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Browse by Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES


Artist: VA
Title: Folk and Pop Sounds of Sumatra Vol. 1
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: LP
Price: $22.00
Catalog #: SF 001LP
Limited edition full-color gatefold LP version of the first Sublime Frequencies CD release from 2003. The equator runs through only ten countries on earth and I bet that you cannot name them all without consulting a map. Indonesia is one of them and the only nation in Asia with the equatorial stripe impaling it. There are so many different cultures spread out on this chain of islands that it would take several lifetimes to experience them all properly. Within this umbrella of diversity is one of the world's richest and most dazzling sound museums. Sumatra is the northwestern entry point to the great archipelago. Approximately the size of California, Indonesia's largest island has a wide variety of natural wonders: dense jungles, picturesque mountain peaks, gargantuan lakes, lowland swamps, active volcanoes, and highly frequent seismic activity. Populating this gorgeous setting are orangutans, tigers, durian trees, the largest flower on earth, dozens of cultures and languages, myths and folklore, and much more music than you've ever been allowed to discover. The style selections on this LP include forms of droning beat pop, early Orkes Melayu songs, Batak Tapanuli, traditional Minang music, and folk drama soundtracks heard by only a handful of outsiders. The recordings are from old cassette tapes; decaying documents of various sound qualities containing some of the most eccentric artifacts ever uncovered from this fascinating island. Assembled and compiled by Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls) in July of 1989.


Artist: VA
Title: Night Recordings From Bali
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $14.00
Catalog #: SF 003CD
"The island of Bali is Indonesia's most popular place. With the modern beach resorts at Kuta and Legian, the lovely, tropic interior of palm-covered hills and rice paddies, and a rich variety of art, dance and music, the island is a destination of choice for travelers around the world. But, regardless of their increasing role of servicing an ever-demanding tourist industry, the Balinese are a strong-willed and tight-knit society. The island is a tiny enclave of Hinduism within a massive nation of Islam, yet, their Gamelan music is faster, tighter, and louder than their mighty neighbors to the west, the Javanese. Balinese Gamelan stylings and the Ketchak dance are legendary throughout the world and have been immortalized in sound recordings and on film for decades. But, beneath the creeping exterior of a pseudo-western culture slowly overtaking an amazing tradition of unique human expression, the moods of the island are governed by magic and superstition. The hills, forests, rivers, and crossroads are alive with tales of demons (Leyaks) and a flesh-eating Ogress (Rangda). A lesser-known darker side of Balinese life secretly balances the lighter side 'tropical paradise' of tourist brochures. This CD is entirely composed of field recordings from August and September of 1989. The majority of the recordings were made at night in and around the villages of Peliatan and Ubud. Amidst the excerpts from Gamelan and Ketchak are sounds of the forests and mysterious crossroads where packs of dogs seem to take on forms of angry demons. Also encountered here are odd folk stylings for flute and drum, outdoor village theatre, and other sound anomalies from the center of Balinese culture."


Artist: VA
Title: Princess Nicotine: Folk And Pop Sounds Of Myanmar (Burma)
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: LP
Price: $22.00
Catalog #: SF 006LP
...Vol. 1. Limited edition full-color gatefold LP version of the Sublime Frequencies CD release from 2004. Original description from 2004: How do they do it? Are they smarter? Are they better? How can it be ignored or denied? How is it possible that one of the most unique, perfectly composed and performed, intense and awe-inspiring musical legacies the world has ever known is looming north of the equator physically tucked between world cultural giants India, China, and Thailand, without more than a whisper from ethnomusicologists or those who define themselves as "purveyors of world music?" Not only are the roots of this music unique, but so are the results after incorporating outside instrumentation from modern colonial and (unavoidable) international influence. What the Burmese have done with a piano is so precise in the adaptation to their existing form and melody that one would think they invented it. Burmese music has a very distinct sound and whatever instrument is assimilated into its core only seems to magnify the original intent without depending upon outside ideas relating to each component utilized. This collection will immediately bring you up to speed to what you have been missing all along. The time is now to put the real music of Myanmar on the map once and for all. Here are some of the greatest names from the past 50 years of Burmese musical history from the original recordings featuring Mar Mar Aye, Bo Sein, and the incomparable Tonte Theintan. Listen, and be amazed! Compiled by Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls) in 1993 and originally released on Majora Records (LP/1994).


Artist: VA
Title: I Remember Syria
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: 2CD
Price: $16.00
Catalog #: SF 009CD
"A jaw-dropping expose of music, news, interviews and field recordings from one of the least-known quarters of the Arab world. The country of Syria has been politically and culturally exiled for decades by the western media leaving little known of its rich heritage of art, music and culture. Recorded and surgically-assembled by Mark Gergis from two trips to Syria in 1998 and 2000, disc one of this 2-CD set features recordings made in Damascus and is a virtual documentary of sound from the legendary Capital including street scenes, a wedding, a mosque interior, spontaneous live music and interviews with citizens, radio broadcasts, a song about Saddam Hussein, and the mystery of an underground city called 'Kazib'. Disc two extends to Greater Syria with the same approach capturing live musicians, political opinions, radio excerpts, an interview with an anonymous homosexual, and unique sound documents from this small but highly-influential corner of the Middle East."


Artist: VA
Title: Streets of Lhasa
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $14.00
Catalog #: SF 016CD
2005 release, repressed. "Streets of Lhasa lifts us to the high plateau of Tibet where anonymous street balladeers sell folk songs for a living and ghostly voices drift in an ambience of time forgotten. Children, birds, trains, prayers and a traditional temple activity called 'bian jing' (where monks discourse about scripture and punctuate their points by clapping loudly) provide the backdrop for this disc with the folk music of the street taking center stage. These enterprising musicians sing passionate songs and play instruments like the 'Erhu' and the 'San Xian'. The recordings are as clear as the strings of these banjo and violin-like instruments scathed by leather fingers of the high, thin air. Tibet has been under Chinese control for nearly half a century and their leader, The Dalai Lama, resides in exile to the south in Dharamsala India. Buddhism remains of primary importance here and chants of song and prayer are heard throughout the plateau. This ornamental carnival of sound was recorded by Zhang Jian (of the Beijing-based sound collective 'fm3') on the streets of Lhasa, ZhaDa and Shigatse in August 2003. Liner notes written by Steve Barker (ON THE WIRE/BBC)."


