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CDs
Tribal Derivations
Tribal Derivations by Beats Antique
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
This 12 track CD runs about an hour long with the longest track coming in at just over 5 minutes and the majority of them are more around 3-4 minutes. Track one is really cool, it has awesome drumming, with solid concise rhythms layouting a groovy beat. It has repetitive points but their not too repetitvie and I think it sets a great pace for the rest of the CD. All the tracks on this CD aren't too long or too short so Western audiences should like them. Also the repeatitiveness isn't too much so Western audiences won't get bored by it. The song "The Lantern" has a nice solid kind of etherally quality with nice cello in the background giving it a haunting feeling behind the drumming that really intrigues me.
I think the thing that's really cool about this CD is I can see dancers of any style liking this music. It's edgy enough for fusion, gothic, and tribal dancers but it also subsintive enough in its traditional rhythms and not too out there so cabaret dancers will probably be intrigued by it as well. Especially if they are looking for something that's not strictly cabaret and something that has a flare of a different touch.
They have some cool special effects things going on in the music like a little bit of vocals or boat bells but they don't over use these. The track "Rabat" starts out with this great African groove that then gets mixed with the more traditional rhythms and instruments of a gypsy like violin and Middle Eastern drums.
The tempos and rhythms are awesome and they just take over your feet, hips, and hands and you just start thinking I have to do this combo or that combo. Track 5 named "Slow" has a nice tempo and again it's another nice example of how they mix the drums, violins, and guitars to spice up the tracks. Some tracks are sultry, but others are burlesquish and vauldvile or macab sounding. I love the addition of the trumpet and brass bands on some tracks and the effects that they can get from these instruments that aren't normally used for bellydance music. I love how the track "Break Me" starts out with the dark quite mood and then it breaks into this great drum, zill, and piano combo.
Frankly there isn't a track on this CD that I don't like. I can't necessarily see myself performing to all of them but I sure use them all in my private practice and I can see the performance potential in all the tracks. This CD is definetly worth a listen to by every dancer and when you get to track 13 make sure you listen all the way through it, you just might find something surprising at the end.
Bellydance Superstars Babelesque
Bellydance Superstars Babelesque
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
This 12 track cd runs for roughly 50 minutes. Some of the artists included are Oojami, Pentaphobe, and Asena. These songs form the bases of the touring showing. Most tracks are less than six minutes in length. A twist is given to the traditional Middle Eastern rhythms in order to make the music more accessible to Western audiences. I was disappointed in the liner notes for the CD as the only information included about the songs is what is found on the back cover. Inside the CD there is only information on other CDs sold through the Bellydance Superstars as well as their DVDs. I also would have liked a wider variety of artists as 3 of the 12 tracks are by Asena. Don't get me wrong I like Asena's songs, but I've come to expect more variety from the Superstars CDs and I use them as a way to find out about new artists. I also felt like Asena's songs were too similar to have been back to back on the CD. Song stylings include cabaret, tribal fusion, and polynesian. The songs included on this CD are great because they have a lot of thematic changes in them which I think will also help Western audiences to not become bored with them. One things for sure if you love the music used in the Bellydance Superstars stage show than you must get this CD.
Sulukule Rom Music of Istanbul
Sulukule Rom Music of Istanbul
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
From the first song this CD takes off at a joyous fast pace. It is full of the energetic music that one would expect of the Rom people with several tracks being emblished with hand clapping, zills, and tambourines. The drums have an infectious beat that seem to lineup seamlessly with the beat of a dancer's heart. The band is fronted by Kemani Jemal, a master on the violin, other instruments include the zither, oud, and darbuka.
I love how the ciftetellisi rhythms pull at my heart strings and seem to cry out, mornfully telling the struggles of the Rom people. This 10 track CD ends the same way it started with bosterious, fast paced song, this time to the Karsilama rhythm.
The majority of the songs on this CD are over 5 minutes long, so in my opinion they are too long for solos and better suited for group performances. So many of the songs have a great up beat tempo that they seem perfect for party occassions such as birthdays, weddings, or haflas. This CD is definetly one that will make your blood start pumping until you get out of your sit and hit the dance floor with all your dance sisters.
Essential Bellydance
Essential Bellydance Neena & Veena
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
This complation CD contains 19 songs and comes in at under an 1 and half of play time. Most of the songs are around 5 minutes or less with one full routine track being close to 9 minutes. Artists include some of the most well known bellydance artist around such as the Upper Egypt Ensemble, the Mohamed Ali Ensemble and the Salatin El Tarab Orchestra. The songs included cover traditional and contemporary styles from Egyptian, Lebanese, Greek, Persian, Armenian, Turkish, and Iraqi. A wide varity of traditional rhythms and instruments are explored including chiftetelli, baladi, drum solos, the oud, the nay, and the kanoun.
