Sudan music reviews

This CD represents authentic sounds of the real Egypt! From the sounds of the streets of Luxor to the haunting melody of the rebaba, this is an excellent choice in the real sounds of Upper Egypt. A must for your collection if you want to hear authentic Egyptian music!

If you have ever visited Upper Egypt and experienced the wonderful music created by the local musicians, then this is the CD for you. I have been searching for traditional music of the Upper Egypt area and finally found it. From the opening sounds of the horse and buggy and street sounds in Luxor to the haunting and melodic sounds of the rababah to the beat of the tablah, it is a wonderful collection of songs. I have visited Upper Egypt twice and had the great opportunity to hear these musicians in person. This CD brought back great memories of that experience in sound!! A must for your collection and I highly recommend it. I hope to find more like it!

This CD features the sensitive flute playing of Hafiz Abdelrahman Mukhtar from sudan. He is accompanied by violins and a sudanese drum who sound just as smooth. This is no dance music. It is music of simple and effective melodies with some modal improvization, to laid back rythems. The flute does not dominate but shares the music with the violins. Melodically the music reminds me a lot of Ethiopian music, although the rythems are a little different and the sound is more Arab. This is the perfect music for a hot summer evening, sitting on the porch, alone or with friends, and feeling the cooler breeze of the night approaching.

Hamza el Din is a magnificent oud player, a respectable drummer, and a touching singer, but some of his albums (e.g. "Lily of the Nile") are rather difficult to get into unless you're a student of Middle Eastern music. This one isn't: the tunes range from his own compositions to the 9th century Andalusian-Arabic "Muwashshah," and span a variety of subjects and moods. The backup musicians (Japanese, surprisingly) are excellent too. I first made the acquaintance of this album when a substitute teacher brought it to my belly dance class. Even if I don't feel like practicing, the final track always gets me up and dancing!

ALL of Hamza's recordings are excellent - and how fortunate we are in recent years to be able to get so many of them, when just a few years ago they were so hard to find. Superb - get the lot - all of his recordings are a refreshing change from the modern transient music of today - this is ethereal - with a capital "E".

Anyone who saw and loved Latcho Drom will remember the scene featuring the Musicians of the Nile playing in Egypt, watched from above by a child. Though the music is familiar to devotees of Middle Eastern culture, the Musicians are heavily influenced by their traveling Gypsy ancestry. Traces of European and Asian Gypsy music are audible on the album, though the instrumentation is predominantly native to Egypt. Strings, reeds, and percussion form a synthetic whole that lifts the vocals high above, as suggested by the cover art.

The Musicians of the Nile are without exception brilliant musicians and powerful singers. This album consist of very authentic traditional North African- Middle Eastern music. There are no fusion flourishes or guests western vocalists. The music is haunting and high pitched without electronic appendages. However if you are accustomed to Khaled or Cheb Mami, this album will not deliver

My title isn't a completely off-the-wall comparison: the gypsies in Egypt are a minority underclass who have managed to support their identity (and maintain their zest for life) through song and dance. This album is captivating: the songs and instrumentals sound spontaneous, but the artists are consummate musicians who give a professional while still impassioned performance. As a student of Middle Eastern dance, I've become very impatient with the techno-pop sound of much contemporary Egyptian popular music; this group goes back to its folk roots without being self-consciously "folksy," and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable CD.

Anyone who saw and loved Latcho Drom will remember the scene featuring the Musicians of the Nile playing in Egypt, watched from above by a child. Though the music is familiar to devotees of Middle Eastern culture, the Musicians are heavily influenced by their traveling Gypsy ancestry. Traces of European and Asian Gypsy music are audible on the album, though the instrumentation is predominantly native to Egypt. Strings, reeds, and percussion form a synthetic whole that lifts the vocals high above, as suggested by the cover art.