Artist: VA
Title: Radio Phnom Penh
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $14.00
Catalog #: SF 020CD
2005 release, repressed! "Cambodia's people, economy, and culture have been 're-mixed' perhaps more than any place on earth for the past 50 years. The name was even changed to Kampuchea and then back again to Cambodia. So it almost seems natural that modern Cambodian record companies have been re-mixing the old classic pop and rock tracks from the pre-Khmer Rouge era, overdubbing drum tracks, and sometimes all instruments leaving only the original vocal in tact. These re-mixes, designed to hold the interest of younger listeners, are the staple for current programming on Phnom Penh's FM radio stations as the AM flagship 'National Radio of Cambodia' remains the only source regularly featuring the original master recordings. This brain-melting concoction of Radio transmissions is a combination of AM/FM samples from the airwaves of Phnom Penh. The older, classic Pop/Rock FM cuts are ALL re-mixed versions while the newer forms/other styles of Cambodian music collected here are not. All AM recordings are from the Original masters. Regardless of the debate between 'original' and 're-mix', this is the most diverse assortment of Cambodian musical treasures you've NEVER heard. Flowing from traditional to Modern, from rock and pop to folk and hybrid, all excerpts are as unique as the best of what's been presented by other compilations of late. And it's sequenced here in the spirit of how it was captured: as radio programming designed to immediately transport you into the heart of Cambodia's Capital."


Artist: VA
Title: Radio Thailand: Transmissions from the Tropical Kingdom
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: 2CD
Price: $16.00
Catalog #: SF 028CD
2006 release, repressed! This 2CD set is an exhaustive collection of Thai Radio transmissions recorded over a 15-year period from 1989 to 2004. These 23 collage tracks have been assembled and distilled from dozens of cassette and mini-disc recordings captured on location from the capital of Bangkok to Chaing Mai and Isan Province in the north to Hat Yai in the south. The music presented here is relentlessly mystifying and seductive: Molam, Luk Thung, Kantrum, folk and pop, classic Thai guitar rock, antique ballads, novelty tunes, traditional ceremonial music and other miscellaneous styles rarely heard outside the Kingdom. Also featured are various commercials, DJs, radio IDs, news reports, mysterious folk radio, language lessons, sacred chants, bumper cues and plenty of audio anomalies only the sheer genius of Thai Radio can supply. Tune in to the amazing audio experience of Thailand's Tropical Kingdom!


Artist: GROUP DOUEH
Title: Guitar Music from the Western Sahara
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 030CD
2010 repress. If you think you've heard all the great electric guitar styles in the world, think again. This Saharan sand-blizzard of fine-crushed glass will grind your face to a bloody pulp. Group Doueh play raw and unfiltered Saharawi music from the former colonial Spanish outpost of the Western Sahara. Doueh (pronounced "Doo-way") is their leader and a master of the electric guitar. He's been performing since he was a child playing in many groups before finally creating his own in the 1980s. Doueh says he's influenced by Western pop and rock music especially Jimi Hendrix and James Brown. His sound is distorted, loud and unhinged with an impressive display of virtuosity and style only known in this part of the world. His wife Halima and friend Bashiri are the two vocalists in the group. Sahrawi songs are from the sung poetry of the Hassania language. The music is based on the same modal structure as Mauritanian music, however, Doueh's style is a looser appropriation infused with a Western guitar scope, one that relies, in his words, as much on Hendrix as it does traditional Sahrawi music. It also adds a playful pop element that rarely filters through in this region. Doueh has turned down countless offers from Morocco and Europe to release his music but he decided to offer Sublime Frequencies access to his homemade recordings and photo archive for this amazing debut. CD reissue of the first Sublime Frequencies LP release. Standard Sublime Frequencies 8-page CD insert includes great photos of the musicians and liner notes by Hisham Mayet.


Artist: SOULEYMAN, OMAR
Title: Highway to Hassake: Folk & Pop Sounds of Syria
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 031CD
2010 repress. Omar Souleyman is a Syrian musical legend. Since 1994, he and his musicians have emerged as a staple of folk-pop throughout Syria, but until now they have remained little known outside of the country. To date, they have issued more than five-hundred studio and live-recorded cassette albums which are easily spotted in the shops of any Syrian city. Born in rural northeastern Syria, he began his musical career in 1994 with a small group of local collaborators that remain with him today. The myriad musical traditions of the region are evident in their music. Here, classical Arabic mawal-style vocalization gives way to high-octane Syrian dabke (the regional folkloric dance and party music), Iraqi choubi and a host of Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish styles, among others. This amalgamation is truly the sound of Syria. The music often has an overdriven sound consisting of phase-shifted Arabic keyboard solos and frantic rhythms. At breakneck speeds, these shrill Syrian electronics play out like forbidden Morse-code, but the moods swing from coarse and urgent to dirgy and contemplative in the rugged anthems that comprise Souleyman's repertoire. Oud, reeds, baglama saz, accompanying vocals and percussion fill out the sound from track to track. 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. Souleyman's first hit in Syria was Jani (1996) which gained cassette-kiosk infamy and brought him recognition throughout the country. Sublime Frequencies is honored to present the Western debut of Omar Souleyman with this retrospective disc of studio and live recordings spanning 12 years of his career, culled from cassettes recorded between 1994 and 2006. This collection offers a rare glimpse into Syrian street-level folk-pop and Dabke -- a phenomena seldom heard in the West, not previously deemed serious enough for export by the Syrians and rarely, if ever, included on the import agenda of worldwide academic musical committees.


Artist: VA
Title: Thai Pop Spectacular: 1960s-1980s
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 032CD
2009 repress, originally released 2007. Thai pop history has been largely ignored and neglected by the international musical community for far too long. By the late 20th century, Thai pop music had developed as many faces as localized roots music such as molam or styles like luk thung or luk krung (each with their own respective pop-sectors). Bangkok -- always the hub of the Thai recording industry -- attracted musicians and singers from across the country that were both informed by tradition and inspired by the wealth of international sounds entering the region via radio and phonograph. Jazz, for instance, had a profound influence on early Thai pop music, the King of Thailand himself being a noted jazz composer. This superb collection features modern Thai music styles combining with elements of surf, rock, funk, disco and comedy, revealing the use of clever instrumentation, brilliant vocals, great arrangements, twisted breaks, and resourceful production techniques. Discover the Queen of Luk Thung, the 1960s "Shadow Music" sound, classic tracks from Thai films, blazing examples of Bangkok disco from the 1970s, legendary Thai comedy pop, and the most outrageous version of "The Night Chicago Died" you'll ever encounter. Thick horn sections, wah-wah guitars, tight drums, and funky organs help round out this astounding set which proves beyond a doubt that the Thai were a completely unique and powerful force during the 1960s, '70s & '80s global popular music explosion.


