El Amar

by Hossam Ramzy

Overview

It is an intriguing idea: Take a Middle Eastern ensemble and add an accordion. Now, it's going to have to be a special type of accordion, because Arabic music uses quarter tones (which are notes between the notes of the standard Western scales). And you're going to need a fiendishly good accordionist to manage this burden. Fortunately, such a musician was found in Mohsen Allaam, who, like Hossam Ramzy, was born in Cairo. Besides his sheer talent, Allaam has another grace, too: His presence causes Ramzy to somewhat tone down the synths, super-fast pace, and cheesy strings that can sometimes make his music sound hokey -- like mere belly dancing music for the Western market. The music is still mostly quite fast and suitable for dancing; it's just a lot more tasteful. Once pleasant midtempo number, "Ammoura," starts with an oud (lute) and synth laying down a beat. Then the accordion enters with an intricate melody and little dramatic flourishes, issuing amazing little stuttering trills. This piece, like all the others, is an instrumental. The best track on the disc is probably the second, "Habibi Baladi, We Zay El Amar," which is dominated by the accordion. The worst track is undoubtedly the last, which is filled with obnoxious synth riffs. Definitely a disc for Ramzy fans and fans of the accordion. ~ Kurt Keefner

Product Details

Release Date:	04/21/2017
Label:	ARC MUSIC
UPC:	5019396270923

Tracks

1. Sanatein Wanahayel Feek!
2. Habibi Baladi, We Zay El Amar
3. Bey-Olouly Tooby
4. Ammoura
5. Be Tes' Al Leh Alayya
6. Henni Ya Amar
7. Yammal-Amar Aalbab
8. El Amar Baladi

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Hossam Ramzy   Primary Artist,Percussion
Mohsen Allaam   Primary Artist
Mohamed Fouda   Nay
Prof. Maged Serour   Dulcimer
Medhat Abdel Samie   Violin
Mohamed Ali   Nay
Rafat Misso   Saxophone
Yasser Taha   Cello

Technical Credits

Hossam Ramzy   Producer,Liner Notes,Pre-Mastering,Mixing,Booklet,Composer,Engineer
Mohamed Aly   Composer
Jesse Reuben Wilson   Cover Design
Medhat Abdel Samie   String Arrangements
Ute Entwistle   Typesetting,Layout Design
Mohsen Allaam   Composer
Raouf Zohni   Composer
Fouad Helmy   Composer
Baligh Hamdi   Composer
Diz Heller   Pre-Mastering