I not only have the album with Qu'Ran on it, I also
have a promo single extended version. Dave, your
post was news to me, but not surprising
After spending two Decembers in Dahab, Sinai, Egypt
I can confirm some ambient music has made it there,
Orb, Biosphere, and lots of things I brought myself
and played to the guys in the shops.
The western musician who receives most respect is the
formally known as Cat Stevens who turned
Muslim and did an album explaining the Koran in
English, and doing some original songs along with it.
It's probably the most bootlegged cassette/CD in
Egypt and always played to Westerners in hopes of
purchase & subsequent conversion - a mission most
Egyptians I came in contact were on.
I was very interested in obtaining original traditional
Bedouin music and Koran prayers, and this was difficult.
Although I did have a Bedouin and his grandfather who
took me on a five day hike sing to me, the recording
gear I had with me was crap, so an opportunity was missed.
I was shooed away several times standing outside the
mosques (women just dont go there) trying to capture the
evening call to prayer during Ramadan, which is some of
the most enticing vocals I've ever heard.
I did obtain a bootleg CD of some of the Koran prayers
but it's entirely in Arabic, and I bought it primarily
because of the emotive praying vocals which are more
than hypnotic. But as I carried my purchase back to my
hotel I must have been stopped 10 times to engage in
bizarre religious conversion discussions.
I've also got many 12"s by Muslimgauze from the mid=80's
but never saw their music in Egypt and the local boys
at Mr. Haride's record shop had never heard of them -
they were more likely to have bootlegs of David Bowie,
Janet Jackson, Hotel California, and excuse me, but really
crap swingbeat, MOR. After several visits of listening
to music, and looking thru their bootie CD's, they would
thrust Egyptian pop music in my face, while I was trying
to get more "authentic" local music- I did succeed in
getting copies of Omar Farouk "Whirling Dervish" and
was surprised to find that most of the more "traditional"
Egyptian/Arabic stuff was actually released on obscure
German labels and subsequently bootlegged. There is no
shame in having a CD burner and copying anything to sell
to Italian/German/American tourists and passing it off
as authentic. On my return to the UK, I did find a site
with Egyptian mp3's which was good, but very pop orientated.
My last day in Cairo (I missed Jean Michel Jarre @ the
Pyramids, but every internet cafe was eager to have me
watch it!!!) was the end of Ramadan & was not safe for me
to venture out and explore the markets of Cairo as a
single western woman :( or perhaps I would have found
more interesting IDM there....
This was only my experience - perhaps others on the list
have travelled to the Middle East with better musical
result...(erh, and I dont mean the Israeli trance scene
either....)
quoted 39 lines Ernesto Ikerd <IkerdEA@lmtas.lmco.com> wrote:
>Ernesto Ikerd <IkerdEA@lmtas.lmco.com> wrote:
>
> >>Btw, for the CD version, Byrne/Eno dropped "Qu'ran"
> >>due to pressure from fundamentalist Islamic groups,
> >>who claimed it was blasphemous to use words from
> >>the Koran with this type of music. They replaced
> >>that track with "Very, Very Hungry." And everybody lived
> >>happily ever after. Amen.
> >
> >Since you brought it up - Is there a type of music where the Koran is
> >open season?
> >
> >So ambient music is blashphemous, but say - the distorted & overdriven
> >beats of Muslimgauze is Alla-riffic? I dont mean to be the American's
> >(great satan) advocate here, just all curious now..
>
>I believe what got the Islamics' robes in a bunch
>was the use of *words* from the Koran; Muslimgauze
>didn't pillage the holy book (AFAIK) for extra propaganda
>power on his releases.
>But this discussion makes me wonder if any Palestinians
>ever heard Muslimgauze's music and if it ever helped
>their cause. I mean, did his music even *make it*
>to those Arab countries? Did he ever play any benefit
>shows there? And, totally gratuitously, I ask, would
>they consider Muslimgauze's beats "(Ara)phat"?
>
>Dave Segal
>Managing Editor/Alternative Press
>Reviews/BPM/Reissue Redux
>Secret Ions on WCSB Thursdays 9-11PM EST [www.wcsb.org]
>
>np: Circulation- Colours (Circulation)
>
>
>
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W.E.N.D.Y.: Weirdone Excavating Ninja Discographies Yesterday
remember september 18 - xen cuts is coming!
Xen Nites - 21 -24 Sept London
Xen Euorage - 8 Sept - 2 Oct
Xen USA - Oct/Nov - watch da rides
http://www.ninjatune.net
http://www.piratetv.net
http://www.ninjatune.net/solidsteel
am i excited? you betcha!!!
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