Bellydance: Experiences

Hafla this weekend, time for new CDs

Two of the CD's I ordered earlier this week have arrived, "Ruby" by Hossam Ramzy, and "The Dance of my Heart" by Saad. It turned out to be great timing, since I think I'll be dancing to a song from each of the two albums this weekend!

Diana's Danse Orientale is having a hafla on Saturday, and I only heard about it at the workshop last weekend. I talked to Diana, and have a spot in the lineup, and she asked me to add an audience participation song to my set.

How perfect is that? I have a new Golden-Age style costume that I have not debuted yet (in fact, I started altering it last night, the skirt needed shortening, the closures needed to be reinforced, and the top needed to have the hooks moved) and it really would only work for classical Egyptian music. I popped "Ruby" into my CD player last night - seriously everyone, it's a gorgeous album from beginning to end. Anybody who dances Egyptian style needs this album. Go order it right now, I'll wait. (Expect to see a track-by-track review from me just as soon as I finish writing up last weekend's workshop)

The new Saad album is great fun too! Egyptian sha'abi always gets people up and dancing, but the tracks on this album aren't as over-played and familiar as the ones on "Prince of Sha'abi". Any track off this album would be great for audience participation, and I love breaking out something new.

Bingeing on music

The sagat and drum classes I took this weekend reminded me that it has been a long time since the last time I bought new music, and I am hungry for some new inspiration. Mostly, I'm craving some new contemporary Egyptian Pop, Classic-style orchestral Egyptian, and some debke music to play around with. (also, it's nice that Hollywood Music Center has such a great sale section)

So far, I have ordered:

• Susu & the Cairo Cats - Dancing Drums - I have spoken to many dancers who love this CD, and I was long overdue to have it for my collection
• Naif Agby & Orchestra - Dabke - National Dance of Lebanon - To feed the debke obsession I developed after this past weekend's workshop
• Mohamed Iskandar - Al-Dabke - More debke-obsession-feeding.
• Various Artists - Kanoun Around the World - I got this one kind of on a lark, it was $5, and I'm curious how a "Swedish Folk Dance" song sounds on the kanoun. (also, "Hava Nagila" on the Kanoun? Too unusual to pass up)
• Salatin El Tarab Orchestra - Belly Dance With Hayat - The description on Holywood Music Center was, "Oud, Violin, Tabla, Kanoun and more" and I was sold, I love traditional instruments.
• Setrak Sarkissian - Zikrayat Ranine, Vol. 16 - This one jumped out at me because it has several classics on it, in versions I don't think I already have.
• Various Artists - Fairuziyat - Instrumental versions of classic Fairuz songs. I could listen to Fairuz all day long, but the instrumentals should be nice too.
• Naif Agby & Orchestra - Bedouin Sahda - I was in the mood to add some extra Lebanese music to the mix.
• Eddie "the Sheik" Kochak - Golden Hits - I don't care if he's cheesy or old-fashioned. I love his music! Plus, this CD has versions of both Zeina and Misirlou, and I always need new versions of the classics.
• Samir Srour & Souher Zaki - Cairo Plus - I couldn't resist a compilation with Souhair Zaki's name on it. Especially since it contains a track marked "accordion solo", and I love accordions in oriental music.
• Hamdi El-Khayyat - The Doom-Tek Project - The wide range of rhythms on this CD caught my eye, it seemed interesting for some diversity.
• Hossam Ramzy - Ruby - This one has gotten some high praise on Bhuz, and I'm curious to hear what's inspiring everybody about it.
• Saad - The Dance of My Heart - I seemed to have missed this one when it came out last year. I still listen to "Prince of Sha'abi" a lot, so I figured I'd enjoy picking up a little more of his stuff.
• Khalil Abboud & Leyla Lanty - Golden Days, Enchanting Nights - I ordered Leyla Lanty's Arabic for dancers DVD, and tossed in her CD to get to free shipping on Amazon.
• Also, I can't go to a workshop without buying a little something, so I came home with Everybody Yalla, a kind of Karim's "Greatest Hits". I have some of the songs on it already, but the rest of it is new to me.

