Track 1 from the Sublime Frequencies CD, "Omar Souleyman- Highway to Hassake: Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria"
An excerpt from the track "Leh Jani" taken from cassette.
Featuring: Omar Souleyman - vocalsRizan Sa'id - Keyboard/RhythmsMahmoud Harbi - PoetryAnd an unknown saz player
― thomp, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 16:46 (3 years ago) Permalink
"Mahmoud Harbi is a long-time collaborator and the man responsible for much of the poetry sung by Souleyman. Together, they commonly perform the Ataba, a traditional form of folk poetry used in Dabke. On stage, Harbi chain smokes cigarettes while standing shoulder to shoulder with Souleyman, periodically leaning over to whisper the material into his ear. Acting as a conduit, Souleyman struts into the audience with urgency, vocalizing the prose in song before returning for the next verse."
― thomp, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 16:48 (3 years ago) Permalink
~p~I~m~P~
― am0n, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 16:49 (3 years ago) Permalink
raaad
― rip dom passantino 3/5/09 never forget (max), Wednesday, 10 June 2009 16:51 (3 years ago) Permalink
yes
― admrl, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 16:56 (3 years ago) Permalink
love this shit, jealous that the UK gets to see him and we don't.
― ian, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 17:09 (3 years ago) Permalink
I know! Fuckers!
― admrl, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 17:10 (3 years ago) Permalink
(seriously, though)
that sublime frequencies tour has moved on to other parts of europe now:
Wed 10 OSLO, THE VILLA www.thevilla.no
Thu 11 AARHUS, PAKHUSET www.ljud.dk
Fri 12 GOTHENBURG, CLANDESTINO FESTIVAL www.bwanaclub.org
Sat 13 BERLIN, FESTSAAL KREUZBERG www.clubtransmediale.de / www.festsaal-kreuzberg.de
Sun 14 BERLIN, FESTSAAL KREUZBERG www.clubtransmediale.de / www.festsaal-kreuzberg.de
Tue 16 COLOGNE, STADTTGARTEN www.stadtgarten.de / www.myspace.com/reconstructingsong
Wed 17 GENEVA, L'USINEwww.cave12.org
Thu 18 GENEVA, L'USINE www.cave12.org
Fri 19 BARCELONA, SONAR (OMAR SOULEYMAN ONLY) www.sonar.es
Sat 20 MADRID, CENTRO DE ARTE DOS DE MAYO www.madrid.org/centrodeartedosdemayo
Sat 20 TOULOUSE, RIO LOCO FESTIVAL (ALAN BISHOP DJ ONLY)www.rio-loco.org
Sun 21 LISBON, CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN FOUNDATION www.filhounico.com
― Ward Fowler, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 17:30 (3 years ago) Permalink
the album is rilly rilly good.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 17:34 (3 years ago) Permalink
but you all probably know that by now.
― scott seward, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 17:35 (3 years ago) Permalink
I love the two CDs. The new one is even weirder than the first.
They're both carefully curated by Porest / Mark Gergis from dozens of cassettes. Evidently many of the original cassettes are less songs than two neverending workouts, 30 minutes a side, Fela style. The CDs are edited like pop concentrates but I hope there's a chance for some of the cassettes to start turning up somewhere soon.
― Milton Parker, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 17:37 (3 years ago) Permalink
^^^ would love to hear those. and yes the sf releases are both amazing
― psychgawsple, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 17:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
The wronger you spell his name, the more clips you find
― StanM, Friday, 12 June 2009 21:14 (3 years ago) Permalink
(that square dance thing they do is called Dabke , hence his second album's name, btw)
― StanM, Friday, 12 June 2009 21:15 (3 years ago) Permalink
been listening to this constantly
― admrl, Friday, 12 June 2009 21:25 (3 years ago) Permalink
Jens Govaert (Belgium) wroteat 13:11 on 04 June 2009Looking forward to his performance in Belgium this saturday.. DABKE!!!Report Mathias Kostlin (France) wroteat 14:05 on 31 May 2009I've just seen him at Villette Sonique. This guy is fat. It was brilliant.
