Ethnic Music of interrest

[Folklore]

I`ve noticed that people wrote several threads about ethnic music which is related to Orphaned Land or ethnic sounds which inspired the band members.

From now on i`ll write here of albums you might like, after hooking up with OL and its unique sounds. I hope this will help you find new musical horizons and inspiraion.

 

[Folklore]

Mark Eliyahu (23) is the son of oriental musicologist Perez (piris) Eliyahu, which is a musicial as well.
Mark playes a caucasian instrument called Kamancha which is a sort of a Violin, with a deep penetration sound. He was born in the region of Dagastan (azarbeijan), and grew up in a musical jewish home. In his childhood he studied western classical music yet he also started to learn his music roots, which might be similar to jewish music and turkish music.
at the age of 18-19 (I think) after studying in an art highschool, he managed to move back to azarbeijan in order to study Kamancha music. He stayed there for two years, and as soon as he returned home to israel he composed a play for the Jerusalem theatre and later recieved a position, as a composer, for two international dance groups: Galili Dance in Holland and Gulbenkian Dance in Portugal.
Two yeas later after touring the world and recieving awards abord, he returned home once more and found that his family moved to Arad (from Ariel in the center of israel), a southern city in the Judea desert in order to concetrate on music and creation.

Mark himself says he loves the desert, and found himself secluding in the desert, playing out of his heard and talking to nature through his Kamancha.
He also participated in musical meetings in the caves of Luzit, in the deset, with several other musicians.
The result is a superb album which might be hard to swollow if you`re not familiar with the oriental geners and artists like Yair Dalal, Anouar Brahem or Faruk Tekbilek.
Still, this album is HIGHLY recomanded for everyone.

Listen here:
http://www.israel-music.com/mark_eliyahu/voice_of_judea/

 

[TormentaMuluc]

nice recomendation... i like that... how much music give us!

 

[IOfTheStorm]

Nice! I'll be searching for that album Avi.
I dont have much to add to this thread im afraid, but i really wanna get into middle east music. The only artist i know is Omar Faruk Tekbilek, after Yossi's recommendation. I first bought "Mystical Garden" and i was thrilled, music to dance, to dream, to wander... full of different emotions. Then i got "Whirling" and "Crescent Moon" which are both fantastic. I easily recommend them to ALL who like Orphaned Land, and not only.

 

[UnConscious]

You can find many great albums in this company:
http://www.akustikmuzik.com
I especially recommend "The Symphony of Istanbul" series. My favourite artists from there are: Göksel Baktagir (qanun), Murat Salim Tokaç (ney and tanbur), Sadrettin Özçimi (ney), Yurdal Tokcan (oud) and Yinon Muallem (percussion and oud). A friend of mine also recommended the Relaxation Music series but I didn't get to listen to it yet. Also chek Yinon Muallem's web page: http://www.yinon-muallem.com/

Also there is the "Tekfen Philarmonic Orchestra". They are wonderful. They mix classical music with ethnic instruments mainly from the Black Sea, Caspian Sea and the eastern Mediterranean. If you can find an album of them, be sure to get your hands on it!

Btw I have some songs in my computer from an artist called Ferit Fajat. My father had sent it to me and said that he is Egyptian but I could not find any info about him on the internet. Does anybody know him? His music is enchanting...

 

[The Metal Pigeon]

Nice! I'll be searching for that album Avi.
I dont have much to add to this thread im afraid, but i really wanna get into middle east music. The only artist i know is Omar Faruk Tekbilek, after Yossi's recommendation. I first bought "Mystical Garden" and i was thrilled, music to dance, to dream, to wander... full of different emotions. Then i got "Whirling" and "Crescent Moon" which are both fantastic. I easily recommend them to ALL who like Orphaned Land, and not only.

Really that good? I remember Yossi mentioning the mystical garden album but it slipped my mind to check it out. Can you elaborate more on it - instrumentation on the album, style of music, etc?

 

[Wayward son]

I like a lot an oud player from Lebanon called Rabih Abou-Khalil. It sound a kind of ethnic-jazz.

 

[Folklore]

I should've start this thread with a post about the king himself, but o'well ill do it now.

Omar Faruk is a american, turkish born (half egyptian as well) musician. He plays several middle eastern instruments. He is a brilllient composer and he even makes soundtracks.
His albums are a splendid musical journies throughout the middle east, turkey and greece. The beauty here is that it doesnt take an "educated ear" (for this gener of music I meen) to understand and get hooked to this music!

here is a general info about him from his website:
"Honored as a peacemaker and virtuoso, OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK is now one of the most sought-after musicians, whose work transcends political boundaries while maintaining traditional sensibilities in a way few artists can manage.

