Customer Reviews

Six Degrees Collection: Arabian Travels 2

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The regions represented on this latest installment of the Six Degrees Travel Series - France, Canada, Germany, Japan, Ireland, Turkey, Egypt - read like a cross-section of the world map. But isn't this Arabian Travels 2? If there is one thing you cannot say about a Six Degrees release is that it is geographically constrained. For someone whose ears have not been exposed to Arabic/Middle Eastern music beyond that of Chebs Khaled and Mami, this was a great (albeit, electronic) primer to the diverse melodies that modern 'Arabian' music exponents can create. Its a shame I missed the first volume. A blunder I will soon make up for.

The first two tracks are pretty mellow and exotic excursions into dub and ambient territory. Montreal DJ Arkin Allen who records under the name Mercan Dede mixes Sufi mysticism with strings and electronic flourishes on "Nar I Ney." Next up is "Tender" which just bubbles with deep bass grooves and Middle Eastern strings to give us seven minutes of pure laidback chillout bliss, all courtesy of Stefan Müller (DJ Eastenders) who brought us the equally excellent Orientation 1 & 2. According to the label website, Makyo's "Shalale" was written with belly dancers in mind and once the percussion starts getting desperate at 5:09, all you wanna do is follow along to the handclaps that close out the gorgeous tune. Things do get a little more uptempo from the next track onwards which features the masterful percussion of Reda Darwish. Ever since Advent reviewed his album, I've been feenin' for a listen of Christophe Goze and I sure-as-hell was not disappointed. dZihan & Kamien now have major competition, at least in my book. Middle Eastern electronica at its finest.

The party doesn't stop on this one. One listen to this set of tunes and you'll be convinced that the Arabian Massive is giving its Asian counterpart a run for its money. Play this way loud at your next global jet set gathering and don't forget to take a toke...of the sheesha, that is.

Six Degrees is my favorite world beat music label because they consistently have cutting edge world music, music of high quality that breaks all the boundaries, mixing sounds from all over the place. In this compilation of music centered around the Middle East and North Africa (soundwise, not necessarily where the musicians are from), you get a CD of ten songs with a good dance beat and rich in Middle Eastern sounds, but very modern, perfect for dancing in a high-tech club. The tempo of all but a couple of songs is medium-slow or slow, but in most songs the beat is heavy and certain, giving you something solid to move your feet to. The songs are mostly instrumental; when vocals are present, they are mostly used as instrumental ornaments rather than to sing lyrics. The label describes the album as one that "explores the mesmerizing sounds of Arabic music and its influence on electronic, ambient, dance, and dub music."

The album opens with "Sanati" by Toires featuring Natacha Atlas on vocals. Natacha Atlas is my favorite Arabic singer, so I'm glad to hear her voice opening up this album! My favorite song on this album, by far, is "Nar I Ney" by Mercan Dede. This is 9 1/2 minutes of dancing bliss! After I get through dancing to this energetic piece, I am out of breath! (Well, I am out of shape, but still, you get the picture.) "Allisallah" by Esoterica is a rather fun piece. "Funky Nawari" by Jef Stott featuring Reda Darwish lives up to its name in some funky Arabic dance material. Christophe Goze's song "Ja Vidi" is on this album and also found on the compilation album Bellylicious, which, like this album, is also one of my favorite albums of 2003. I've already got "Ja Vidi" on a mix tape, as well as "Allisallah" and of course, "Nar I Ney." "Twin Soul" by Kaya Project has a heavy jazz influence to it. The last two songs of the album wind things down: "Gatha" by Samsara Sound System takes a step from downtempo dance closer to ambient, while the closing track "Bedooneh Pashimoni" by Azadeh Abi and Holmes Ives goes completely ambient, with a dark, cloudy day sound.

When listening to Amazon's samples of this album, I recommend tracks #1 and #5 for this because they give the best representation of what the album sounds like. The songs on this album are club length, clocking in between 5 and 10 minutes long, so on the other samples, all you get is the introduction, before the song really gets going.

This is an excellent collection of enchanting, danceable, downbeat, mostly instrumental sounds that provide a pleasurable listening and dancing experience!

The first 'Arabian Travels' disc remains an essential part of any Arabic-electronic collection, and Six Degrees Records has continued the trend with this second volume. Opening up with the ever sultry voice of pan-Arab diva Natacha Atlas on 'Sanäti,' her collaboration with Toirés, 'Arabian Travels 2' certainly wastes no time in going straight to the good stuff. It quickly segues into the Sufi-themed electronica of Mercan Dede on 'Nar-' Ney,' and just keeps going from there. Of course, one could simply purchase the albums these songs first appeared on (and it would be a good purchase for the record) but the nice thing about this compilation is that it collects together some great songs for a low price, and introduces you to some performers you might not have otherwise found. Some other big names make appearances on this collection. DJ Easteners, Christophe Goze, Jeff Stott, Makyo, Samsara Sound System and so forth. From the names (and title) you pretty much get an idea that this will be Oriental-tinged electronica, heavy on the ambient and etheral side of things. Ultimately, if you liked the first album, I would definitely pick this one up as well. It's a good addition to any music library.

This is on the club trendy side but it is still interesting to listen too. Not to mention you can order the CD for about the same price as downloading a couple of songs.