Artist: GROUP INERANE
Title: Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger)
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 034CD
2011repress of the first Group Inerane album from 2008. Group Inerane is the now sound of the Tuareg Guitar Revolution sweeping across the Sahara Desert and inspired by the rebel musicians that started this music as a political weapon used to communicate from the Libyan Refugee camps in the 1980s and 1990s. Spearheaded by the enigmatic guitar hero Bibi Ahmed, Group Inerane has been together for several years and carries the rich tradition of Tamachek guitar songs for another generation. These ten tracks are a combination of amplified roots rock, blues, and folk in the local Tuareg styles, at times entering into full-on electric guitar psychedelia. This music is performed with two electric guitars, a drum kit and a chorus of vocalists. The recordings were captured live in the city of Agadez in the Republic of Niger. Group Inerane was also featured in the Sublime Frequencies DVD Niger: Magic and Ecstasy in the Sahel. Recorded by Hisham Mayet, this CD reissue includes an 8-page insert with photos of the musicians and liner notes.


Artist: VA
Title: Music of Nat Pwe: Folk and Pop Music of Myanmar (Burma)
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 035CD
... Vol. 3. In Myanmar (Burma), many people believe in ghost spirits called Nats. These spirits are historical figures who met tragic or violent deaths. They are said to possess the power to assist or devastate the lives of those who recognize them. A Pwe is a ceremony held to appease a Nat. Pwes are arranged daily throughout Myanmar for many purposes including the achievement of success in business, a happy marriage, or improving one's health. A Nat is summoned through a Kadaw; the flamboyant and charismatic master of ceremony dressed in elegant costume. The Kadaw is a spirit medium, singer, dancer, storyteller and magician who exposes the crowd to a living incarnation of the Nat. Cash money is thrown and cigarettes and whiskey are hand-delivered by the Kadaw to the willing faithful. Audience participants are often ecstatic, spontaneously launching into trance as the Nat spirit possesses their bodies while the melodically ornamental and thundering sound of the Nat Pwe orchestra plays on as perhaps the last great internationally unknown musical juggernaut existing anywhere. This collection of music documents the phenomenon known as the Nat Pwe orchestra. There is absolutely nothing like it anywhere else on earth. If you are looking for some music to groove to, soothe your mind, or relax to, this is NOT for you! This is some of the most jarring, intense and maniacal music being created on earth today. Your head will be spinning amidst the cranked reverb and echo of the vocals as they swirl like locusts in a floating graveyard as the bells, cymbals, and tuned metal bars crash and spill down an endless staircase, while the hand drums and Hsaing-Wang circle of rhythm pound the beat in and out of a million twists and turns until you've either had enough or you get with the program. Turn it up and submit. This is what it's ALL about, schoolboy!


Artist: VA
Title: Latinamericarpet: Exploring the Vinyl Warp of Latin American
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 039CD
...Psychedelia Vol. 1. "Latinamericarpet is a non-stop collage of vinyl artifacts culled from stacks of forgotten LPs of the 1960s and 1970s from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Isle de Pascua (Easter Island). Historically, Latin America was part of the "new world" that Christopher Columbus "discovered" in 1492, which soon was brutally conquered by the Spanish and Portuguese. Obviously it was only a "discovery" from a Eurocentric perspective because, in fact, on these vast lands there were hundreds of advanced native cultures living for centuries. However, after countless years of violent colonization and internal wars, the independence emerged on the whole continent, launching a group of new countries with their own unique identities. But what is Latin America nowadays? A complex answer for a complex puzzle: some people would say it's a huge cocktail that combines -- in a more or less chaotic way -- the ruins of pre-Columbus cultures and diverse European traditions mixed with a high dose of pseudo-tropical weathers, Latin manners and unstable economies... although that's also a simplification: Latin America is just Latin America, and it deserves to be "rediscovered." But let's go straight to the record. This compilation brings together some glittering sounds from LPs that have been somehow forgotten over the years. Although most of the tracks presented here were recorded during the peak of the psychedelic era in the late '60s and early '70s, this is not a collection packed with guitar group psychedelia, although there are a few unknown gems here that qualify as such. There are also pop and folkloric songs, children's songs, odd instructional record excerpts, and a few other anomalies from our neighbors to the south. These selections are only brief samples of what was made in Latin America in those glorious years, but while we wait for further works that can bring to light more sounds from this "undiscovered" continent, just relax, turn on your stereo and keep this magic Latinamericarpet flying." --Compilation liner notes by Albano Costillares (Argentina).


Artist: GERGIS, MARK/ALAN BISHOP (DIRECTORS)
Title: Sumatran Folk Cinema
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: DVD
Price: $19.50
Catalog #: SF 040DVD
A film by Mark Gergis and Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls), Sumatran Folk Cinema is a psychedelic collage of images and sounds from the heart and soul of the island's culture with the main focus on music. Witness classic dangdut rock music, street and country scenes, raw TV excerpts, Minang orchestras, night markets, a variety of folk musicians, audio/visual artifacts and much more wrapped in a 60 minute kaleidoscope complete with an epic soundtrack. Sumatra is the northwestern entry point to the Indonesian archipelago. Its 40 million inhabitants are primarily Muslim and speak the national language of Bahasa Indonesian. Most of the film was shot during a span of two weeks in August of 2004 in and around the cities of Medan, Padang, Bukitinggi, and Padang Panjang. It features a variety of street musicians, nightclub acts, folk groups, and incidental happenings that surround musicians in their daily lives. This film has no narration nor is it meant to express any particular theme or agenda. This is intuitive folk cinema and film collage, shot on location as it unfolded and assembled in an attempt to capture the essence of being there. All material was shot before the "Tsunami" of December 26, 2004 destroyed the city of Banda Aceh and the northwestern coastal areas of Aceh province. The Bandah Aceh segment was shot by David Martinez in 2003. The additional footage of the GAM (Free Aceh movement) rebels ambushing a government motorcade was filmed by Billy Nessen in 2001. GAM has since declared peace with the Indonesian government, given up their weapons and filtered back into Aceh society. All region DVD contains bonus footage of musical performances and trailer segment. Color; 60 minutes; digipak; NSTC format.