I'm always open to suggestions, have any of you come across any great new CD's lately? 

CD Review: Shake me Ya Gamal: Hot Tabla Solos

Artist: Gamal Goma
Title: Shake me Ya Gamal: Hot Tabla Solos
Label: Holywood Music Center
Available from: Amazon

I know this album is a few years old, and many of you already have it. But I just discovered it, and fell hopelessly in love, so I'm writing it up. I'm sure there are more people out there who love drum solos but have missed out on this album somehow.

I know I have seen some of these performed, but they are all 4-6 minutes long, so I don't think they have ever been as popular as shorter drum solo tracks. All 7 are very danceable, each one incorporates rhythm changes and a lot of variation in accents, so none of them sound repetitive. They are all also very different in feeling, so the album makes for a resource for a variety of drum solos that don't all sound alike. Especially since it includes some unusual touches like a solo incorporating Khaleeji rhythms, and two that include a little ayoub.

Plus, it has Fifi on the cover!

1. Sahra Saiidi - 4:45 The first half of this track is the 2 and a half minute "Sahra Saiidi" drum solo on the first Bellydance Superstars album. This version, however, continues on to a short interlude of heavy masmoudi, then an ending that matches the first part in sound.
2. Circle of Life - 4:37 - This solo is based primarily on the malfouf rhythm. Like the previous track, it breaks into a little interlude of a different rhythm, in this cas, fallahi (I think, it's a rhythm I don't know well, so I have to check)
3. Mouhammad Ali Street - 6:10 - This is my favorite track on the whole album, but I don't have the stamina to perform a 6 minute drum solo, and I certainly would not be able to keep it interesting even if I could! Though if I were to try, this would be the drum solo I would use, because the feeling of it and the nature of the accents change a lot, which helps prevent it from sounding repetitive. The best part is a wild bit of ayoub in the middle.
4. Zaar - 4:28 - Speaking of ayoub... Actually, even though this track is called "Zaar", there are other rhythms interspersed in this track, so it's not just 4 and a half minutes of doum-ka-doum-tek. It is, though, very grounded and heavy, and demands a lot of hair-tossing.
5. Khaliji Hafla - 5:13 - The first time I listened to this track I thought, "That sounds really different" - then I looked at the name of the track and it hit me. I have not come across many drum solos that incorporate khaleeji rhythms and sounds. It has that characteristic "rolling" sound to the beat that is characteristic of music from the Gulf, while still being very much a bellydance drum solo.
6. Harvest's End - 4:07 - A fun, bright, and zill-y maksoum. This is a pretty straightforward track structurally, so not too hard to choreograph, but it is quite fast.
7. Samaiyat - 4:43 - A little taste of chiftitelli. It's a little different, since it is slower than the other solos. It would be an excellent choice if you want to show off precision and isolation in your movements.

CD Review: Amer Ammouri - Oud Mosaics

Artist: Amer Ammouri
Title: Oud Mosaics
Label: Holywood Music Center
Available from: Amazon, eMusic

One of the first bellydance albums I bought when I started dancing was by John Bilezikjian, an amazing oud player. Ever since then, I have been in love with the sound of the oud. (Not quite to the point of my love of the mizmar, but close!)

Amer Amouri is a Syrian Oud player, but on this album he performs classic songs from all over the middle east. The oud is a stringed instrument related to the lute. From what I’ve been able to find from doing a little research, he plays in a pretty traditional style.

Every track on this album is an oud solo, no other instruments at all. This lends the songs a very intimate sound. Good for a small venue, but perhaps not as well matched to large spaces. They are beautiful and very evocative to listen to – but take care if you’re planning to perform to any of these songs, you need strong shimmies and a lot of stamina to really capture the vibration of the oud strings.