The Musicians of the Nile are without exception brilliant musicians and powerful singers. This album consist of very authentic traditional North African- Middle Eastern music. There are no fusion flourishes or guests western vocalists. The music is haunting and high pitched without electronic appendages. However if you are accustomed to Khaled or Cheb Mami, this album will not deliver

My title isn't a completely off-the-wall comparison: the gypsies in Egypt are a minority underclass who have managed to support their identity (and maintain their zest for life) through song and dance. This album is captivating: the songs and instrumentals sound spontaneous, but the artists are consummate musicians who give a professional while still impassioned performance. As a student of Middle Eastern dance, I've become very impatient with the techno-pop sound of much contemporary Egyptian popular music; this group goes back to its folk roots without being self-consciously "folksy," and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable CD.

Hamza el Din is from Nubia, where Africa and Egypt meet. He's probably the best living player of the oud, the Arabic instrument that was the ancestor of the European lute (that standby of Renaissance popular music). This album showcases his amazing artistry on the oud, as well as his meditative vocals, and it's wonderful music for a warm summer evening when I'm imagining I'm back in Aswan (sigh). But a friend who bought the album for belly dance practice was disappointed: the only track you can dance to is the final one, where el Din wakes you up again with a peppy drum and vocal number.

I love the simplicity of just the oud and the unique voice of Hamza El Din. I recommend all his albums for true natural esoteric which is simultaneously both primitive and elegant.

...which definitely deserves more than 3 stars. Usually, I don't write reviews but this time, I felt that three stars and a half for this album was really too low compared with its quality.
I'm used to listening world music as I've got cds from many different regions of the world including countries like Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, Senegal, Mali, Egypt etc.
I understand that purists of sudanese music may prefer a singer like Abdel Gadir Salim to Rasha. However, if you're an amateur of great world music as I am, more specifically, if you're sensitive to Oriental and African music, you can't go wrong with this album. I'm not an expert of Sudanese music so that I can't make safe comparisons with other Sudanese singers. But, who really cares about how representative of Sudanese music Rasha is? Not only does Sudaniyat bewitch its listeners thanks to Rasha's great voice but it also enables you to become more familiar with Sudan's diverse musical traditions. This is quality world music. So, just give it a try.

...which definitely deserves more than 3 stars. Usually, I don't write reviews but this time, I felt that three stars and a half for this album was really too low compared with its quality.
I understand that purists of sudanese music may prefer a singer like Abdel Gadir Salim to Rasha. However, if you're an amateur of great world music as I am, more specifically, if you're sensitive to Oriental and African music, you can't go wrong with this album. I'm not an expert of Sudanese music so that I can't make safe comparisons with other Sudanese singers. But, who really cares about how representative of Sudanese music Rasha is? Not only does Sudaniyat bewitch its listeners thanks to Rasha's great voice but it also enables you to become more familiar with Sudan's diverse musical traditions. This is quality world music. So, just give it a try.

Indeed. If you aren't used to listening to music from the far east, you will discover a beautiful piece of the world you've been missing. This music goes directly into the soul, it transported me right there where thousands of years have grown this wonder. I really don't get why some "purists" are so against this girl. She is from Sudan, just as the many other great singers from that beautiful country. Saying she isn't "Old-school" is a point of view, but in no way takes away the merit that this record is a treasure. Really, buy it, you just won't regret, guaranteed.

Rasha has proven to able to do a lot better (Sudaniyat). Every time I play Let me be I eventually switch of the cd player. A true disappointment. Buy Sudaniyat instead, and you won't regret it.

yes, Let me be is not the wonderful magic of Rasha's debut, Sudaniyat, but is not bad, dont mind. Surely a singer cannot be martyred for only a disc that wasnt that brilliant... an incredible debut as Sudaniyat is very complicated to surpass, but i believe in her talent and just cannot leave her wonderful voice... i'm gonna wait for her next album and still love Rasha's work.

I and my son, brother and other family members listened to this CD last year while driving from Sacramento to Las Vigas. Upon return to Rome Italy I listened sevral other times and I do once in a while. Yes the mix is too diverse - Rasha should avoid if she wants the traditional sudanese market, but each song on its own right is realy good. As Rasha is not very well known, I suggest that she works on some Nubian songs like to nice song in Sudaneyat and get on CD out. As for arabic spoken.. some of the oldies, some mostafa Sidahmed, and coaching by people like Wardi, Hamzaeldin and MElamin will do her lots of good training.