I like this CD for its simple straight forwardness. There is a good mix of tempos, rhythms, and styles. The lengths of the songs are good for most American audiences and can be nicely combined together to create longer cohesive routinues if needed. I also like the way translations for the song titles are included as well very short background information on the song included; like if is a cane dance, a wedding dance, or a folk dance. Although, I'm not sure I would have classified the one tribal fusion piece as tribal fusion. I just wished they had included more information on the artists themselves. I think this will be a solid CD for those looking for traditional music or contemporary slants on more traditional music. I also think this CD would be a good introduction to bellydance music for those new to this music form and this dance form.
Time of Peace
A Time of Peace by the Brothers of the Baladi
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
This CD is great Middle Eastern arrangements of 15 classic Christmas carols. I felt the instrumentation was very inventive, but the songs retain the feeling of ancient music. They did a great job of mixing traditional Middle Eastern rhythms in the bridges of some of the songs such as “O, Little Town of Bethlehem,” "Little Drummer Boy", and "The First Noel." The song choices are a great selection of tempos and moods and the liner notes do a great job of explaining the instruments both by their name and a simple definition of what that instrument is for people who may not be knowledgeable of Middle Eastern instruments. This is the perfect CD if you are looking to make a performance more relevant for Winter parties and the songs are great lengths for performance purposes as well, all but one song is under 4:00 minutes. I think this CD would make a great addition to any dancers library. "Joy to the World" is my lest favorite track, but that's because I'm not a fan of the Zurna (a double reed Turkish Folk Oboe). Some of my favorite songs are: "We Three Kings," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Silent Night."
Tutankhamun Exhibit Soundtrack
The Official Music Created for Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Ambient Sounds of Ancient Egypt
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
The cover for this CD says The Official Music Created for Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Ambient Sounds of Ancient Egypt. All the music on this CD was written by David Mauk. All the tracks are under 5 minutes in length which I think makes them excellent candidates for a dance repertoire. I was rather disappointed in the liner notes as there was no information on instrumentation or how individual songs were inspired. I realize that since this is ambient music a lot of it was probably simulated instruments but it still would have been nice to have more information on what the composer was trying to achieve. Mostly I have listened to this CD as background music while at work or home and I have found it to be refreshing and relaxing for that purpose. For dancing it might take a more experience dancer to figure out what to do with this music. Most of the songs leaned themselves to quiet, seductive, mysterious, dramatic, or conceptualized pieces. I imagine veil, Isis Wings, or Rachel Brice style dancing to several of the songs. Some of my favorite tracks include Luxor, Ptah, Ka, Amarna, and Shu. On the whole I would not recommend this CD to cabaret dancers or beginning choreographers, unless you are looking for a nice relaxing Egyptian inspired ambient music CD. However, advanced choreographers, or dancers looking for conceptualized unique music should definitely give this CD a listen.
Echoes of Egypt
Adventure Cargo Echoes of Egypt by Diane and David Arkenstone
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
Echoes of Egypt is different than most traditional CDs because it only has 5 tracks; however, the nearly hour journey through Egypt that it offers is no less exciting than any other Egyptian music CD. Since the majority of tracks on this CD are over 14 minutes they aren't very conducive to performance. But I love to crank up the volume on this disc for personal warm-ups or longer practices. There is one song that is almost 6 minutes and my class loves it when I use it for warm-up in class or it would be excellent for a troupe choreography. I know you will fall in love with the steady driving beats, repetitive rhythms, and haunting melodies just as I did. So run out and grab a copy of this disc today.
Bellydance Superstars Vol. 2
Bellydance Superstars, Vol. 2 various artists
Reviewed by Delilah
This CD has 13 super hits from various artists including the famous Hakim Orchestra. One of the songs is an original piece exclusive to the Bellydance Superstars live show. I personally like this piece of music. There are short biographies of the dancers in the liner notes. This CD has a brief paragraph telling about which music each dancer prefers. This CD has a great mixture of choices. There's a good sampling of drum solos on this CD as well as some great tribal beats. There are the seductive sounds from Wael Kfouri and Abdel Wahab and the edgy beats from Miami, Khaled Aggag and the Hakim Orchestra. I personally enjoyed Belly Dance Superstars volume I better than volume II but I like the gypsy type music the best. However, if you like the tribal sounds and the drum solos and you're ready to shake to some really good beats, this CD is for you!
Bellydance Superstars
Bellydance Superstars various artists
Reviewed by Delilah
This CD has 16 wonderful songs to listen or dance to. This CD has brief biographies of the eight dancers in the liner notes. It tells a little history of how long each dancer has been dancing and what kind of awards they have won. There is a dancer named "Delilah" which is my belly dance name also, so I am fond of this. This is the Belly Dance Superstars first CD and I am very impressed with the good mixture of traditional songs, the drum solos and the hot new Arabic beats. I am partial to the Arabic and Turkish type belly dance songs so I especially enjoyed this CD. There is such a good mixture of songs on this CD that you are sure to find a song that you like. Belly Dance superstars followed this CD up with a second version soon afterwards.