Artist: GROUP BOMBINO
Title: Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger) Vol. 2
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 046CD
Group Bombino is the latest salvo from the Agadez music scene. Led by the guitar virtuoso Omara Mochtar (Bombino), the group's debut LP -- volume two in the Guitars From Agadez series, represents the latest chapter in the modern sound of the Tuareg revolution. As of 2008, the Tuareg rebellion is in full force again, and Bombino is in exile to parts unknown. Agadez has been cut off from the rest of the country. The only road that connects this legendary city with the rest of the country is littered with land mines and the only escorts are the military. This music and its messages of hope, justice, and desire for validation of the Kel Tamachek way of life ring louder than ever. Group Bombino are gaining mythic status in and around the Tuareg community for their incendiary live performances. Coming from the same scene as Group Inerane and sharing some of the same musicians, Group Bombino showcase both sides of the Tuareg guitar style. The first half of this CD features the "dry guitar" sound, an unplugged selection of songs sung among the dunes, camels and stars of the Tenere desert. The last five tracks demonstrate the electric fury of the full band, a melding of heavy, psychedelic guitar heroics with a raw, garage sound, back beat percussion, all swirling in extended trance rock moves. Recorded live and unfiltered in Agadez and the surrounding desert in early 2007, with the band's equipment powered by generators and an unflinching dedication to the rebellion, Group Bombino's music transcends any influence and ignites the raw passion of its message to the outside world. Includes liner notes by Hisham Mayet with great photos of the musicians. This is a CD reissue of the limited LP pressing which sold out almost immediately upon release.


Artist: GROUP DOUEH
Title: Treeg Salaam
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 048CD
Group Doueh's follow-up to their now-legendary debut LP is here. While most would think it damn near impossible to top the former release, in terms of sheer "shock and awe," Treeg Salaam (trans. "Streets Of Peace"), blows hot and dusty from the infernal sand-swept dunes of the Western Sahara. Compiled from Group Doueh's personal archives, these five tracks are as brain-shifting in their ecstatic brilliance as any music ever heard. From the wah-stroked lead-off track to the blazing dexterity of "Ragsa Jaguar," the whole of the first side is an entrance to the lip-puckering tea den of Saharan trance heaven. Salmou Baamar's (Doueh) guitar/tinidit runs explode in cosmic shrapnel, raining down on the temporal nodes of the listener's brain. On "Tazit Kalifa," we have a 20-minute, smoky, slow-burning, psychedelic excursion into the great unknown. A meditation on the arid and inhospitable landscape that inspires this music and its people. Compiled by Hisham Mayet, this is a CD reissue of the limited LP pressing which sold out almost immediately upon release.


Artist: SOULEYMAN, OMAR
Title: Dabke 2020: Folk & Pop Sounds of Syria
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $13.50
Catalog #: SF 049CD
Repressed again! Sublime Frequencies is pleased to present the second volume of Northeast Syrian dabke music from legendary vocalist Omar Souleyman and his group. This CD was compiled by Mark Gergis to coincide with the Sublime Frequencies UK/European tour in May and June of 2009, featuring live performances by Omar Souleyman himself. Culled from dozens of cassettes recorded in Syria from 1999-2008, the music here is an extension of Omar's Highway to Hassake: Folk & Pop Sounds of Syria (SF 031CD) release, touching on some previously-unheard angles. Their trademark serpentine synthesizers, electrified bouzok (traditional stringed instrument) and driving rhythms forge a severe form of "new wave dabke" with a live energy and integrity that captures the essence of the Syrian Northeast; one-of-a-kind Syrian dabke party tunes, regional atabat-styled crooners, and unbelievable Iraqi party jams. The CD is packaged in a cardboard sleeve with a paper insert.


Artist: SOULEYMAN, OMAR
Title: Jazeera Nights: Folk & Pop Sounds of Syria
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 055CD
2011 repress. Sublime Frequencies is honored to present Omar Souleyman's third Western collection on disc. This retrospective features live recordings spanning 15 years of Omar's tireless repertoire, and is rife with frenzied Syrian dabke (a regional folkloric dance and party music), Iraqi choubi and a host of Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish styles, among others -- an amalgamation that exemplifies the musical essence of Northeastern Syria. Culled from cassettes recorded between 1995 and 2009, this collection offers a further rare glimpse into Syrian street-level dabke folk-pop -- a phenomena seldom heard in the West, not previously deemed serious enough for export by the Syrians and rarely, if ever, included on the import agenda of worldwide academic musical committees. Over the years, Souleyman's popularity has risen steadily and the group tirelessly performs concerts throughout Syria and has accepted invitations to perform abroad in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. In 2006, Sublime Frequencies partnered with Omar to release Highway To Hassake (SF 031CD), the first compilation of his works to be issued in the West. The success of this release and the video for the song "Leh Jani" helped see Souleyman and his group invited for their first Western tour in 2009 alongside label-mates Group Doueh from the Western Sahara. This successful tour quickly elevated Souleyman to the status of an international legend -- and deservedly so. This release coincides with the beginning of Omar's 2010 international tour in May which will take him to the UK, the European mainland, and hopefully the U.S. and Canada. CD features a full-color 8-page booklet with great photos, a general overview of the lyrics translated into English and liner notes by compiler Mark Gergis.


