Halalium
~ Release by U‐Cef (see all versions of this release, 1 available)
Annotation
Halalium represents the new wave of Arab electronica, from Morocco by way of New York and London. U-Cef keeps it all well rooted, however, with the Maghreb running deep throughout his music and acoustic instruments playing an important part in the sound; the closer, "Gnasaid," for example, is largely acoustic, revolving around the sintir with its flat desert tones. But listen elsewhere and there's plenty of house and hip-hop in the mix (check out "Aalash Kwawna" with its English rap and curious violin playing by an old Arab) and a flamenco influence that pervades "The Moorish Matador." A lot of the disc, however, returns to the Moroccan Gnawa sensibility, as on "Hijra," possibly the most complete piece on the album, which brings together all the elements -- the English and Arabic rapping and desert guitar from Justin Adams -- in perfect harmony with U-Cef's beats. He takes music into a territory that's new, with the vista completely open and available, and charts a first, exciting course through it. Where U-Cef will take it from here remains to be seen, but the potential is as limitless as the Sahara.
Tracklist
CD 1 | |||
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# | Title | Rating | Length |
1 | Moorish Matador | 7:17 | |
2 | Aalash Kwawna | 5:05 | |
3 | Tagazoot | 5:29 | |
4 | Hijra | 6:54 | |
5 | Gazel Fatma | 7:18 | |
6 | Halal Monk | 3:52 | |
7 | Marrakech Raggamuffins | 0:22 | |
8 | Bouhala | 6:09 | |
9 | DJ Faisal on the 1 ’n’ 2 | 0:14 | |
10 | Maghreb (Ça passe ou ça kasse) | 5:38 | |
11 | Sonic Moor | 5:40 | |
12 | Gnasaid | 9:49 |
Credits
Release
Discogs: | https://www.discogs.com/release/1427079 [info] |
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ASIN: | UK: B00002ZZ4I [info] |
other databases: | https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/u-cef/halalium.p/ [info] |
discography entry: | http://www.u-cef.com/halalium [info] |
Allmusic: | https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/mr0001302710 [info] |