Hana Mash Hu Al Yaman
We first covered the Yemenite sisters back in 2016, when they teamed up with Loco Hot on APE Records. That was after they released their breakout single "Habib Galbi" (which has so far amassed over 12 million views on YouTube) and followed that up with their eponymous debut album. Blending traditional Yemenite folk with urban beats and electronic soundscapes, Tair, Liron and Tagel Haim have made quite a name for themselves across the globe, as they confidently continue to propagate their role as strong and modern women in the rather conservative Middle East.
Just recently A-WA released their new single "Hana Mash Hu Al Yaman", based on the real-life experience of their great-grandmother, who fled her home in Yemen in 1949 during what is today known as "Operation Magic Carpet" and immigrated to Israel to escape persecution and violence. However, upon arrival in Israel, said Yemenite Jews were placed in camps and regularly discriminated against. The lyrics of "Hana Mash Hu Al Yaman" reflect these early tensions and struggles:
"Where will I stake a home? (You have a tent for now) / Or at least a small shack (along with four other families) / And here I will raise a family (Don't let them take your daughter) / I'll find myself a job with an income (either in cleaning or working the earth) / And I will learn the language (Lose the accent) / With time I'll feel like I belong (Here is not Yemen)."
Reminiscent of the song "America" from the musical "West Side Story", the catchy single is led by the sisters' melodic chants, while driven by intricate rhythms and a beat produced by Tamir Muskat (Balkan Beat Box) that is clearly purposed for the dancefloor. The companion music video, which you can watch below, was shot in the streets of Tel Aviv and directed in collaboration Omer Ben-David. It features an array of powerful dance moves as well as a modern take on popular looks of the time.
After "Mudbira" (unveiled earlier this year), "Hana Mash Hu Al Yaman" is the second promising precursor to A-WA's forthcoming full-length "Bayti Fi Rasi" (transl. My House Is My Head), to be released on May 31st (S-Curve/BMG). Preceding the album release the siblings will be on tour in Germany (see below). Check here for more dates.
May 23rd Leipzig, Werk 2
May 24th Hannover, World Music Festival
May 25th Berlin, Gretchen Club
More posts
Terrouzi
After two weeks in Turkey, our hearts bleed Arabesque. So it may not come as surprise that we have developed somewhat of a soft spot for songs in a minor key and melodies dealing with unfulfilled love and the likes. Under any other circumstances we most likely would have filed away Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla's instrumental electronic keyboard flourishes as 'kitch'. But that would have been a mistake.
Ahmedou Ahmed Lowla is one of the Saharan country's biggest stars. [...]
Echoes Of Japan
Well here's for a little something off the beaten path. All the way from Japan comes this big band that is quite unlike anything we've ever heard. The Minyo Crusaders just recently released their debut album on UK imprint Mais Um and we highly recommend you give it a listen. Led by guitarist Katsumi Tanaka, the 10-piece successfully reworks Japanese folk songs, also known as min'yō, with Latin, African, Caribbean and Asian rhythms, from cumbia, to Ethiopian [...]
Strange Heat
Hailing from Berlin/Postdam, the young nine-piece collective Wanubalé (Swahili for "Brothers") just released its debut EP "Strange Heat" on Agogo Records and is now set to perform live in Berlin tomorrow (Thursday May 9th, 2019) at XJAZZ.
Drawing inspiration from jazz and club culture, Wanubalé bring an amazing energy to the stage, as they meld jazz, neo soul, funk and electronic influences into a cohesive and absolutely ecstatic whole. With all nine members [...]
Szolnok
Yesterday marked release day for Australian-born and Berlin-based violinist Daniel Weltlinger and his brand new album. On “Szolnok” Daniel tells the amazing and true story of his grandfather’s violin, on his grandfather’s violin. Playing that same instrument from the eponymous Hungarian town (a name written on the label inside the violin itself), which his grandfather, Zoltan Fyszman, carried with him to the far reaches of the globe through the turmoil [...]
Shik Shak Shok
Moving right along, we bring you yet another great initiative from the Mediterranean Basin, aka Shik Shak Shok, a webradio or rather "the first online radio dedicated to fostering golden age of Arab music." Shik Shak Shok is the brainchild of Lebanese-born/Paris-based producer Hadi Zeidan and features an eclectic 24/7 live mix of Arab grooves, including jazz, funk, disco, tarab and of course bellydance.
Founded in 2018, Shik Shak Shok has also accumulated [...]
Zamaan Ya Sukkar
Belgium's Radio Martiko, reissue label, DJ collective and provider of "global eclectic supersounds", has been on our radar ever since we started this 'greedy' little platform of ours back in 2015 and we already had the pleasure to share their fabulous 2016-released all-vinyl mixes of hard-to-find Turkish treats and rump-shaking Egyptian rarities. Needless to say, even though the Ghent-based collective has been anything but idle, we haven't reported on them in a [...]
Ofel
Widely heralded as one Israel's best live bands, Tel Aviv's Hoodna Orchestra is a musical force to be reckoned with. Last Friday, the brassy collective, composed of 11-14 members, officially released its second studio album "Ofel" on trusted German imprint Agogo Records and we are absolutely, positively dazed. The album was recorded live in the group's self-built home studio with guitarist and composer Ilan Smilan in charge of the entire production (recording, [...]
Mosawi Swiri
Back in 2017 Brighton's Hive Mind Records posthumously released an 8-track album of studio recordings by the late and great Maalem Mahmoud Gania, master singer and guimbri player. Now following in his footsteps, 23-year-old Houssam Gania is set to continue his father's legacy and recently released his own 6-track album on the UK imprint.
"Mosawi Swiri" features indigenous sounds from the "Gnawa ceremonial repertoire", including "a number of songs from the [...]
Ploaia
Last Friday, German leftfield record label Pingipung teamed up with Romanian imprint Future Nuggets to present a hot new 7" release by Bucharest-based artist Cosima Opârtan, or simply Cosima, aka one half of proto-manele duo Raze de Soare.
Cosima – a trained architect, sound designer and co-founder of Queer Night (a local LGBTQ+ party series) – dubs her music widow pop, a melancholy blend of contemporary styles beckoning both to the past and the future, as [...]
Nadi
Their self-released 2018 debut was an absolute sensation and quickly sold out on vinyl, while "Mara" went on to become one of the most streamed jazz albums of the year. And rightfully so. The Munich-based jazz quintet's organic sound thrives on spacious arrangements, as they move freely and effortlessly between composition and improvisation, producing beautiful melodies over polyrhythmic drum patterns and dubby basslines.
Mathias Lindermayr (trumpet), Paul [...]
Laylet el Booree
Several years ago Gianna Greco and François R. Cambuzat travelled to the Saharan Djerid desert of Tunisia to document the ancient, religious Banga ritual of Sidi Marzûq. With a background in the undergound post-punk scene of continental Europe and after months of studying, recording, filming and bonding, the two proceeded to integrate their findings into their own musical output, which was to become the contemporary five-piece Ifriqiyya Électrique.
"Their [...]
Ilana: The Creator
Over the past years, Saharan rock has become one of the African continent's biggest musical exports, due to the popularity of meanwhile world-renowned desert blues artists the likes of Bombino, Tinariwen and Mdou Moctar. The latter would appear to be "one of the most innovative artists in contemporary Saharan music" and has steadily been making a name for himself with "his unvonventional interpretations, original compositions and verbose poetry." Master of the [...]