Music Reveiws
Hossam Ramzy – Best of Om Kolthoum
Hossam Ramzy – Best of
Natacha Atlas – Gedida
Natacha Atlas – Ayeshtini
Various Artists – Arabesque
Various Artists - Arabesque Zoudge 2
Various Artists – The Best Belly Dance Album in the World Ever
Celloman - Aquador
The Ministry of Sound – The Karma Collection
Average track length - 5-10 minutes
For any newcomers to Middle Eastern music, Om Kolthoum is the greatest and best
known female singer Egypt has ever produced.
Any proffessional Egyptian dancer should know of her and be able to recognise
at least the most famous of her songs.
This CD from Hossam Ramzy is a collection of some of her tunes, including the
popular Enta Omri, arranged specifically for dancers.
The orchestration is grand and soulful accompanied by Hossams technically precise
percussion.
The CD inlay has translations of some of the song lyrics, which gives an essential
insight into the meaning of the songs so that a dancer might adapt her performance
to express the feeling behind them.
The quality is clear and proffessional making this cd a joy to listen and dance to.
Author: Noura
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Average track length - over 5 minutes
If you only get one Hossam Ramzy CD, make it this one! It's very up beat making it excellent for warm-ups and
Ramzy’s rhythmical drumming is perfect for dancing to. Most of the tunes are over 5 minutes long, so great for
performing to if you have the stamina! It has a nice drum solo piece called Eshta, which is great for showing
off those shimmies and hip drops, and Night Foal is a beautiful, slow piece perfect for taqasim. This is a perfect
album for beginners to start off with.
Author: Noura
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Average track length - around 5 minutes.
I love this album! Natacha has a beautiful voice and there are some wonderful tracks on this album that
are guaranteed to get you dancing. The style is modern fusion, but some of the songs on this album are
quite cute and girly. Others such as Mon Amie La Rose are haunting and soulful. This is my favourite
Natacha Atlas album and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone into fusion music.
Author: Noura
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Average track length - around 5 minutes.
Natacha returns with her soulful and passionate voice in a more modern, "grown-up" album. This one might not be to
everyone's taste and I admit I had to hear it a few times before it grew on me. Now I love it though
and would recommend any Atlas fans to give it a go.
Author: Noura
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Average track length - around 5 minutes.
A fantastic compilation of modern music from around the Middle East. There are 15 tracks on this album, all suitable
for performance music. There are some very interesting pieces that are great to listen to even when you’re not dancing.
It includes tracks by Natacha Atlas, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Tranquility Bass and Momo & Christophe Goze, to name a few.
I think this is a fantastic album, but it is very modern so it might not appeal to everyone.
Author: Noura
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Average track length - around 5 minutes.
The follow up to the first Arabesque compilation and just as good. More great music that you can listen to whether
you're in the MED mood or not! More tracks by Natacha Atlas, Khaled and Omar Faruk Tekbilek plus some new names.
I highly recommend both these albums, the second is easily as good as the first, if not better.
You wont be able to stand still long if you put this on!
Author: Noura
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Various Artists – The Best Belly Dance Album in the World Ever
Average track length - over 5 minutes
This album has all the golden oldies from the 50's.
Its very orchestral and entirely authentic. Highly recommended for any beginners looking to
extend their collection into classical egyptian music.
Author: Noura
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I’ve been playing this CD for my dance classes, who love it.
There’s plenty of super dance tracks, but two of my favourite are The Wailer and Chebba.
There’s also plenty of soothing tracks which I use for the class cool down.
However, the just-released single, entitled Always, is guaranteed to send you into "meltdown" and after hearing the song Aquador….
well let’s just say, it reduced me to a puddle of goo!
Celloman (Ivan Hussey) is a maestro on the electric cello and backed by the unbeatable (pardon the pun!) percussionist Fedja Franklin,
these guys create an infectious sound that just makes you want to dance.
Many of the songs feature Middle Eastern rhythms, some have a hint of reggae and mixed with the occasional classical tone,
Celloman create a funky, yet sensuous sound. This IS music to dance and chill to and I can’t wait for the release of their second album,
Maya, in March/April.
Author: Raheesha
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Average track length - 5 minutes
Don't worry, you don't need to be an Ibiza party animal to like this Ministry album! There's music from all
around the world, with an emphasis on the Middle East and India. It features tracks from Natacha Atlas,
Talvin Singh, Moby, Clannad and Bjork, amongst many others. It is a bit on the slow and relaxing side, perfect
for cool downs but maybe not so good for dancing.
Author: Noura
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