― admrl, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 04:26 (3 years ago) Permalink
would rock keyboard dude's jacket in first vid
― what u arrestin me for, innit (╓abies), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 07:39 (3 years ago) Permalink
BTWS were playing him the other night; he must be good.
::tongue in cheek::
no, it sounded great.
― Violent In Design (Masonic Boom), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 08:59 (3 years ago) Permalink
tbh it doesn't stand out from other dabke stuff i hear. And I hear this music a lot coz my gf's parents are Lebanese and every party you go to, all they play is this kind of stuff. I was telling some of my girlfriend's cousins about souleyman and they were totally not interested because he's Syrian O_o
― wilter, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 09:08 (3 years ago) Permalink
the cultural elite in Syrian were apparently perplexed by the Sublime Frequencies guys were so enraptured by Omar Souleyman, calling him "taxi driver's music"
Lansob Sherek is an anthem. Dancefloor mayhem.
― Tannenbaum Schmidt, Thursday, 2 July 2009 13:00 (3 years ago) Permalink
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ruAklSJQ08M&hl=en&fs=1&";></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ruAklSJQ08M&hl=en&fs=1&"; type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
― Tannenbaum Schmidt, Thursday, 2 July 2009 13:01 (3 years ago) Permalink
damns
dear ilx poster wilter, please tell me the names of some other dabke stuff i can hear via the internet
― thomp, Thursday, 2 July 2009 14:04 (3 years ago) Permalink
saw him live a couple of weeks ago. Party vibes.
― the shock will be coupled with the need to dance (jim), Thursday, 2 July 2009 15:20 (3 years ago) Permalink
give me more taxi driver's music plzi am so so looking forward to seeing this guy jam the fuck out
― forksclovetofu, Tuesday, 9 March 2010 05:58 (3 years ago) Permalink
This is kind of related:
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 20 March 2010 05:25 (3 years ago) Permalink
New Omar album right about now: Jazeera Nights
― StanM, Monday, 10 May 2010 19:09 (3 years ago) Permalink
UK tour starting tomorrow: http://www.sublimefrequencies.com/tour/omar2010.html
― StanM, Monday, 10 May 2010 19:13 (3 years ago) Permalink
I guess he cannot get a visa to tour the US. His prior UK tour never came here either. The US is now allowing some Cuban musicians again to tour here but not Syrian ones I guess.
― curmudgeon, Monday, 10 May 2010 19:47 (3 years ago) Permalink
no, he's playing the US.We got him for SummerStage in Central Park, NYC on June 26 with Tinariwen and Toubab Krewe.
― ₣õ®₭§©₤¤∵釰ƒü (forksclovetofu), Monday, 10 May 2010 20:28 (3 years ago) Permalink
Can you bring him to W. DC too, or is he coming here already?
― curmudgeon, Monday, 10 May 2010 20:49 (3 years ago) Permalink
ha, i'm just the pr guy. i know they're working hard on his visa.
― ₣õ®₭§©₤¤∵釰ƒü (forksclovetofu), Monday, 10 May 2010 21:22 (3 years ago) Permalink
I heard Omar Souleyman for the first time 2 nights ago. Jazeera Nights.
"Mandal/Metel Il Sukkar Ala Il Shai (I Don't Know/Like The Sugar In The Tea)", or as it's known in my household, "that 8th track", is pretty much the jam of all time. It's slower than most of the other songs of his that I've heard (admittedly I've only heard less than 1/500th of his total output, which is apparently over 500 releases), but when he goes "heh-heeey!" and the booty bass drops in, holy shit.
― Come along, we shall dine at an expensive French restaurant. (Z S), Sunday, 27 June 2010 22:04 (2 years ago) Permalink
bummed that extra time in the usa game yesterday kept me from seeing omar at central park. anyone see him?
