The ever-magnificent Wewantsounds have produced another vinyl masterpiece! They have released, for the first time, Harold Land’s classic LP ‘Damisi,’ recorded in Los Angeles for Bob Shad’s Mainstream Records and released in 1972. It’s a superb mix of Funk and modal Jazz and the vinyl edition features newly remastered audio and a 2-page insert including new liner notes by Kevin Le Gendre.
“In the mid-70s, Bob Shad’s cult New York Jazz label Mainstream Records turned to the burgeoning underground Disco scene and released a handful of great singles produced by the likes of Tommy Stewart, Jimmy Roach or Bert DeCoteaux. Featuring artists from the early Disco hotbed including South Side Coalition, Chocolate Syrup and Three Ounces of Love, these singles, proving Shad’s great flair, accompanied the rise of the New York club and block party culture that was going to revolutionise the musical landscape a few years later. Most of the singles are officially reissued here on vinyl for the first time, with Three Ounces of Love’s “Disco Man” full mix previously unissued on vinyl. Remastered by Colorsound Studio in Paris, with liner notes by Charles Waring.”
There are thirty tracks on this piece of vinyl, and you’ll hear everything from Schifrin’s typically sublime scoring, mixing jazz, Bossa Nova, and groove as well as library music. The music is remastered from the original three-track masters and sounds incredibly punchy.
Track List:
Side 1
1. Maggie’s Theme 1 0.25
2. Juke Box Source 1.40
3. Evelyn Story 1.42
4. Beetle Search* 0.13
5. Rosehaven Motel 1.57
6. Trip to LA 1.43
7. Maggie’s Theme 2 0.27
8. Stressed Out/Choked Up 2.14
9. Janet’s Mazurka* 1.32
10. Maggie Retraced 1.52
11. Factory Vibe 1.22
12. A Wet Nothing 1.24
13. Suspense/Wills’ Trance pt. 1 1.58
14. Bell Signals 0.19
15. Taken Away 0.37
16. Radio Source 1.26
Side 2
1. FM Groove 0.42
2. Forest Finale 0.23
3. Penultima Trance 4.13
4. Parking Lot Shuffle 1.21
5. Dialatone 0.10
6. Wills’ Trance pt. 2/Wills’ Trance pt. 3 2.56
7. Wills’ Trance pt. 4 2.36
8. Gratitude 0.35
9. Empty Torch/Mailman/Phone Voice 2.39
10. On The Move 1.10
11. Wills’ Last Trance 1.16
12. End Credits 1.20
13. Radio Source Rhythm (Alt. Take)* 0.57
14. Juke Box Source (Alt. Take)* 0.31
Though it is always with great sadness that modern record labels who release spectacular vinyl editions don’t offer such releases on digital formats for sale, it’s a forgivable sin, as our dear friends at WeWantSounds continue to impress with their choices of artists they so lovingly reissue.
Abdel Halim Hafez is at the peak of his powers at this point of his career, and Mawood is a shining example of the quality of Egyptian music during the early 1970s. The good folks at WeWantSounds explain further at their Bandcamp site:
“Famously sampled by Jay-Z on “Big Pimpin'” for one of his 60s tracks, Hafez is captured here live with his full orchestra including Omar Khorshid on guitar. the album mixes traditional Arabic music with modern instrumentation and shades of 70s groove. ‘Mawood’ is one of Hafez’s all-time classics, written by the legendary composer Baligh Hamdi. This release has been newly remastered for vinyl and features the original LP artwork with a 2 page insert featuring a new liner notes (English/French) by Mario Choueiry (IMA, Paris) who curates Wewantsounds’ Arabic series of reissues.“
From the album press release:
“Born in Lower Egypt in 1929, Abdel Halim Hafez became, during a relatively short career that ended with his death in 1977 aged 48, one of the giants of Egyptian Music and his legend has never stopped growing since. Alongside Oum Kalthoum, Warda, Farid el Atrache and Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Hafez revolutionised Egyptian music and became a hugely popular star across the whole Arab world.
Blessed with striking good looks, Abdel Halim Hafez started his career in the early 50s and quickly attracted the attention of one of the Egyptian radio’s A&Rs who took him under his wing and invited him to perform on the radio. His career went from strength to strength and from 1953, he was associated with the Egyptian revolution led by Nasser. His music mixing tradition and modernity made him one of the most loved singers of the 1950s as he developed a romantic edge that became his signature style (he was dubbed “the dark-skinned nightingale”). In the mid 50s, hot on the heels of his success in music, he launched his acting career in the thriving Egyptian film industry and also became a hugely popular actor.
Hafez worked with the greatest composers of their time including Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Baligh Hamdi who composed ‘Mawood’ (“Promised”).
