Various Artists
Choubi Choubi! Folk And Pop Songs From Iraq
Label:  Sublime Frequencies 
Date:  2014
Length:  0:00
Format:  2LP+7"
Genre:  Folk; Pop
  Category:  folk
    Track Listing:
      1.  
      		 Souad Hussein Ensemble - Oh Mother, The Handsome Man Tortures Me    
      2.  
      		 Diyaa Hussein - Al Hecha (The Hecha)    
      3.  
      		 Amal Khodeir - Yal Ghali (Precious One)    
      4.  
      		 Souad Abdullah - Ahl Al Aqil (Oh, People Of Reason)    
      5.  
      		 Unknown Artist - Bezikh Introduction    
      6.  
      		 Souad Abdullah - Yumma Al Helou (Mother, He's Beautiful)    
      7.  
      		 Mohammed Al Madloul - Qa Choubi (On The Choubi)    
      8.  
      		 Bawin - Ya Binaya Goumi (Oh Girl, Stand Up)    
      9.  
      		 Sadoun Jabir - Ashhad Biannak Hilou (I Admit You Are Beautiful)    
      10.  
      		 Samira Al-Amir - Al Ghetra Wa Al Zabon (The Khafiya & The Cloak)    
      11.  
      		 Unknown Artist - Ya Yumma (Oh, Mother)    
      12.  
      		 Salah Abdel Ghafour - Wallah (By God)    
      13.  
      		 Ahmad Al Indibat - Guitar Choubi    
      14.  
      		 Souad Abdullah - Choubi Choubi (Aka: Seya Seya)    
      15.  
      		 Sajida Obeid - Ala Honak (Take It Easy)    
      16.  
      		 Souad Abdullah - Ayna    
      17.  
      		 Ja'afar Hassan - They Taught Me    
      18.  
      		 Ja'afar Hassan - Once A Day    
      19.  
      		 Ja'afar Hassan - Palestinian    
      20.  
      		 Ja'afar Hassan - Front My Hop    
    Additional info: | top

      Meticulously selected from Iraqi cassettes and LPs found in Syria, Europe and the Iraqi neighborhoods of Detroit, Michigan, this unique collection of folk and pop styles displays a wealth of outstanding music that is exclusive to Iraq and has rarely been showcased abroad. There are many reasons why Iraqi music stands alone in the dynamic world of Arabic music: one example is the unbelievable rapid fire machine-gun rhythms fluttering atop the main tempo. This is the work of a unique nomadic hand drum called the khishba -- also known as the zanbour (Arabic for "wasp"). A style prominently featured here is the infamous Iraqi choubi -- a driving rhythmic style that can include fiddles, double reeded instruments, percussion, bass, keyboards and oud over its signature beat. Other styles featured are the basta (an urban Baghdadi style), the bezikh, and the pulsating hecha. Also heard is the mawal -- a vocal improv that sets the tone of a song, regardless of the style. Additionally there are three cuts from Ja'afar Hassan's 1970s record, Let's Sing Together. Being a folk-rock record, it's a true anomaly for Iraq. Hassan was a mouthpiece for the Iraqi Socialist movement just a few years before Saddam Hussein. But most of the music in this collection was produced during the Saddam period between the 1980s and 2002. Since the 2003 invasion and the wholesale disassembly of the country, classic tracks like these may already be part of a disappeared past.