Artist: VA
Title: Ecstatic Music of the Jemaa El Fna
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: LP
Price: $22.00
Catalog #: SF 056LP
For centuries, the Jemaa El Fna (Rendezvous of the Dead) has remained the stage for one of the most spectacular social forums on the planet. By day, this central square in the city of Marrakesh, one of Morocco's great imperial cities, fosters a kaleidoscope of entertainment for its local inhabitants; storytellers, acrobats, magicians and snake charmers all create intriguing displays of bewitching spectacle. As the sun sets, the evening grows frantic with the pulse of the crowd; it is then that the night musicians set up. Free from the restrictions and expectations of light entertainment for a tourist crowd, these musicians manifest ecstatic performances that animate the audience and players alike. The groups represented on this album; Troupe Majidi, Amal Saha, and Mustapha Mahjoub, are working and carrying the torch of their musical heroes nightly in the square. These songs come from the repertoire of Morocco's greatest musical exports: Nass El Ghiwane, Lemchaheb, Jil Jilala, Larssad, and many others from the Chaabi (Moroccan popular music) canon and are given a raw, emotional and fiery interpretation. Instruments are powered by car batteries and blown out through megaphone speakers. These recordings represent a rare opportunity to hear this music at such close proximity taking in all the power and passion of the performances. The raw fidelity captures an unflinching immersion of what is simply some of the greatest street music on earth. Recorded by Hisham Mayet in 2005, a few of these performances were featured in his film Musical Brotherhoods From The Trans-Saharan Highway (SF 041DVD). This collection also contains tracks not present in the film for a more potent snapshot of the ecstatic Jemaa El Fna. Limited edition LP comes in a beautiful full-color gatefold jacket with photos of the musicians and liner notes by Hisham Mayet.


Artist: VA
Title: Ethnic Minority Music of Northwest Xinjiang, China
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 057CD
Laurent Jeanneau and Shi Tanding have returned from the northwest corner of China's Xinjiang province with an amazing batch of recordings collected during the weeks leading up to the volatile Uyghur uprising of 2009. Armed with their trusty audio gear, the couple was set on getting married and recording various styles of regional ethnic music near the Chinese border with Kazakhstan. However, the local authorities suspected that the pair had other intentions, shadowing and interrogating them wherever they went. Their marriage in Shi Tanding's home town of Ili would have to wait for another time (the marriage documents were delayed in processing deep within the Chinese bureaucracy) but the recordings, preserved here, display several magnificent and unique varieties of traditional Islamic folk music with traces of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish influences heard throughout. The players are Kazakh, Uyghur, Kirgiz and Mongol Erut musicians performing on a wide array of local stringed instruments including topchar, komuz, rushtar, rawab and tchang. One amazing example is Kurmanjiang Zaccharia, a Kazakh string virtuoso, whose lightning-fast fingers blaze up and down the neck of his two-stringed dongbra. Another is an epic 10-minute vocal muqam performed by a trio of Uyghur musicians on satar, tambur and dotar. Also featured is a Kazakh singing-style called Ay Ikesse performed by Aken (improvising poet-singers utilizing dongbra accompaniment), Kirgiz songs sung in the Manas style and played on the komuz, and Mongol Erut bai boor den instrumental pieces. The CD comes with a 16-page full-color booklet featuring photos of the musicians and informative liner notes chronicling the journey, instruments and styles documented, and background information on the performers by Laurent Jeanneau.


Artist: VA
Title: My Friend Rain
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: DVD/CD
Price: $18.50
Catalog #: SF 059CD
My Friend Rain -- A film by Robert Millis (color/38 minutes). Filmed throughout Southeast Asia by Robert Millis between 2002-2004, My Friend Rain is an abstract homage to the endless monsoon cycles of rebirth and destruction. Dreamy musical segments, fleeting glimpses, odd sounds, temple shrines, tropical backdrops, decay, death, languid afternoon rains, and mysterious celebratory events take the viewer from soaked mornings in the lowlands of the Irrawaddy Delta to humid nights on the streets of Isan province. Two tracks originally released on Millis' Leaf Music, Drunks, Distant Drums CD from 2002 can now be witnessed for the first time in this film: an amazing elephant mahout playing a song on a leaf with his mouth and a Burmese marionette orchestra musician performing expertly on tuned drums. The overall experience is an impressionistic collage of sight and sound captured live and in the moment on location in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. Along with the DVD which features 12 minutes of extra footage and deleted scenes, the package includes a bonus CD with the film's soundtrack of traditional and popular music culled from live performance, cassette and LP archives. Some of the soundtrack highlights: a gorgeous Thai Luk Thung track by Waiphot Phetsuphan, a classic Khmer performance by Pan Ron, one of the Queens of Cambodian music, and an epic Burmese pop rendition of the Bee Gee's "How Do You Mend A Broken Heart," alongside folk performers, street musicians and a traditional Burmese orchestra. Robert Millis, original co-founder of both Climax Golden Twins and AFCGT, also co-produced the Victrola Favorites: Artifacts From Bygone Days (DTD 011CD) book/CD project on Dust-to-Digital and is a frequent contributor to the Sublime Frequencies label. DVD/CD comes in a 2-disc jewel box with a full-color insert. DVD is NTSC format, region free.


Artist: VA
Title: Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 060CD
This is the CD version of the out-of-print 2LP. The long-awaited foray into the Vietnamese rock, pop and soul sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s is finally here. Saigon Rock & Soul delivers the goods international retro collectors have been searching for in vain for many years -- and it delivers beyond belief. Every song is a mini-masterpiece, be it heavy acid-rock psychedelia, horn- and guitar-drenched funk grooves, or gripping soul ballads reflective of life during wartime. The tracks that form this collection cut a window into a rich musical Vietnamese music scene that has long been obscured, and for the most part, forgotten. As the scope of electrified Vietnamese music from the 1960s and 1970s begins to be revealed, it becomes evident that this was among the heaviest and most eclectic musical scenes of Southeast Asia at the time. These songs tell of war, love and what war does to love. All of them were recorded in makeshift studios and even U.S. army facilities while the Vietnam War raged -- and were issued by a handful of Saigon record companies on vinyl 45s and reel or cassette tapes. Westernized forms of music in Vietnam had appeared during the latter 19th century, and especially during the early 20th century, under the influence of the French colonizers. Tan Nhac (trans. "modern music") always incorporated both domestic and international sounds, and continued to develop alongside Western musical trends. During the 1960s and 1970s, pulp ballads were being recorded by leading crooners of the time who alternated between modern and traditional forms of regional music. When the electric guitar hit the streets of Saigon, Vietnamese renditions of contemporary instrumental trends such as surf-rock, beat and twist soon emerged, followed by some pretty deep soul sounds inspired by Motown radio hits as well as funk grooves brought on by James Brown and his contemporaries. By the mid-1960s, Vietnam had been ravaged by war for years. American G.I.s had become a standard fixture in Saigon, as did many of the cultural artifacts they brought with them. This certainly included the music. The sounds of rock and roll dominated the radio waves, and Saigon nightclubs were teeming with new sounds. Musically, The Shadows and The Ventures soon gave way to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as an enthusiastic set of young Vietnamese rockers signed on to the lifestyle, always eager to hear the latest musical trends the G.I.s would bring in on LP or tape. This era saw the birth of a vibrant rock scene, yet rock music and anything that came close was commonly referred to as "soul" in the Vietnamese genre-listings. Like many cultures in Asia, Vietnamese music is recorded, marketed, listened to and disposed of in a relatively quick manner. This level of advanced ephemera ensures a degree of difficulty when trying to unearth and discover cultural histories. Literally, most of the music heard here has been brought back from the dead. Artists featured include some of Vietnam's most popular at the time: Elvis Phuong, Hung Cuong, Mai Lei Huyen, Le Thu, Thai Thanh, Giao Linh, Mai Lei Huyen and the CBC Band. Features 70 minutes of classic original recordings compiled by Mark Gergis with extensive liner notes.


