Shabeesation

Aisha Kandisha's Jarring Effects

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 6, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0000009Q1
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #324,395 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #58 in

  Music > World Music > Africa > Morocco

Editorial Reviews

From the Label

Under the direction of their Arabic-speaking Swiss leader and co-producer Patrick Jabbar El Shaheed, the seven members of AKJE recorded the initial sessions for SHABEESATION in 1991 and 1992 in Casablanca. A shabee (Morrocan dance-pop) band at its core, the group's Indian and Arab melodies and rhythms were embellished in the initial mixing process with "found sounds" recorded to DAT by Jabbar El Shaheed. These atmospheric snippets of life in Marrakech include the thud of a knife being slapped across the back of a neck (on "Dunya"), samples of Soussi Berber musicians (also on "Dunya"), and the blasts of a gunshot (on "Nbrik"). Throughout the album's nine tracks, electric guitars and synthesizers mix with traditional Moroccan instruments including the kmenja, a violin instrument played vertically, the guimbri, a West African bass-stringed instrument, and aouuda, a small wooden flute.

The band's already complex sound was further transformed at Bill Laswell's Brooklyn studio in 1993. As co-producer, he invited Umar Bin Hassan of the Last Poets to lend his booming vocals to "Fin Roh," while Laswell himself picked up his fabled bass for several tracks. P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell and rest of the groove-heavy Greenpoint Posse round out the funk. The already hypnotic fusion of Moroccan dance-pop and modern sampling technology were taken to a higher plane under Laswell's direction, and the resulting trancelike melange is positively rapturous.

Thanks to its modern, bi-continental production and ceaseless rhythms, SHABEESATION dives headfirst into the fraja -- wild group dancing that is inspired by religious fervor or sheer delight. During the group's recent sold-out tour of the UK, clubgoers responded with religous ardor to what may best be called "electro-trance-dance-techno-dub." "With this record and the live shows," explains Jabbar El Shaheed, "we want people to let themselves be free to forget everything in their lives and trance to the music."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Westernized Introduction Only, February 10, 2002

By	doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

My low rating is not a criticism of the music of Aisha Kandisha's Jarring Effects (AKJE), but of this album's production. Shabeesation is an attempt to introduce AKJE's Moroccan styles to the Western market, through a collaboration with Bill Laswell and a host of American and Eurpoean cutting-edge musicians. Granted, AKJE has always had a cosmopolitan aspect, as they often spend time in the European underground to avoid the religious authorities back home, while group leader Pat Jabbar is a multinational from Switzerland. Also, AKJE has always experimented with industrial and hip-hop sounds. The problem with this album though, is an over-reliance on Western methods in order to attract listeners. Laswell's mindfunk basslines, while as punishing as always, tend to overwhelm the authentic Middle Eastern aspects of the music, as do a succession of predictable electronic beats. The sampled rap vocal (about killing racists) in "Nbrik" is completely out of place, as are the annoying house music synthesizer doodles in "Lahbab." The only songs on this album that manage to avoid these problems are the final two tracks, which are mostly unembellished and give you a more intimate connection with the true essence of AKJE. This includes "Zin" and the highly intriguing "El Harb" which surprisingly sounds influenced by outlaw country blues. So this album is rewarding for Americans who are looking for intriguing new sounds. But for the authentic Moroccan sounds of AKJE, you would be better served tracking down some of their other albums, which are harder to find but much more rewarding.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jarring, indeed!, July 4, 1998

By A Customer

The trance-like beat of this music, coupled with the ethos of the vocal tracks, make this a CD for all occassions. The veritable renaissance-man-like characteristics make this music akin to an old bottle of wine, an aged piece of parmesan or the fruity spicy scent of a box of just picked cherries, still sticky from the orchard.

Make sure to hit the repeat button on the CD player before you sit down--you'll be paralyzed after the first run through--I promise!

5.0 out of 5 stars Shabeesation!, September 8, 2001

By A Customer

This CD is riveting! Even if you are not a fan of international music, this CD will give you a new appreciation for Morrocan dance music. From track one to the end, it will have you enrapt. You can't help but groove to the perfect blend of traditional Morrocan sound and techno-dance style backgrounds. It's a mischievous mix of old and new with a touch of youthful rebellion to it. Absolutely blue ribbon!