EID UL FITR MUBARAK: Mixtape from Muslim lands

On this happy and auspicious day I wish all Muslim readers of the Washerman’s Dog a hearty Eid Mubarak.  May the next 12 months be filled with Peace, Joy and Excellent Health.

To celebrate I’ve put together a 2.5 hour collection of music from across the world of Islam.  Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Tunisia, Sudan, Turkey and Iraq.

I hope you can enjoy it.

            Track Listing:

            01 Call To Prayer (Al-Adhan) EGYPT

02 Ya Bunaya [Ilham Al Madhfai] IRAQ

03 Barra Barra [Rachid Taha] ALGERIA

04 Arabian Waltz [Rabih Abou Khalil] LEBANON

05 Jise Chaha Dar Pe [Qurban Farid Shahi Qawwal and Group] INDIA

06 Haye O Rabba [Reshma] PAKISTAN

07 Chabrassi [Cheb Khaled] ALGERIA

08 Al Ghazal [Ali Hassan Kuban] SUDAN

09 Balad El Mahboub [Oum Kalthoum] EGYPT

10 Palestinian [Ja'afar Hassan] IRAQ

11 Jugni/Alif Allah [Arif Lohar and Meesha] PAKISTAN

12 Heer Te Ranjhe Di Mulaqaat [Alam Lohar] PAKISTAN

13 Zikr [Abdullah Ibrahim] SOUTH AFRICA

14 Ghoonghat Chak Ve Sajna [Wadali Brothers] INDIA

15 Wagdi ae ravi [Samar Iqbal] PAKISTAN

16 Duma Dum [Dayam Khan] INDIA

17 Khari Neem Khe Neeche [Mai Bhagi] PAKISTAN

18 Ayrilik Gunu [Goksel] TURKEY

19 Taqasim [Fawzi Chekili] TUNISIA

20 Shikwa [Zia Mohiyeddin] PAKISTAN

21 Way Too Qarar Mera [Noor Jehan]  PAKISTAN

22 Ek Dil Ke Tukde Hazar Huye [Mohammad Rafi] INDIA

23 Dil Mein Meethe Meethe [Ustad Amanat Ali Khan] PAKISTAN

24 Mendha Ishq Wi Too [Pathane Khan] PAKISTAN

here

Tunisia: Waking up from the Cold Sleep

In 1991 a young oud player from Tunis recorded an album for the classy German jazz label, ECM.  The album, Barzakh, announced the arrival on the scene of Anouar Brahem, a musician who since that debut has never lowered the quality or beauty or fascinating allure of his art.

In 1991, Tunisia was well on the way toward that all too common state that pertains in all one party states: deadened slumber. The government was setting up theatrical elections in which the President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was returned by ‘overwhelming majorities’ as a sign of his adoring people’s love. Tunisians were compelled to remain quiet and voiceless and submissive.

I don’t know if anyone paid attention to the title of Anouar Brahem's debut album but it is a fascinating choice. Barzakh in Islamic thinking refers to a state of the soul after death not-dissimilar (but not exactly similar, either) to limbo in Catholicism.  Barzakh is that state where the soul of the deceased enters a deep, ‘cold sleep’ and awaits the Day of Final Judgment (qayamat).

At first blush Barzakh seems a bizarre title for an album but when one considers what was happening in Tunisia at the time, perhaps not. That the country was a political mortuary in which its citizens lay inert in an ever-waiting ‘cold sleep’, is now an open secret.

In the last few days the much ‘re-elected’ President Ben Ali has been chased out of Tunisia by his ‘adorning’ people.  The ancient land is vibrating with long-realized hope even as it teeters on the brink of the unknown.  The people, for so long asleep are now wakening. The state of barzakh seems to be ending. The final judgment has arrived for a government that for too long has oppressed those it claims to serve.

Whether Anouar Brahem attaches such political implications to his work is unknown. But given what is transpiring in that country there is no better  moment to share this magnificent masterpiece of modern Tunisia. Brahem is considered one of the most innovative and accomplished contemporary oud masters. Not only has he transformed the Arabic lute into a lead instrument (rather than an accompanying one) his spare playing style is instantly recognizable.

This album is one of my all time favorites, one that never ceases to pleasure the senses.

Track Listing:

1.    Raf Raf

2.    Barzakh

3.    Sadir

4.    Ronda

5.    Hou

6.    Sarandib

7.    Souga

8.    Parfun de Gitane

9.    Bou Naouara

10. Kerkenah

11. La Nuit des Yeux

12. Le Belvedere Asseige

13. Qaf

 Listen here