Artist: GROUP INERANE
Title: Guitars From Agadez Vol. 3 (Music Of Niger)
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 061CD
CD reissue of the instantly sold-out Volume 3 of the now-legendary Guitars From Agadez series. Group Inerane's sophomore LP is the latest missive from the now-sound of Niger's Tuareg guitar scene. Led by guitar hero Bibi Ahmed, this new incarnation introduces another legend on second guitar, one Koudede Maman. Koudede is considered to be a cornerstone of the second wave of the Tuareg guitar lineage, while Tinariwen and Abdulla Oumbadougo are the godfathers of the scene and Group Inerane and Bombino are the third and most current incarnation of the Tuareg's voice for hope and equality. Koudede's addition to Group Inerane's line-up arises from unfortunate circumstances -- Adi Mohammed, Inerane's original second guitarist, was shot dead in the endlessly festering rebellion battles. This new line-up is testament that the music of the Tuareg will not be stopped. The sound represented on this album is the apex of the trance stun guitar style that this scene has perfected. This is rock music as played with Saharan modes. There is a propulsive entropy to these songs that is infectious and narcotic! Two guitars, bass and drums chug along on a hypnotic choogle that rivals both the Magic Band's early '70s marathon workouts and The Velvet Underground's drone on tracks like "Sister Ray." This is music made from revolution and its message of hope and validation of equality of the Tuareg way of life is unstoppable. Recorded by Hisham Mayet on location in Niger's capital Niamey in 2010 as travel to Agadez was forbidden by the military Junta that had just overthrown then President Mamadou Tandja. This limited edition digi-pack CD comes in a beautiful full-color LP-style gatefold jacket with photos of the musicians and liner notes by Hisham Mayet.


Artist: HAYVANLAR ALEMI
Title: Guarana Superpower
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $16.00
Catalog #: SF 062CD
Hailing from the Turkish capital of Ankara, Hayvanlar Alemi is a group of contemporary players steeped in the art of psychedelics, surf, and expansive rock instrumental grandeur. Formed in 1999, the band is led by Özüm İtez (electric guitar) and Işık Sarıhan (percussion) and they've released a variety of CDs and mp3 tracks in Turkey and beyond leading up to this, Guarana Superpower, their first official release outside their home country. The tracks drift from majestic beauty to blazing delirium with İtez etching his manifesto for electric guitar every step of the way backed by Sarihan's wide variety of percussion styles. Although the group is rooted in classical and modern Turkish psych-rock in spirit, they draw on a large range of sounds and influences, and traces of Turkish styles are hard to pin down. Two of the tracks, "MEGA Lambada" and "Guarana Superpower," are more reminiscent of late '80s post-punk experimental mind-melting, referencing Torch Of The Mystics-era Sun City Girls in grand fashion. Other cuts expand on a diversity of areas including tripped-out surf, retro Cambodian rock, electrified Thai Mor Lam and Saharan guitar music. Every single track is memorable and the incredible variety helps confirm the fact that Hayvanlar Alemi is one of today's great rock instrumental combos. CD version features two bonus tracks and includes an 8-page color insert with photos of the group.


Artist: VA
Title: Pakistan: Folk and Pop Instrumentals 1966-1976
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: 2LP
Price: $27.50
Catalog #: SF 064LP
Spending the greater part of the last decade assembling this masterpiece while tracking down most of the musicians in the process, Stuart Ellis of Radiodiffusion International has compiled a mind-blowing set of Pakistani instrumentals spanning the period between 1966 and 1976. It's all here: rock and roll beat, surf, folk traditional mixed with pop, film tunes, electric guitars, sitar and organ solos, brilliant percussion and arrangements crafted by the grooviest bands of the period: The Panthers, The Mods, The Bugs, The Blue Birds, The Abstracts, The Aay Jays, The Fore Thoughts, Nisar Bazmi, and Sohail Rana. Situated between Afghanistan, India and Iran, the collision of cultural influences in Pakistan gave birth to music that was, and still is, unlike anything heard anywhere else on the planet. By the late 1960s, previous restrictions on musical expression began to soften and bands that were playing American and British pop covers became popular in Karachi's burgeoning night club scene and at private dance parties. Long hair came into fashion among young men and hashish became the popular drug of choice on college campuses across Pakistan. Soon, hippies from both North America and Europe began flocking to Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. Very few of the bands that formed during this time actually got to record. Like their neighbors in India, the Pakistani record industry was more focused on releasing "filmi" music, which had just started to incorporate the electric guitar and electric sitar. Pakistan's musical revolution ended in June 1977 after a coup d'état and the establishment of a pure Islamic state governed by Sharia law. This marked the end of the "Swinging '70s" in Pakistan as night clubs and alcohol were banned throughout the country. Television and cinema, as well as popular music, were now subjected to government censorship. After the clamp-down, many Pakistani musicians left the country and moved to America, Canada and England. The audio quality here is top-notch, sourced straight from the original EMI Pakistan masters. This limited 2LP set is housed in a heavy-duty full-color gatefold jacket with superb photos of the musicians and extended liner notes by compiler Stuart Ellis.