1. Ya Shadil Ah Han – 3:30 – (Egypt) Very introspective and dramatic.
2. Ammi Ya Bayya Il Ward – 4:25 – (Iraq) This song captures a lot of the percussive sounds that can be made with the oud.
3. Hawil Ya Ghannam – 4:28 – (Lebanon) Lots of pauses early in the song, it would be a beautiful choice for a dancer who is comfortable with just standing still sometimes. The tempo picks up a little in the 2nd half. This track is in my opinion one of the most well-suited to performance on this album.
4. Al Alla Taoud – 5:44 – (Lebanon) This is the most useless description ever, but this song immediately made me think of Morrocan tiles. There’s a very geometric and angular feeling to the song, in the form of stacato tones and repeating motifs. But it’s really beautiful because of it.
5. Fog Al Nakhel – 2:11 – (Syria) Short and sweet. This song is one of the more upbeat-sounding to me. And at just over 2 minutes long, it may be a useful in situations where a 4 or 5 minute oud solo might be too much for your audience.
6. Basamatk – 3:39 – (Syria) This song is full of built up tension and release.
7. Ma Alli Woultilou – 3:18 – (Egypt) This track has a folky sound to me. It’s hard to describe what makes me feel that way, especially since there are no other instruments involved. To me this track feels very flat-footed and grounded.
8. Fog Al Shoq – 3:46 – (Egypt) I heard this, and I though the sound was very round (especially in contrast to track 4)
9. Talaa Min Beit Abouha – 3:36 – (Iraq) The fastest paced track on the CD, this one also has a more folky sound to me. Mind you, it’s fast for an oud solo, not fast like a drum solo. This is a shimmy-all-the-way-through song.
10. Inta Fen Ou Hobbi Fen – 3:25 – (Egypt ) Another very introspective-feeling track. It has a very clearly Egyptian feel to it.
11. Asmar Yasmarani – 3:53 – (Egypt ) Lots of repeating motifs, but varying in tempo. This is another one I would chose as a good pick for performance. It’s a little syncopated-sounding, and would keep an audience’s interest.
12. Al Rabia – 6:58 – (Egypt) Long, but very beautiful. The sound is very full, while at the same time, stacato plucking sounds are used to almost capture the sounds of drum rhythms.

CD Review: Hoda - Sha'bi Chic

What a great, fun album. I've been on the lookout for more great Sha'abi (I love both Saad and Hakim, but there's so much more out there!)

It was released on the Copeland International Arts label (i.e. the Bellydance Superstars label) who also released Saad’s The Prince of Sha’abi. It struck me as a little funny that the label has not settled on a common English transliteration of the word “sha’abi”. Unfortunately, this CD is not as technically well recorded or mixed as Saad’s. It sounds fine on it’s own, but when you compare the two, Sha’bi Chic sounds like the mix is muddier. That comparison makes me wonder if these albums are new recordings or if they are US releases of albums previously released in Egypt. Or even if they are “Greatest Hits” – type compilations of songs off of multiple prior albums released in Egypt.

From a dancing perspective, this whole album has very prominent rhythms, and is a lot of fun to dance to. There's a lot of tracks based on the saiidi rhythm, so there's a number of options if you're looking for a modern cane piece. I don't know what the difference is, but I've read that there are stylistic differences between "sha'abi cane" and "baladi cane" - so that might be one thing to be careful of. Every track, however, is totally danceable if you just need a fun sha'abi song to rock out to, or use for audience participation.