― mizzell, Sunday, 27 June 2010 23:36 (2 years ago) Permalink
Here's a writeup of his Chicago gig and some tour issues
http://www3.timeoutny.com/chicago/blog/out-and-about/2010/06/chicago-summerdance-omar-souleyman/
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 27 June 2010 23:51 (2 years ago) Permalink
i was at the summerstage gig with whiney g; it was good? maybe not as good as I wanted it to be? The crowd was not sure how to handle it. world cup kept the crowd light (maybe 2500?) and they were mostly there to see what the deal was so dancing was minimal. In a club, he would've destroyed. Great voice but it was just him walking around on a giant stage with two guys on synthesizers. needed a light show... though near the end a bellydancer from queens came on and started shakin'.
― obvious and old and bannable (forksclovetofu), Monday, 28 June 2010 01:32 (2 years ago) Permalink
He ruled in Detroit at the Arab American festival. Yet another reason why it's so awesome that Detroit has such a huge arab american population, beyond all the great restaurants and grocery shopping.
― filthy dylan, Monday, 28 June 2010 01:39 (2 years ago) Permalink
just heard this guy for the first time a few weeks ago. Had planned to go to issue project room tonight but had family situation. friend said it was great though.
― hills like white people (Hurting 2), Monday, 28 June 2010 04:29 (2 years ago) Permalink
A buddy of mine was at that festival in Detroit. Sounds like fun.
― Trip Maker, Monday, 28 June 2010 04:31 (2 years ago) Permalink
he fucking ruled Chicago. but then again, he played in a little slice of Grant Park just off Michigan Avenue. Great crowd, everyone was into it and dancing, young and old. just a perfect scene all around. sucks that the New York gig apparently didn't go off so hot, oh well, that's New York right? you guys take everything for granted. Chicago fucking loved him. rapped a bit with Alvarius B, who was manning the merch. good times
― Stormy Davis, Monday, 28 June 2010 05:09 (2 years ago) Permalink
While revered as a legitimate pop star in his native Syria, his bread and butter remains large wedding commissions, where, in accordance with local tradition, he extemporaneously extols the bride, the groom, and their families, usually with humor and awareness of regional current events. His recorded oeuvre is largely made up of cassette releases of these performances, financed by the family of the married couple to bring further glory to their name through cassette sales.
I actually never knew this. "Taxi driver's music" is such a great insult / compliment (delete as appropriate)!
― A prog venn diagram for you to think about (Matt #2), Monday, 28 June 2010 16:08 (2 years ago) Permalink
When he play the West?
― Cool Fetus (admrl), Monday, 28 June 2010 16:10 (2 years ago) Permalink
http://arabicpress.wordpress.com/2009/07/26/omar-souleymans-rise-to-indie-hipster-semifame/
Thought this was interesting, as was Alan Bishop's response in the comments.
― hills like white people (Hurting 2), Monday, 28 June 2010 16:13 (2 years ago) Permalink
Wish he had done more US dates than just Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago and 2 NY City shows.
http://www.sublimefrequencies.com/tour/omar2010.html
― curmudgeon, Monday, 28 June 2010 16:30 (2 years ago) Permalink
― mizzell, Monday, 28 June 2010 16:39 (2 years ago) Permalink
In response to this article: http://arabicpress.wordpress.com/2009/07/26/omar-souleymans-rise-to-indie-hipster-semifame/
I enjoyed the article and agreed with what it had to say, but this paragraph:
These types of statements compounded with a tendency for the “Western listener” to understand music on his/her terms and a refusal to accept that music can serve a variety of purposes in different cultures, makes me even more doubtful that music has the capacity to function as a “cultural bridge” of any sort. Listening to music for pure enjoyment is fine, but no one should claim that it brings them closer to understanding a culture.
...seems a little off, especially considering when he played the Arab American fest here, there were huge circles of all sorts of middle eastern people mixed with all sorts of hipsters all dancing together. I don't know if everyone was coming closer to understanding each other's culture, but it still seemed to have more power than this author gives creedence.
