Where Africa Meets the Orient [1999]

by Noor Shimaal

Overview

Where Africa Meets the Orient, an album of essentially Middle Eastern music from the English cultural troupe Noor Shimal. Two members are British folklorists, one an Algerian expatriate, and one a guest from North Africa. The lead vocals are taken by Vivienne Corringham, who does a good job of emoting through the works, but there is a bit missing in the full performance that makes her sound a bit dry. Her accent seems to block the ability to get the proper throatiness for a Middle Eastern song. Amel Benhassine provides a rather more authentic vocal style, but with somewhat less power behind it. The instrumental work is quite sparse, but functional. The extent of it is an oud or banjo along with some percussion and the occasional flute. It's something of a Nubian sound quite often with such an emphasis on the oud, which is played in a relatively sparse style itself. When they get far enough into the instrumental runs, there's some noteworthy energy to be heard in the oboe, but beyond that it's a rather sedate version of Middle Eastern music here. Give it a listen as a low-level primer in the field of Middle Eastern and North African music, but dig for the readily available stars of the various regions soon afterward to experience the full range of quality music available in the genre. ~ Adam Greenberg

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2017
Label:	Arc Music
UPC:	5019396272620
Rank:	221770

Tracks

1. Mabruk Mabruk
2. Sidi Boumediene
3. Ilvanhm
4. Nujum Al Leyl
5. M'Hanni Lebled
6. Aksam Olur Davul Cahnir
7. Mediterranee
8. Hasretindeyim
9. Jarzis
10. Wele Wele

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Noor Shimaal   Primary Artist
Vivienne Dogan-Corringham   Vocals
T. D. Fienburgh   Guest Artist
Amel Benhassine-Miller   Vocals,Percussion
S.M. Suliman   Guest Artist

Technical Credits

Orient De Luxe   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Cheb Khaled   Composer
Bellemou Messaoud   Composer
Diz Heller   Mastering,Liner Notes
Vivienne Dogan-Corringham   Composer,Liner Notes
Horst Tubbesing   Executive Producer
Noor Shimaal   Arranger
Abdel Gadir Salim   Composer
Amel Benhassine-Miller   Dancer,Composer
Suemer Ezgue   Composer
Sarah Ash   Typesetting,Cover Design
Musa Yenilme   Composer
Pablo Carcamo   Engineer,Producer