Omar Faruk was a musical prodigy. He was born in Adana, Turkey to a musical family who nurtured his precocious talents. At the age of eight, he began his musical career by developing proficiency on the kaval, a small diatonic flute.
At the same time he studied religion with thoughts of becoming a cleric, or Imam. His musical interests were being nurtured by his older brother and by a sympathetic uncle who owned a music store and who provided lessons. “He had a music store, and he also had another job during the day. So he told me to come after school, open the store, and - in exchange - he gave me lessons.” While working in the store, Omar Faruk learned the intricate rhythms of Turkish music, how to read scales, and other rudiments. He was trained on and eventually mastered several instruments; ney (bamboo flute), zurna (double-reed oboe like instrument with buzzing tone), the baglama (long-necked lute), the oud (the classic lute), as well as percussion. By the age of twelve he began performing professionally at local hot spots.

In 1967, upon turning sixteen, he moved to Istanbul where he and his brother spent the following decade as in-demand session musicians. Omar Faruk stayed true to his folkloric roots, but during this period of frenetic session work in the metropolitan music scene, he explored Arabesque, Turkish, and Western styles and the compositional potential of the recording studio. In Istanbul he also met the Mevlevi Dervishes, the ancient Sufi order of Turkey. He did not join the order, but the head Neyzen (ney player), Aka Gunduz Kutbay, became another source of inspiration. Omar Faruk was profoundly influenced by their mystical approach and fusion of sound and spirit. During that time he was introduced to Hatha Yoga and eventually to Tai Chi and Chi Qong, which he continues to practice daily.

Omar Faruk’s skills in the studio blossomed in Istanbul playing with some of the leading Turkish musicians of the day including Orhan Gencebay, flute and saxophone player Ismet Siral, percussionist Burhan Tonguc and singers Ahmet Sezgin, Nuri Sesiguzel, Mine Kosan and Huri Sapan to name a few.
After establishing himself as one of the top session musicians in Turkey, he began touring Europe and Australia. By 1971 at the age of 20, he made his first tour of the United States as a member of a Turkish classical/folk ensemble. It was while touring in the US that he met his future wife, Suzan, and in 1976 he relocated to upstate New York to marry her.

Omar Faruk found very few options for a Turkish musician in the US, so he formed a band called the Sultans with an Egyptian keyboardist, a Greek bouzouki player, and his brother-in-law on percussion. It started as a pop band but very quickly turned into a sort of Pan-Near Eastern ensemble. They began to attract some attention within the circle of Middle Eastern dance fans. They managed to record five albums during this time, but Omar Faruk was still unknown outside his local musical community.

This was all about to change with the fateful meeting with Brian Keane in 1988. In the following years, he and Keane would produce another six recordings together, launching Omar Faruk boldly into the world music scene.

Omar Faruk Tekbilek has since established himself as one of the world's foremost exponents of Middle Eastern music. A multi-instrumentalist par excellence, he has collaborated with a number of leading musicians of international repute such as jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, keyboard player Karl Berger, ex-Cream rock drummer Ginger Baker, Ofra Haza, Simon Shaheen, Hossam Ramzy, Glen Velez, Bill Laswell, Mike Mainieri, Peter Erskine, Trilok Gurtu, Jai Uttal and Steve Shehan among others. He has contributed to numerous film and TV scores and to many recordings including world sacred music albums, and has been touring extensively throughout the Middle East, Europe, Australia, North and South America.

Omar Faruk’s music is rooted in tradition, but has been influenced by contemporary sounds. He views his approach as “cosmic” and his commitment to music runs deep. The four corners of his creativity emanates mysticism, folklore, romance, and imagination. Like Omar Faruk himself, his music symbolizes diversity-in-unity.

Omar Faruk is the recipient of the "Best Artist of the Turkish Music Award 2003" from the "Turkish Writers Association".

He is a nominee for the BBC World Music Award 2003 in the category of the Middle East.

He is also the recipient of the US Golden Belly Musician-Of-The-Year-Award,
for 1998 and again, for 1999"

 

[Yossi_Orphaned_Land]

Both Omar Faruk and Rabih Abu-Khalil are great artists I enjoy to listen to and inspire me.

 

[emirkarasakal]

i reccomend you INCESAZ and YANSIMALAR from turkey for more info
www.kalan.com

 

[Folklore]

Yair Dalal is an Israeli oriental musician, which explore and commemorate music from old jewish tredition, iraqi, syrian and beduin roots.