Artist: WYATT, OLIVIA
Title: Staring Into The Sun
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: DVD/CD/BOOK
Price: $26.50
Catalog #: SF 065DVD
Staring Into The Sun is the latest ethno-folk cinema classic from Sublime Frequencies. Ethiopia is known to be one of the oldest areas inhabited by humans and presently has over 80 diverse ethnic groups. In 2009, photographer/filmmaker Olivia Wyatt explored 13 different tribes throughout Ethiopia in this visually stunning film on DVD with accompanying 136-page book of Polaroid photographs and audio CD of field recordings. Traveling from the northern highlands to the lower Omo Valley via bush taxi, Isuzu cargo trucks, and by any means possible, Wyatt brings together the worlds of Zar spirit possession, Hamer tribal wedding ceremonies, Borena water well polyphonic singing, wild hyena feedings and bizarre Ethiopian TV segments, presenting an enchanting look at these otherworldly images, stark landscapes and captivating sounds from the horn of Africa. The featured tribes are captured with an unflinching sense of realism and poetic admiration resulting in a visual and aural feast of the senses. 136-page hardcover photography book with one music CD and one film on DVD. 5 1/2 x 5 1/4 inches, landscape format. 117 color photographs and liner notes by Olivia Wyatt. Sublime Frequencies' most elaborate package yet. One-time limited edition pressing of 1,000 copies. DVD is NTSC format, All Region; length of film: 60 minutes, Color, Stereo.


Artist: GROUP DOUEH
Title: Zayna Jumma
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 066CD
On tour in North America, June/July 2011! Group Doueh's latest record is here and the plot continues to thicken! From the gorgeously cracked yet all-embracing opening drum roll of "Zayna Jumma" (the title track), it's evident this band is hell-bent on redefining the sound of its influences and in turn, shape the future sound of its surroundings. It's musical alchemy in its purest, most remarkable form, pushing at the boundaries of geographical divergence while simultaneously speaking to the shared resonances between Western rock rhythms and the pulse of the Saharan trance tradition. Since its inception, Group Doueh's ability to craft pop hooks from a foundation of saharoui roots music has been a manifestation of sheer song craft and innovation. The tracks on Zayna Jumma are a deeper excavation of the group's forged terrain: a collision of contemporary Afro-Saharan grooves balanced with the searing modalities of Doueh's desert origins, finally nuanced by the transcendental pop/rock/desert blues elements honed from gestating in the fringes of the Sahara desert. For the latest installment of this Dakhla family's musical dynasty, Doueh recruits his next eldest sons El Waar (synth) and Hamdan (drum kit), and wife Halima is augmented by three female back-up singers. The band keeps evolving and this album reveals its newest phase -- that of a formidable ROCK unit. The songs on this record were recorded in 2010 -- a busy year for Doueh, maintaining its day job as the go-to group of the Saharan wedding industry while still managing recording sessions and a tour with Tony Allen (Fela Kuti's long-time drummer). On the heels of this momentum, Zayna Jumma is released to coincide with the group's 2011 spring/summer tour of the UK, Europe and a first-ever U.S. tour. This band continues to redefine the musical landscape and keep listeners amazed and transfixed. It's the perfect ecstatic music for the impending apocalypse, a rogue sound rooted in the past and yet boldly harnessing the aural possibilities of the landscape ahead... go ahead and jump aboard. Recorded on location in Dakhla, West Sahara in 2010 by Hisham Mayet.


Artist: GROUP DOUEH
Title: Zayna Jumma
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: LP
Price: $22.00
Catalog #: SF 066LP
LP version of Group Doueh's record Zayna Jumma. From the gorgeously cracked yet all-embracing opening drum roll of "Zayna Jumma" (the title track), it's evident this band is hell-bent on redefining the sound of its influences and in turn, shape the future sound of its surroundings. It's musical alchemy in its purest, most remarkable form, pushing at the boundaries of geographical divergence while simultaneously speaking to the shared resonances between Western rock rhythms and the pulse of the Saharan trance tradition. Since its inception, Group Doueh's ability to craft pop hooks from a foundation of saharoui roots music has been a manifestation of sheer song craft and innovation. The tracks on Zayna Jumma are a deeper excavation of the group's forged terrain: a collision of contemporary Afro-Saharan grooves balanced with the searing modalities of Doueh's desert origins, finally nuanced by the transcendental pop/rock/desert blues elements honed from gestating in the fringes of the Sahara desert. For the latest installment of this Dakhla family's musical dynasty, Doueh recruits his next eldest sons El Waar (synth) and Hamdan (drum kit), and wife Halima is augmented by three female back-up singers. The band keeps evolving and this album reveals its newest phase -- that of a formidable ROCK unit. The songs on this record were recorded in 2010 -- a busy year for Doueh, maintaining its day job as the go-to group of the Saharan wedding industry while still managing recording sessions and a tour with Tony Allen (Fela Kuti's long-time drummer). On the heels of this momentum, Zayna Jumma is released to coincide with the group's 2011 spring/summer tour of the UK, Europe and a first-ever U.S. tour. This band continues to redefine the musical landscape and keep listeners amazed and transfixed. It's the perfect ecstatic music for the impending apocalypse, a rogue sound rooted in the past and yet boldly harnessing the aural possibilities of the landscape ahead... go ahead and jump aboard. Recorded on location in Dakhla, West Sahara in 2010 by Hisham Mayet. Housed in a full-color heavy-duty gatefold tip-on jacket.


Artist: KORAY, ERKIN
Title: Meçhul: Singles & Rarities
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 067CD
Erkin Koray and Sublime Frequencies are pleased to present this collection of rare tracks and lesser-heard singles. All tracks were recorded and released in Turkey between 1970-1977 and culled from Koray's personal vinyl collection. Includes exclusive photos and remastered audio. What more is there to say about Erkin Koray? An iconic guitar and songwriting genius. A voice of gold. Having founded the country's first-ever rock and roll group in 1957, he is regarded worldwide as the father of Turkish rock. Forging Western sounds with his own inimitable musical mastery, he self-produced singles and LPs throughout the 1960s and 1970s that shook and altered Turkish society. Erkin didn't stop at rock and roll. Over time, he began to find inspiration in folk sounds from Turkey's Anatolian interior, and radio broadcasts received from Egypt and Lebanon. He looked to the East from his West-leaning Istanbul perch, and began incorporating these sounds into his own work. This amalgamation was as unprecedented and unorthodox in Istanbul at the time as rock and roll itself had been in the 1950s. The resulting hybrid sound ignited what became known as the Arabesque music movement in Turkey -- which continues to this day. While Erkin has recorded and performed tirelessly throughout the years (both as a solo artist, and with the powerful groups he formed), his extensive back catalog only began to be explored by the international community in the 1990s. He is now recognized as one of the foremost global leaders of psychedelic, folk rock, pop and balladry. His music has stood the test of time more than many of his Western contemporaries and influences have managed to, and his prolific work ethic has not ceased. He continues to live and breathe music, performing epic concerts, and continuously plotting new recordings and strategies. His vision and integrity, coupled with his pronounced world views and inherent musical greatness, have made him the unique and magnificent living legend he is today. This collection features tracks not found on the many unauthorized Erkin compilations and LP reissues that have emerged in the West over the years. Ranging from the sublime to the surreal, these tracks offer an essential glimpse into the extensive repertoire of the great Erkin Koray. --Mark Gergis, July, 2011