As always, here are the details:

1. Endahly Had Kbeer – 4:20 – This track is built largely of electronic instruments, but they retain a flavor of traditional instruments. Especially a little bit of reediness that suggests a mizmar
2. Ashoufak Uyoum – 3:40 - It’s got a great beat, I can really dance to it. Seriously, it’s got a great, steady beat. The rhythmic structure is not complex, but it is even and easy to follow, I think it would be great for a group dance.
3. El Kalam Mish Kalamek – 3:10 - This track has a very cute intro, and is a solid saiidi rhythm. It would make a really cute modern cane dance.
4. Ekhwat Banat – 4:09 - This is one of the more electronic tracks on the album, including some distortion on Hoda’s vocal track. The rhythm is actually very fast, though the vocals feel quite a bit slower.
5. Inta Lissa Faker Bali – 4:55 - Mercifully, this is *not* a remix of Lisaa Fakir. It’s actually a cute, drummy song. Unfortunately it ends with a long fade.
6. Kaf Hawak – 4:14 - This track starts with a slow, pretty intro for about 40 seconds then picks up the pace. I would like this track for a hafla or workshop show where I was only dancing to one song, since the intro allows for a very short veil entrance, but the song itself is fast-paced and easy to clap to. Unfortunately it also ends with a fade.
7. Aashek – 4:03 - Ok, the weird synthesizer effects are a little dated, but the song has cute little rhythmic interludes that would let you vary the pace of your dancing.
8. Maa’Lesh – 4:04 - I don’t usually like suynth-y mizmar-ish sounds, but this song uses them to good effect. The song is based on a solid saiidi rhythm, and is a little slower and longer than El Kalam Mish Kalamek, making it another good choice for a cane piece.
9. Yallah Kheir – 5:17 - This track has a great intro. It opens with a couple of measures of slow, clear baladi that gets the audience’s attention right off the bat. The rest of the song is a great fast maksoum, with great emotional vocals, and little instrumental sections.
10. La Ou Lissa – 4:46 - This is a pleasant pop song, it has these funny very low-pitched male background vocals. Ends rather abruptly, but could be used for a pose if you’re quick.

Why I can't take the music out of dance

Gray at Fame or Famine wrote a post today discussing Dance War, and in that context commenting on my idea that dancers need to fit their dance to the music. He then described studying modern dance, and learning to "ignore the music" - I had a very strong response to this. I wrote comment after comment defending dancing to music, and deleted every one of them :) For me, the idea of ignoring the music feels fundamentally in opposition to my experience of dancing. what I finally ended up writing was much less upset-sounding than where I started.

So, of course, since my first response was so emotional, so I had to stop and think more objectively about what was driving my emotion.  On the drive home from a meeting tonight, I realized what made me feel that way.

The most sublime dancing I have ever seen has all had one thing in common: Improvisational dancing to live music where the dancer and the musician interact and play off of each other. This is certainly one of the things that made me fall so thoroughly in love with bellydance... but also, I have seen flamenco that has made me cry - performed by just a dancer and a lone guitarist. And I remember once going to a Brazilian club to see Samba dancers and a live band, and was just blown away by the sheer energy and life force filling the room.

So in that context having the dancer ignore the music? It completely removes even the suggestion of that dancer-musician synergy. Even when the dancer is dancing to recorded music, a really great dancer can evoke at least a suggestion of that connection. But to purposely remove it? for me that removes exactly the most magical part of watching dance for me.

What it really underlines for me is that dance is intensely personal. That my experience of dance and Gray's are fundamentally different. I'm even willing to venture that he and I could go to the same performance, and come out seemingly have watched two completely different things.

There has been so much discussion in the dance blogosphere about how to increase the attendance at dance performances and get more attention and money directed towards dance. I am starting to wonder if one thing that has been overlooked in this discussion is the huge breadth of the ways people experience dance, and that you can't make the assumption that what you take away from a performance is the same thing that other people will. In that respect, the best way to get audiences excited to to figure out what touches *them* about dance, then make sure each potential audience member is made aware of shows that mesh with the things that turn them on.

I don't know... I'll have to think about this some more.