Recorded live in 1971 (as it was the norm at the time. Singer would rarely record studio albums), ‘Mawood’ is one of the singer’s most recognizable standards. The song stretches over the two sides of the album and consists of several sections alternating instrumental parts and sung ones.
The song, written by Egyptian poet Mohamed Hamza, sees Hafez talking to his heart, apologizing for driving it from failure to failure and concluding that, to find solace, one must keep love at bay. He’s backed by his full orchestra featuring traditional instrumentation and those powerful strings that influenced the likes of Jean-Claude Vannier, together with modern instrumentation including organ and electric guitar by Omar Khorshid adding his unmissable twang to the
ensemble. ‘Mawood’ mixes tradition and modernity and develops into a hypnotic epic full of groove with a superb soulful performance by one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. An undisputed Arabic Music classic which Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue on vinyl for the first time since the 1970s.””
There is no doubt who the reigning queen of Arab music is. Fairuz, once and always a beautiful songstress from Lebanon, has had this legendary cult album reissued by our dear friends at Wewantsounds, and it will be arriving on November 4, 2022. Unfortunately, there may not be a digital release, but you vinyl hounds have your chance to order a gem. From Wewantsounds Bandcamp site:
Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue Fairuz’s classic album ‘Kifak Inta’ produced by her son Ziad Rahbani in the late 80’s and only released on cassette and CD in 1991. Composed and arranged by Rahbani, who had already produced ‘Wahdon’ (1979) and ‘Maarifti Feek’ (1987), ‘Kifak Inta’ features his usual blend of Jazz, funk and Arabic music, spiced up with Brazilian influences serving Fairuz’s beautiful voice. The album successfully pursue the path that made ‘Wahdon’ and ‘Maarifti Feek’ such in-demand albums, modernising the sound of the Lebanese Diva with contemporary arrangements. It is the first time ‘Kifak Inta’ is released on vinyl, retaining the original cassette artwork. The album – curated by Mario Choueiry from Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), who also wrote the liner notes (Fr/En) – has been newly remastered by Colorsound Studio in Paris.
Tracklist:
Side 1
1. Farewell Song
2. You Can Forget
3. Ouverture 87
4. “Ya Leili Leili Leili”
5. Reprise
6. Prova
Side 2
1. “Kifak Inta” (How Are You?)
2. “Dia’ Anou”
3. Something Is Happening
4. Indi Thika Fik
5. It’s Not A Problem
We at MYNTH are elated that our friends at WeWantSounds have another spicy platter on offer from their label. This one comes to us from the Marseille-based band Biensüre.
From the label’s press release:
Biensüre’s influences are varied and transcend generations and borders. Ranging from the Anatolian pop scene of the 70s and 80s with key figures like Erkin Koray and Barış Manço to 70s Jazz, Disco and early electro, their music is at the intersection of several musical continents. Obviously, Hakan’s close connection to traditional Kurdish music is at the heart of the group’s music, embraced by all the other members. In addition, Anselme, who is of Armenian origin, brings his own influences to the mix playing such instruments as The Saz, an Anatolian luth found in the whole region, which he had only seen in family photos dating back to the end of the 19th century, before his family was forced to flee Istanbul during the genocide. “The story of my family is that of Hakan’s today in a way” he notes , “that of an exile forced to cross borders by oppression. It’s like a transgenerational mirror”.
Blending these influences to their pulsating disco beats, Biensüre show the breadth of their inspirations and their desire to build bridges between distant cultures. Their first release is scheduled for Oct 2022 as a self-titled 7-track album presenting their hypnotic and fascinating music to the world.
For more information on this release, consider clicking here for information directly from the label.
Though I don’t think this banger will be available as a digital download (my friends at Wewantsounds will be happy to clarify this), Sharayet El Disco is going to be an indispensable part of your world disco collection! From the label’s Bandcamp site:
“Wewantsounds is delighted to release ‘Sharayet el Disco’ a selection of Egyptian 80s Disco and Boogie tracks curated by Egyptian DJ Disco Arabesquo from his vast collection of cassettes. Most tracks have never been released on any other format and are making their vinyl debut with this set. A journey through the funky sound of 80s Egypt, Sharayet El Disco (which can be translated by “Disco Cassettes”) features Simone, Ammar El Sherei and more obscure names from Cairo‘s cassette culture. The audio has been remastered for vinyl by David Hachour at Colorsound Studio in Paris and features artwork by young Egyptian graphic designer Heba Tarek.”
A side note – the packaging looks absolutely stunning, and judging by quality of the promotional tracks I’m listening to, the remastering is stellar. Of particular interest is Dr. Ezat Abou Ouf & el four M’s track Gonoun El Disco. It’s a combination of ABBA and cuts from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack imbued with the spirit of 1970s Cairo’s dancefloors.
Read more about the release at the label’s official website here.
