and explain what instruments are being utilized. There are two or three distinct sounds that ride each other like musical waves up and down the melodies.
“Mata Hari” starts with a more forceful, driving drum beat and M.E. music continues, this time, accented with guitars which sound very progressive, in the realms of video game music. After the electric guitar solo, the musical genre is transformed into a Caribbean / Island music theme, featuring a rhythm guitar instead and a Talking Heads like vocal style. But when the guitar changes, the singing does too, fitting more into an Indian style than Caribbean.
“Telephone Arab” begins like a night club Arabian dance, with a catchy M.E. hook repeating and layered over a simple staggered electro/techno drum & bass beat. The vocals too, feature the accentuated syllables synonymous with M.E. music. It does go on for a bit, without much variation, but the synth music that accompanies the M.E. music is a little bombastic, like jilting disco.
“Blue Nile” is a dark, swirling building section of a song, like the calm before the sand storm you can see tornado-ing around at the distance horizon. The vocals sound like they are mixed backwards, skipping as they are played in reverse. There is an echoing on the woodwind instruments that almost sounds like bees buzzing around.

“At The Pyramids” begins with a quiet peaceful hum, and what I imagine to be a sitar picked, with its unique, buzz-rattling sound. After a minute 45 sing chanting begins like waking up, and rising as the sun follows your movements into the sky. It is a slow moving song, eyes uncrusting into awakeness. The hum also ends the track
“Berlin Beduins” feels like another video game with a synth mandolin introduction. The song is dark, and again sung with the stereotypical M.E. style of extended syllables and vibrated pitch changes. An electric guitar gives some solo licks, uncharacteristically metal, over the continuing music backdrop.
“Roots of Tanger” has an unsettled, rumbling beginning of randomly plucked deep bass sounding notes and bongo/tribal drum rhythms. This song is more African in its sounding that M.E. but it is not without mentioning that some of the vocals do rely on M.E. style. As the music finds its repetitive rhythm, the vocals take turns going in and out of chanting and into effects and speaking.
“Do the Pharaoo” starts out with a complicated drum rhythm, and the vocals croon over top, gently touching on the notes that are suggested by the rhythm. In the second verse, a rhythm guitar is added to the mix. The chorus, which is the majority of the song, is pretty catchy, and feels like a video game musical loop. The drums and rhythm guitar carry the melody and give a base of where the improved instrumentation can shoot from. And there is a lot of musical jamming in the second half of the song. The verse is remixed and shifter around to be different, but equally as catchy, it is just a bit too repetitive.
“Song for Winnie Mandela” ends the album with a delicate bell/xylophone mix, with an uplifting pleasant bass line (a little like XTC’s “Battery Brides” or Spoon’s “Anything You Want”). The vocals are African tribal in their meter, and the song feels a little like a Paul Simon song. A flute dances around in the background for extra texture, and ads a great deal to the track as it fades out for the finish.

Stand Out Track: Song For Winnie Mandella

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