CD Review: Hossam Ramzy - Zeina, Best of Mohammed Abdul Wahab

Title: Zeina, Best of Mohammed Abdul Wahab
Artist: Hossam Ramzy
Available from: Hossamramzy.com, Maqam

I picked up this CD primarily because it has both Zeina and Aziza on it (and I really just can't say no to new versions of Aziza) But I am loving the whole album.

Mohammed Abdul Wahab was probably the most prolific Egyptian composer of the 20th century. Some of the most famous Egyptian classics are his compositions, many were songs composed for movies during the Golden Age of Egyptian cinema.

It's pretty awesome to hear what Hossam Ramzy has done with Mohammed Abdul Wahab's music. The instrumentation is very "modern Egyptian", where the instruments are totally traditional, but the quality and tone of the recording is totally modern. Like most of Ramzy's music, the drumming is clear and prominent, and the music is made to be easy to dance to.

Most of the songs are longer than I can generally use for performance, but I have been loving this CD for practice at home - the beat is so clear and solid. You know how old recordings sound kind of muddy? You know, because the recordings were mono, and they sound like the whole band was recorded with just a couple of microphones? This recording sounds like as if those fuzzy recordings were brought into focus, and the whole thing sounds like golden age music made sharper and brighter. If you can make use of 6-10 minute tracks, these are all completely instrumental, so no worrying about lyrics.

1. Zeina - 5:51- Wow, it starts with this beautiful kanoon, and then the flute comes in to take the melody. It's a really lovely arrangement. Especially since the flute is so airy and weightless, but the drums are mixed in to be very heavy. The middle of the song is very grounded and the music has a really rich texture. The song ends with a long fade-out.
   
2. Elhabayib ya Habiba - 7:31 - I got a very "mysterious and romantic" feel from this song. I know it sounds like a weird description, but the kanoon comes in for these quick little accents that really invite the dancer to accent with a pretty shimmy. The song is definitely faster than it sounds at first. The melody is at a pretty medium pace, but the beat is quite a bit faster. The song ends with a little drummy bit.
   
3. Khai Khai - 10:49 - This song has a very earthy feel, since it's starts right away with a solid maksoum rhythm and comes back to it more than once over the course of the song. It's got an incredibly lovely chiftitelli in the middle, where it's just the tabla keeping the slow rhythm, and a beautiful violin solo over top. It has a solid end suitable for a pose.
   
4. Olli Amallak Eih Albi - 6:53 - I heard this song, and it immediately sounded like "Egyptian movie music" to me. :) It is a very pretty song, and I think a dancer whose style is inherently elegant could really do something beautiful with this song.
   
5. Mawkib Ennoor - 7:15 - Oooh, this track starts with a slow and dramatic intro that really commands attention. The track retains that dramatic tone throughout, even when the tempo and drums pick up. The melody instruments remain languorous, and the ney and (I think) an accordion are used to great effect to keep the mysterious sound going. At about 4:30, it slows into an ayoub rhythm for about half a minute - long enough to get some hair tossing in, but short enough to keep it interesting.
   
6. Aziza - 4:55 - This is a very clean version of this song, with a very full sound. I have to admit, I personally prefer the more raw sound of Zikrayat's live recording but they are very different. This is a great version to use for performance, since it is a great-quality studio recording.  This song is full of little accent bits, and they are very clear and sharp in this version. The non-accent parts of the music are lush and full of instruments, it approaches the sound of an orchestra instead of a small ensemble.
   
7. Layali Ramadan - 5:34 - This entire track is pure kanoon solo, no drums, no nothing. and it is *breathtaking*. Like too beautiful to describe, you have to hear it for yourself.

CD Review: Mohammed El-Bakkar - Dances of Port Said

Title: Dances of Port Said
Artist: Mohammed El-Bakkar and his Oriental Ensemble
Available from: the CD is for sale at Maqam, Amazon, basically everywhere. The songs are officially available for free from El-Bakkar.com

This is actually the 5th album in a series, but the cover is an iconic representative of the classic bellydance music of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Pe-ko records has been busy for the last few years re-releasing some of their back catalog of classic albums on CD.

