motel de moka

So I’ve been invaded with some sort of Middle Eastern bug… I just can’t seem to get enough of those beautiful Turkish/Arabic/overall Middle-Easter tunes. It all began thanks to my dear friend Funda from the beautiful city of Ankara, Turkey… gee thanks Funda… now I can’t stop listening to the CD you sent!

Well, now that Squashed has refused to provide me with the brand new musical obsession he promised me oh so long ago, I had to go along by my little self and find some new material to obsess over. Fortunately, that obsession didn’t take long to impose itself on me, Funda introduced me to Emre Aracý and Rabih Abou-Khalil, I then found out I had some Mohammed Rafi stuff lying around in my computer! And while snooping around other blogs such as Undomondo I came across 2/5bz, a real treat *wink wink*.

I’m going to have to be brutally honest here… I know almost nothing about Emre Aracý, I tried to google him, but alas… all the sources I found were in Turkish….and I do not speak Turkish. All I know is that his music is right out amazing! He works the classical ottoman music very bravely, making it sound a tad erie in some points and in others a bit magical. While listening to is CD “Boðaz Ýçi Mehtaplarý” I sit back and imagine stories of dancing sultans, love scenes under olive trees and that famous Turkish sunset over the Maidens Tower in Istanbul. Once again, thank you Funda.

Emre Aracý - Cemile Sultan
Emre Aracý - Osmanlý Saltanat Marþý

Ok, so next up is Rabih Abou-Khalil. This Libanese musician/composer takes an interesting approach on Libanese folk music, adding a jazzy twist to the concotion. Just listen!

Rabih Abou-Khalil - Snake Soup
Rabih Abou-Khalil - Bat Dance

Next, 2/5bz. These Turks put an edge on classic Turkish music and add a twist of electronic beats and bobs. I passed this song on to Funda, and she told me that they use parts of very famous classical Turkish songs, add some culture humor and mix it all up into one big song. I wish I could speak Turkish to fully get it…*sigh*…. (For better literature on these guys, visit Undomondo)

2/5bz - Karabesk

Last but certainly not least Mohammed Rafi. Rafi was probably one of the most famous playback singers in the Bollywood scene in the 70’s. Rafi was a multifacetic artist, his songs ranged from religious to patriotic to just plain fun. This song is definetly on the fun side.