Artist: SOULEYMAN, OMAR
Title: Haflat Gharbia: The Western Concerts
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: CD
Price: $15.00
Catalog #: SF 068CD
Omar Souleyman is a folk-pop singer from rural northeastern Syria. Like many Syrian musicians, he made his name as a singer for wedding parties in the region, with hundreds of cassettes and CDs documenting his performances distributed throughout the country. These, along with several studio albums, earned him legendary status in the Syrian dabke scene throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. After his 2005 breakthrough folk-hit "Khataba," Omar gained wider recognition throughout the Arab world. After collecting his tapes for a decade, Sublime Frequencies released the first compilation of Omar Souleyman tracks to be distributed in the West. The success of Highway To Hassake (SF 031CD, 2007), and the enthusiastic online reaction to the promotional clip for his track "Leh Jani," led to Omar being invited to tour the UK and Europe in the summer of 2009. It would be his first time performing or travelling outside of the Arab world. He and his group, comprised of two longtime collaborators -- Rizan Sa'id on keyboards, and electric saz player Ali Shaker -- set off on a six-week Sublime Frequencies tour with label-mates Group Doueh. By the end of 2009, Omar had proven that his unique and charismatic delivery of Syrian electrified folkloric dabke, Iraqi choubi and Arabic shaabi had the ability to appeal to the most diverse of Western audiences. His success has continued, with further tours throughout Europe, America and Australia drawing rave reviews and leaving a trail of fervor across the globe. The rise of Omar's success has transcended the wedding halls and cassette stalls of Syria and slipped into Western popular consciousness. Despite there being no shortage of musical talent in Syria, dabke and otherwise, Omar Souleyman is the first Syrian musical export to have won the hearts of Westerners and Arabs alike on this scale. His trademark checkered khaffya, sunglasses and elegant jalaba are not uncommon male attire in the Arab world, but for years in the West, it is that exact image which has been excessively demonized. Perhaps one of the most striking achievements of Omar's rise has been watching that iconic image transformed from comic book villainy to something positively regal. The recordings on Haflat Gharbia: The Western Concerts, Omar Souleyman's fourth release on Sublime Frequencies, represent an hour of the best moments from the Western tours between 2009 and 2011, captured in striking fidelity and intensity. Fans will recognize familiar songs, as well as previously-unreleased material presented here for the first time, in what is the biggest sounding Omar record yet. Compiled and recorded by Mark Gergis.


Artist: SOULEYMAN, OMAR
Title: Haflat Gharbia: The Western Concerts
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: 2LP
Price: $25.50
Catalog #: SF 068LP
Deluxe gatefold 2LP version. Omar Souleyman is a folk-pop singer from rural northeastern Syria. Like many Syrian musicians, he made his name as a singer for wedding parties in the region, with hundreds of cassettes and CDs documenting his performances distributed throughout the country. These, along with several studio albums, earned him legendary status in the Syrian dabke scene throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. After his 2005 breakthrough folk-hit "Khataba," Omar gained wider recognition throughout the Arab world. After collecting his tapes for a decade, Sublime Frequencies released the first compilation of Omar Souleyman tracks to be distributed in the West. The success of Highway To Hassake (SF 031CD, 2007), and the enthusiastic online reaction to the promotional clip for his track "Leh Jani," led to Omar being invited to tour the UK and Europe in the summer of 2009. It would be his first time performing or travelling outside of the Arab world. He and his group, comprised of two longtime collaborators -- Rizan Sa'id on keyboards, and electric saz player Ali Shaker -- set off on a six-week Sublime Frequencies tour with label-mates Group Doueh. By the end of 2009, Omar had proven that his unique and charismatic delivery of Syrian electrified folkloric dabke, Iraqi choubi and Arabic shaabi had the ability to appeal to the most diverse of Western audiences. His success has continued, with further tours throughout Europe, America and Australia drawing rave reviews and leaving a trail of fervor across the globe. The rise of Omar's success has transcended the wedding halls and cassette stalls of Syria and slipped into Western popular consciousness. Despite there being no shortage of musical talent in Syria, dabke and otherwise, Omar Souleyman is the first Syrian musical export to have won the hearts of Westerners and Arabs alike on this scale. His trademark checkered khaffya, sunglasses and elegant jalaba are not uncommon male attire in the Arab world, but for years in the West, it is that exact image which has been excessively demonized. Perhaps one of the most striking achievements of Omar's rise has been watching that iconic image transformed from comic book villainy to something positively regal. The recordings on Haflat Gharbia: The Western Concerts, Omar Souleyman's fourth release on Sublime Frequencies, represent an hour of the best moments from the Western tours between 2009 and 2011, captured in striking fidelity and intensity. Fans will recognize familiar songs, as well as previously-unreleased material presented here for the first time, in what is the biggest sounding Omar record yet. Compiled and recorded by Mark Gergis.


Artist: HAYVANLAR ALEMI
Title: Yekermo Sew
Label: SUBLIME FREQUENCIES
Format: 7"
Price: $8.00
Catalog #: SF 070EP
Hayvanlar Alemi comes smashing out of the gates in 2012 with a jaw-dropping version of Mulatu Astatke's "Yekermo Sew" as the A-side of this single. Side B is an unreleased improvisation featuring the quartet version of the group. This limited one-time pressing vinyl single was made for the band to sell on their European tour, which begins in May of 2012. Limited copies, however, will be available through normal distribution channels. 45 rpm.

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