I *love* this CD. Don't judge it by it's cover. I know when I first saw covers like this, I thought the albums would be full of schmaltzy seduce-your-sultan music. I was shocked to discover the album was packed with great folky music packed with traditional instruments and raw, danceable sounds.

Speaking of dancing, this music definitely has a dated quality to it. Te recording sounds "old", and it could not be mistaken for modern bellydance music. For that reason, it would be difficult to shoe horn these songs into a set made up of primarily modern music. Thankfully, now so many older albums have been re-released on CD, it would not be hard to put together a full set of old-fashioned music.

The rhythmic structures of these songs are not very complicated, most of the CD really seems to be 2/4 rhythms like malfouf or similar.  As an added bonus, though, if you like to debke, lots of the songs on this album are either explicitly debke songs, or work well for it.

1. Dari E Yeounik [See and Admire] - 3:08 - This is one of my favorite tracks on the album, there's clapping in the recording, which always inspires me to want to clap along. Plus zaghareeting and cheering, overall it's just an inspiring and fun track.
2. Ish Allamak [Who Taught You?] - 3:31 - More clapping and zaghareeting! A very bouncy, hip-droppy kind of song. The beat it really steady, it's got a drawn out syllable in the lyrics at about the 1:30 mark which really cries out for a big hip circle.
3. Hora el Hawara [The Circle Dance] - 4:03 - This is definitely a debke song, it has a great steady rhythm.
4. Ya Natir [The One Who Waits] - 4:56 - Starts with a pretty flute solo for the first 20 seconds, then the drums come in. The vocals are a fun call-and-response format.
5. Ya Noor el Ein [Light of My Eyes] - 3:28 - This song is still well paced and energetic, but to me it has a somewhat more introspective sound than the previous tracks - even including the zaghareeting later in the track.
6. Salaam Aleikum [Greetings!] - 4:08 - This is the slowest song on the album, though it's not really slow. It changes a lot moving between more energetic portions, and more emotional-sounding sections.
7. Yam Safereen [You Travelers!] - 2:46 - This song is very bouncy. It includes a little more of the call-and-response stuff between El-Bakkar and a his backup singers.
8. Mnishebak [From My Window] - 3:59 - I have always thought this song would make a cute group dance. The beat is very even, and there's clapping in the song so it's easy for the audience to clap along.
9. Dabke [Let Us Dance, Dabke] - 3:40 - Well, obviously this is a debke song, the title kind of says it all.
10. Yaboo E Yeoun Asaleya [Eyes of Honey] - 3:27 - Has a simple, but fun clapping rhythm in the recording: clap. pause. clap-clap-clap. I think it's a cute rhythm to engage the audience, and the song is pretty and sensual, and makes good use of the flute.
11. Raks el Dabke [Double String Dance] - 3:46 -Like the title implies, this song is very string-heavy, and the flute is used to nice effect. There's not a whole lot in the way of lyrics, though there is a smidge of vocals right in the middle, but those seem to be more exclamations than real lyrics.
12. Afrah el Jabel [Mountain Festival] - 5:30 - the beat is really simple and steady through the whole song, but the melody and singing have a lot of variety to them, so there's a lot of great accents to pick out and use.

My thought process: picking songs for a short bellydance set

I’m very excited, my friends are having another apocalyptic variety show fundraiser for the local no-kill animal shelter this weekend. The venue it’s at is only open until 1am though, so we have to kind-of crunch the lineup a little. Everyone is getting a little less time than usual, so I’m putting together about an 8-10 min set.

I’m still up in the air about what I’m going to do. With that kind of time, I’m thinking a short intro, a full song, and a short little drum solo at the end. For such a short set, it seems ridiculous to bust out props, even in front of a non-bellydance crowd - I can keep a set interesting for 8 minutes. I hope.