Here is what's written, about his music and work, in his lable's site:

Yair Dalal as a soloist and with his ensemble Al Ol, is a leading figure in Israeli music, playing also an important role within contemporary world music.

A contemporary Israeli composer, Dalal's sound is based on consistent continuous work with equally hard working colleagues. (The Al Ol ensemble and other artists local and international.)

A fine composer, oud and violin player. Dalal was born in Israel in 1955 to parents who emigrated from Iraq. His musical skills vary from classical European music to jazz, rock, blues and Arabic Classical music.

His background as one of the latest representatives of Arab Jewish music from Iraq, has allowed him to develop this rare mix of traditional and modern, Jewish and Arab, Oriental and Western.

Dalal has proved that he is able to deal with the challenge of reconciling his own conception with the widest range of music, constantly finding something new to say.

Yair Dalal is also a strong advocate for peace in Israel and devotes his talent to abolishing the ideological barriers between people and in particular between Jews and Arabs.

In addition to innumerable concert performances around the world, Dalal has impressively made many recordings in a very short time period.

AL OL 1995, Music Channel - Warner 1995, Samar 1997, SILAN, 1997 Magda- Amiata SeshBesh - Enja 1998 and his tracks are on numerous compilations.

Dalal's music is mainly instrumental and is a symbiosis between the temporal and the visionary. He has proved to achieve a level independent of time and fashion.

Dalal's arrangements are characterized by a professional naivism. He works on musical space using beautiful phrases and fascinating rhythms and does not hesitate to exaggerate and repeat to the limit of the unbearable. The Bedouin music has an accentuated melodic line, a reserved but extremely emotional expression.

There are no electronics used to design atmosphere. Dalal has preferred to remain as authentic as possible, even choosing to record in a tent. Bedouin music and culture is slowly being eliminated, and this is an attempt to preserve at least a small repertoire of Bedouin music from the Negev.

Dalal's intimate reserved personality goes well with the Bedouins' modest behavior. Their friendship goes back years. When others were travelling to India in the Seventies, Yair traveled the Sinai and Negev deserts with his camel and violin. It was back then that the strong bond with Bedouins and their culture was founded.

"AZAZME" is a musical tribute from Yair Dalal to the Bedouins of the Negev desert in Israel.

"...In the space of a few months, Dalal had gone from music teacher and part time cow hand to the focus of world media." The Jerusalem Post. 16.4.99

My favorite dalal album

http://www.magda.co.il/dalal.html

 

[Caio Massimo]

Synaulia.They don't make ethnic music but archeo music. They search to recreate the music of ancient Rome trough an archeological research of the ancient instruments, rebuilding them. Their music to me is very ancestral. You can hear a Synaulia song in the film "Gladiator", during the party after the battle against the german tribe.

http://www.soundcenter.it/synaulia.htm

 

[VRAN]

Great! I will recommend two Bulgarian ethnic music bands with more eerie and psychedelic touch:
Isihia and Kayno Yesno Slonce!!! Both of 'em use authentic national instruments, among them the great Bulgarian bag pipe - its sounds can stab you right in the heart!!!

 

[sabrina]

I like :
Omar faruk tekbilek great musician ...........
and Ofra haza
and Kaled .....

 

[MaskedJackal]

It's been awhile since I've posted here, and I'm bumping this because i'm adding HAMZA EL DIN. He is an amazing oud player, and I highly reccomend his album "A Wish."

Website: www.hamzaeldin.com

 

[LANTHWICK]

as for lebanon in addition u have MARCEL KHALIFEH , ZIAD RAHBANI( ORIENTAL JAZZ)
also check :
mesto www.mesto.org
john bilezikjian www.dantzrecords.com

 

[Thonolan]

This is a great thread. Thanks a lot for the recommendations!

 

[RequiemX]

I would VERY VERY VERY much recommend a German band called Betray My Secrets. They have only one album out, a S/T. It's very awesome and drawns upon many cultures. I can tell one of the songs is based on a wiccan chant and another one sounds either American Indian or wiccan (not sure).

Metal Observer gave it a 9.5/10: Link

Edit: Thought they were Turkish for some reason. Changed to German.

 

[Jrgen]

I would VERY VERY VERY much recommend a German band called Betray My Secrets. They have only one album out, a S/T. It's very awesome and drawns upon many cultures. I can tell one of the songs is based on a wiccan chant and another one sounds either American Indian or wiccan (not sure).

Very cool band. Side project of the man behind another cool (but not similar) band named Megaherz.

 

[IOfTheStorm]

Metal Observer is really reliable (with some exceptions). Most vocals of this band are clean or growls?
Haha (reading the review), genre : ethno-metal. This rules.