Habibi Funk Germany レコード& CD

Review: For their latest essential primer on Sudanese music, Habibi Funk has chosen to focus on singer Sharharbil Ahmed, an artist whose desire to update Haqiba, a popular secular style of vocal-driven music, made him a pivotal figure in the 1960s. In his home country, Sharharbil became known as the "king of Sudanese jazz", a distinctive style that melded local instrumentation and vocals with jazz horns and heavy, guitar-driven grooves that drew much inspiration from rock and roll, surf-rock and rhythm and blues. The compilation does a great job in showcasing this insatiable, effervescent sound, showcasing the very best of Sharharbil's golden period output, most of which has never before been released outside of Sudan.

Review: Arabic music crate-diggers Habibi Funk have so far proved adept at unearthing killer material from the 1970s and '80s that joins the dots between indigenous styles and dominant Western genres. Their latest collection focuses on the work of 1970s Egyptian band Al Massireen, an outfit funded by one of the country's most successful producers of the period, Hany Shenoda. Modern Music, so called because the band was Shenoda's attempt to modernize Arabic music, includes tracks taken from a wealth of forgotten cassettes and albums. Musically, it's rather special; a heady blend of Arabic vocals and instrumentation, orchestral disco influences, blue-eyed soul, grown-up pop and dreamy West Coast style rock.

Review: Late 70s funk fusion from Tunisia: capturing the moment leading Tunis bands Dalton and Marhaba Band joined forces for some legendary disco fusion. "Alech" ignites with a Doobie Brothers style shiny guitar, big slap bass and soaring synth work while "Hanen" is a little more introspective and soulful with its honeyed harmonies and cascading chord sequence. Complete with instrumentals.

Review: Boom! Ultra rare outernational funk reissue action by the new Habibi Funk imprint! Dalton were a late '60s soul band formed in Tunis by a group of American music enthusiasts, and their one and only LP under the Dalton name was independently released and super rare until now. "Alech" nears psychedelic territories thanks to its echoing vocals and trippy percussion, whereas "Soul Brother" is more of a classic soul ballad, but filled with the band's own native roots, of course. Be sure to check, this is hot and recommended for the diggers.

Review: Habibi Funk present a legendary Lebanese work from Issam Hajali's group Ferkat Al Ard. This groundbreaking release from 1978 is a truly international affair, as Arab, jazz, folk and Brazilian styles criss-cross with flair under the arrangement guidance of Ziad Rahbani. The sound moves between pop and psych to touches of bossa nova and tropicalia. For diggers who have been after this record for some time, it's worth noting the band insisted on two tracks being excluded which were on the original version, but they have been replaced by the equally stunning 'Juma;a 6 Hziran'. This is a gem of Lebanese musical history, and a quintessential release in the ever-essential research undertaken by Habibi Funk.

Review: Habibi Funk does a great job of introducing or reacquainting the world with niche but rich musical scenes from all across the Arab world. This latest album takes us to the reggae sounds of Libya and specifically the work of Ibrahim Hesnawi, who is known amongst those who know as "The Father of Libyan Reggae." He draws on roots, dub and dancehall with a distinctive Arabic twist that plots a line from Tripoli to Kingston. This artist is so revered for the way he fused the those two musical worlds so effortlessly while colouring it with elements of jazz, soul and disco. An enchanting album that was first recorded more than 40 years ago.

Review: Charif Megarbane, the Beirut-based multi-instrumentalist and composer, stretches his sonic vocabulary on this sprawling new full-length, a genre-hopping journey that draws as much from the Lebanese coast as it does from the wider diaspora. Where his earlier work painted intimate portraits of local life, this one looks outwarditoward cultural entanglement, exile, and exchange. 'Hanadi' kicks things off with a sax-led, Somali-inspired groove, while 'Dreams of an Insomniac' drifts through hazy keys and fluttering violin. 'Al Dollarji' recalls his signature Mediterranean funk, full of ornate strings, but 'Al Bahriye' disrupts the flow with hip-hop motifs and vocal samples. Collaborations feel purposeful: 'Helia', with Swedish composer Sven Wunder and the Stockholm Studio Orchestra, layers lush cinematic strings into Megarbane's idiosyncratic palette. Even miniature pieces like 'Sfiha' or 'Preamble to the Conclusion' feel essential, punctuating the record's narrative of displacement with clarity and warmth. It's a collection that resists linearity, folding nostalgia and innovation into a rich, borderless soundian informal transmission between traditions, cities and moods.

Review: Habibi Funk co-founder Jannis Stuertz first came across "the Holy Grail of Sudanese funk", Saif Abu Bakr and The Scorpions "Jazz, Jazz, Jazz", while browsing eBay listings a few years back. His interest piqued, he took a trip to Sudan to track down the musicians who had made a ridiculously rare LP that was changing hands for thousands of pounds online. Some four years later, his wish to reissue the set has finally come through. It was originally recorded in Kuwait in 1980 and brilliantly joins the dots between American funk, soul and rhythm and blues, traditional Sudanese vocals and rhythmic arrangements, and even a dash of Congolese soukkous. It's the first full album Habibi Funk has reissued, and with good reason: it's near perfect from start to finish.

Review: Majid Soula is someone who uses music as activism. The Algerian-born, Amazigh artist lays down prominent guitar lines with driving drums and snaking synth lines to blend together worldly sounds such as highlife, disco, Kabyle sounds and funk. The sounds become a vehicle for Soula's political message which he delivers with style and wit. The artists says he is someone whose first concern is "to present a quality artistic work in order to contribute, however modestly, to the development and enrichment of our cultural heritage." He does it and then some with this more absorbing of records. It is sure to become a collector's cult classic.

Review: The 31st release from Habbi Funk is a remarkable hoarde of gems from Libya's rich but largely unsung cassette culture. Rather than aiming for a definitive history, the album aims at a more personal curated journey through the country's underground music scenes from the late 80s to the early 00s, presenting a compelling mosaic of disco, reggae, pop, house and funk, tracing the evolution of a exciting sonic identity forged under the radar. The compilation draws from hundreds of tapes sourced across North Africa, including recordings salvaged from the now-demolished TK7 cassette factory in Tunisia and a marathon digitisation session in a Cairo hotel room in 2021. It features previously highlighted artists such as Ahmed Ben Ali, Cheb Bakr and Najib Alhoush alongside lesser-known but no less vital acts like Khaled Al Melody, Fathi Aldiyqz & Sons of Africa Band, City Lights Band, Libya Music Band and Group Hewaya. These artists worked within and often around political and technical constraints, recording in makeshift home studios or traveling abroad to lay down tracks. Their music reflects Libya's diverse cultural geography, blending Arab melodies with African rhythms and reggae's defiant swagger. Reggae, especially, emerges with a distinct local inflection, carrying both sonic innovation and social resonance.
This creativity was made possible through the power of community-led archiving. It captures a time when music was passed hand to hand and genre boundaries blurred into something entirely new and unmistakably Libyan.