I’ve got a couple of potential songs in mind:

• I have a great rock-and-roll brass band version of the song Zeina, which I think will be really fun. It’s a great version since the instrumentation is western, but they kept the middle eastern rhythm structure, so the song keeps it’s basic character while having a little extra funk. It has a lot of tempo changes, so it’s easy to keep interesting.
• A traditional version of Miserlou by the Brothers of the Baladi. I’m curious if anybody in the audience would make the connection to the Dick Dale version that was used as the theme to Pulp Fiction. It might be a little more old school than the music I would generally chose for this venue, on the other hand, if people do recognize the Pulp Fiction connection, it may make kind of a fun connection with the audience.

Both songs are right around 5 min long, so I could pair either one with a short drum solo… like the 2nd drum solo from the first Jallilah’s Raks Sharki album, which is just shy of 2 min.(Great advantage to dancing in front of non-bellydancers - while every dancer has heard this drum solo a bajillion times, the crowd hasn’t) That plus a short little intro, should make for right at about 8-9 min.

I'm leaning towards Zeina. I think it's more dynamic and better for a short performance, that Mizerlou would work better as part of a longer set.

CD Review: Upper Egypt Ensemble - Mazamir Sahara

Title: Mazamir Sahara
Artist: Upper Egypt Ensemble
Available from: eMusic, Lark of the Morning

I learned something new today. the plural of mizmar is mazamir. And as much as I love just one mizmar, a whole album of multiple mazamir is so much of a good thing, it's almost decadent. :) (For those who have been wondering all this time, a mizmar is like a really nasal-sounding oboe-like instrument)

Seriously, thought, the music is totally folky. Real traditional instruments, no synthesized or western instruments at all. It's raw, and feels very much like it could have been a live recording. I don't think there's anything on it other than just mizmar and tabla.

It sounds to me like very authentic Upper Egyptian music (I'm not an expert, of course) It's a solid recording, not cabaret-ified for a dainty little cane routine. It calls out for all-out folky Saiidi dancing.

So, obviously, I'm recommending this album for the Egyptian-style dancers who want to get down with the folk sound. But I also think this is a great album for old-school tribal-style dancing. All the songs have great prominent drums that make you want to dance, and most of the tracks are long enough to be satisfying,  but short enough to be useful for haflas and showcases. None of the songs have lyrics, so you never have to worry about what anyone is saying.

1. Ismaaouni - 3:25 - Starts with a kind of mysterious sound, then dives into kind-of slow and laid back but intense drums.
2. Mzmar Solo - 1:13 - Two mizmars playing off of each other. One stays with a drone in the background, while the other plays the melody, no other instruments at all. all I can say, is you have to really love mizmar.
3. Aminti Billah - 2:54 - Very slow rhythm at first, picks up into a steady saiidi rhythm as the song goes on.
4. Ana Ma Fiyee - 3:09 - A little more fast-paced, very easy to clap to, and I couldn't sit still while this song was on.  Includes a couple of times where the mizmar hangs back for a while and the drums take over.
5. Khawatem - 3:37 - Most of the other tracks are based on the saiidi rhythm, this one is mostly maksoum. Great, heavy drums through the whole song.
6. Gan Al Hawa - 7:30 - I think this song is a little long for a solo, but would make a great tableau-type group dance. The song changes a lot, so it stays interesting for the whole time.
7. Sirt Al Hob - 15:44 - Another long track. I could only really see using it at a folk dance or international culture festival, since it has a a good "intro"-type sound for the first minute, then goes ito a long but varied song. It has a distinct "finale" type section for the last minute as well.
8. Hikayat Mizmar - 1:49 - This track is all mizmar, similar in structure to "Mzmar Solo"
9. Mazamir Holiday - 5:22 - This one hits hard with the drums right at the start, and there are a number of times in the song where the drums become more prominent over the mizmar.