― filthy dylan, Monday, 28 June 2010 16:45 (2 years ago) Permalink
both the article & the responses make for really good & interesting reading
― get your bucket of free wings (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Monday, 28 June 2010 17:16 (2 years ago) Permalink
Was at both Central Park and Issue shows. Issue (BK) show was best for me because he played in a small courtyard where the reverb made everything sound like it was coming out of minaret loudspeakers. Kind of fuzzy and slightly distorted but amazing sounding. Plus there was a nice crowd dancing thruout the show right in front of the stage so the energy level was kept up. Central Park crowd by the stage seemed to dig the awful opening jam band much more and were mostly confused it seemed.
― ¿Can Your Gato Do the Perro? (Capitaine Jay Vee), Monday, 28 June 2010 17:28 (2 years ago) Permalink
agreed. Before the European tour last year, Omar & his band had never left the region.
― sarahel, Monday, 28 June 2010 19:23 (2 years ago) Permalink
One thing that is great about Omar Souleymann is how full on his music is... for all that the indie hipsters are supposedly embracing him, he is more like a Syrian Scooter than a Syrian [insert name of currently kewl hipster band].
― The New Dirty Vicar, Wednesday, 4 August 2010 09:50 (2 years ago) Permalink
Also, YELLA!
Thinking about hitting the London gig on the 28th. Apparently he will be "Performing both a rare Mawal set and a Dabke/Choubi set". I have the first Sublime Frequencies records but apart from that am pretty ignorant; Dabke/Choubi is what SF have put out, right? The best idea I've found of what Mawal would be is this Youtube; people in the know, is this representative?
― seandalai, Friday, 20 August 2010 15:10 (2 years ago) Permalink
I think the frenetic stuff on the Omar Souleyman records is dabke. I am a bit vaguer on what Choubi music is - the wonderful SF compilation "Choubi Choubi" suggests that it is mainly women saying "Choubi" over a less frenetic Arabic/synthy musical accompaniment. Mawal, no idea, but I am sure it will be awesome.
― The New Dirty Vicar, Wednesday, 8 September 2010 12:19 (2 years ago) Permalink
Saw him last night with Dengue Fever (they played first and Omar and his keyboard player did one song with that Cambodian/Los Angeles group) in W. DC. Souleyman's keyboard player manages to sample and play all kinds of instruments featured in dabke and whatever Arabic dancemusic and disco beats out of his two keyboards, while Souleyman sang, chanted and did his little fist-moving dance movements.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 7 June 2012 14:13 (11 months ago) Permalink
that's pretty much what happens, yes.
― “Argh!” I cry. But I really don’t care. (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 7 June 2012 14:42 (11 months ago) Permalink
he was best in the first four songs of an open rainstorm; that was a series of songs to remember.
― “Argh!” I cry. But I really don’t care. (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 7 June 2012 14:43 (11 months ago) Permalink
DC gig was not too crowded. Indie-rock club 930 did not try to reach out to DC's Arabic-speaking community. Some were there though
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 7 June 2012 15:42 (11 months ago) Permalink
Was there an NYC date already and I missed it?
― Guess what? They crucified him. (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 7 June 2012 16:10 (11 months ago) Permalink
Google seems to suggest Souleyman and Dengue Fever were at Webster hall Monday June 4. Don't see any reviews.
Omar Souleyman -- 2012 Tour Dates6/4 Webster Hall New York, NY*6/5 Union Transfer Philadelphia, PA*6/6 9:30 Club Washington, DC*9/1-3 Bumbershoot Seattle, WA9/5-9 MusicFestNW Portland, OR9/9 Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA w/ Hot Chip and Passion Pit* - w/ Dengue Fever
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 7 June 2012 16:21 (11 months ago) Permalink
Mahmoud Harbi is a long-time collaborator and the man responsible for much of the poetry sung by Souleyman. Together, they commonly perform the "Ataba," a traditional form of folk poetry used in Dabke. On stage, Harbi chain smokes cigarettes while standing shoulder to shoulder with Souleyman, periodically leaning over to whisper the material into his ear.
No Harbi onstage in W. DC
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 7 June 2012 16:36 (11 months ago) Permalink