Eternal Egypt
Eternal Egypt Musical Influences of Ancient Times composed by Grayson Wells
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
This CD is the soundtrack to the traveling art exhibit "Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art" by Wonders: The Memphis International Cultural Series and the British Museum. This is actually one of the first Middle Eastern CDs I ever bought. I really love the music on this CD as it mixes traditional with electronic and it tries to cover various regions, instrumentations, and classic rhythms. Instruments include the darbuka, riqq, camel bell, nay, crotale, tar, and quarqqab as well as others. I believe this CD is good for beginners to start with as the composer is from the states so the music is more structured and has steady beats. This will probably make the music more audience friendly as well since most audiences aren't use to the structure of Middle Eastern music. When you listen to this CD you can't help but be whisked away to fire lit dances at desert camps, Islamic inspired prayer ceremonies, crowded market places, and ancient rituals being performed in temples during the days of the pharaohs. My favorite tracks include Overture, Desert Dance, and Requiem.
The Sensual Art of Bellydance
The Sensual Art of Bellydance Fast Rhythms by Ron Wagner
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
The Sensual Art of Bellydance Fast Rhythms CD was composed and performed by Ron Wagner and is a collection of songs used in the Neena and Veena belly dance exercise series. As the title indicates all the songs on this CD are fast rhythms. The songs are simple, repetitive, and have strong regular beats. I think this makes them ideal for beginning dance students or beginning listeners to Middle Eastern music because sometimes when you are not familiar with Middle Eastern music it can be confusing. The simplicity of the songs also makes the CD nice for background music at work, driving, or around the house. Most of the songs are under five minutes which makes them a good length for exercising to or performing to. I have only a few complaints. One is that this CD is all fast music. I am aware that there is a slow rhythms CD, but I think I would have preferred that they mixed the two track lists and just call them volume one and two. The other complaint is the liner notes, or more specifically the lack of liner notes. I would love it if they had included more information about Ron Wagner, Neena and Veena as well as the songs such as instruments used or inspiration for the songs. Sadly they missed a great educational opportunity there. However, if you like the Neena & Veena exercise DVDs than you will surely like the music on this CD.
Mediterranea
Mediterranea by Johannes Linstead
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
This is the 5th CD by Johannes Linstead who is from Toronto, Ontario
Canada. Among his influences Linstead counts Spanish guitar masters Tarrega and Sor and classical composers such as Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. This particular album was released in September 2004 - and earned the accolades of reaching #6 on Billboard's New Age Chart; Winner "Best World Album" NAR Lifestyle Music Awards; #7 on NAR's Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart for Sept.'04.
I love this album. It has a very earthy flare to it and for me it just brings to mind Mediterranean benches with families having dance parties while they wait for the village fishing boats to come in. The songs vary from sensual rumba rhythms to matador bull fights to flamenco to sambas to Greek folk dance type numbers. It's the perfect mix of slow, moderate, and fast paced tracks. A few of the instruments included on this CD are Spanish guitar, bouzouki, palmas, doumbek, djembe, tabla, violin, congas, bongos and timbales. Its really hard to pick a few favorites out of the ten tracks but I'll name Andalucia, Sangre Del Toro, and Ambrosia. He also has free sheet music downloads to a few songs on his website incase you have a musician that you would like to play live for you. If your dance style is Spanish infused, Flamenco influenced, or gypsy than without a doubt this CD is for you.
Greece: A Musical Odyssey
Putumayo Presents Greece: A Musical Odyssey
Reviewed by Anala Rabari
If you aren't familiar with the Putumayo world music series you should get familiar with it. They release music compilations from various regions of the world. This particular CD is of Greek music. The liner notes are fantastic! It's a 39 page booklet in English, Spanish, and French. There is an entry on every song, including a bio on the artist and translations of the song. There is also a Greek music glossary that covers music instruments, genres, dance styles, as well as other terms. A recipe and photos of Greek life are also included. Pronunciation is also included for all the song titles and artist names.
Most of the artists on this disc are commercially successfully in Greece, so the songs all sound very polished and professional. This may leave some listeners disappointed in the lack of a really raw folk sound. However, I think most listeners will be pleased with passion present in these songs, most of which are about love. Tempos run the gambit from slow, to walking tempo, to fast. You will recognize traditional Greek rhythms that are stereotypical of what is used in most movies and TV shows, but each has its own twist. The instrumentation is beautiful in every song with the familiar accordion, guitar, bouzouki, and santouri. Some of my favorite tracks are Pino, Ela Mia Nichta, and An M' Agapas, Tha S' Agapo.