Hawalat

アラブ世界の音楽を専門とするレーベル〈HABIBI FUNK〉から、レバノン・ベイルートの天才音楽家シャリフ・メガルバンによるレア・グルーヴ・ファン注目の作品が登場。ヴィンテージ・サウンドの革命児スヴェン・ワンダーも参加。

Charif Megarbanes second album released under his own name -- after over a hundred releases under other names or as a collaborator -- fully commits to his self-styled "Lebrary" music designation. On Hawalat, the Lebanese producer and musician crafts a series of tracks that take on board influences from around the world, in particular his home region, and end up lovely slices of music that any filmmaker would be proud to add to their movie. Not only does Megarbane dig deep into the sounds of the Mediterranean, but he also swerves into Anatolian funk, French pop, shimmering African disco, and instrumental hip-hop the likes of which give old heads like Madlib and RZA a run for their cash. "Al Bahriye," for example, mashes up a thumping beat, swooning strings, the sounds of a midday market, and parping horns into what can only be termed a total jam. Quite a bit of the album fits this bill of songs that not only will get heads nodding, but also have people heading to their favorite resource site to look up the various music styles hes using to whip these songs up. Its mostly a one-person operation as Megarbane plays the majority of the instruments, only bringing in the like-minded Sven Wunder (and the Stockholm Studio Orchestra) to help on the string-heavy ballad "Helia." He also layers in samples, but its his own musical know-how and skill that carry the day. Like he did on his first album, Marzipan, Megarbane manages to sound like an entire band of musicians who have spent years digging like steam shovels through dusty crates to excavate nothing but pure gold. Its an impressive feat made even more so by the fact that Megarbane doesnt just rest on his laurels here but exhibits some new tricks throughout the record. By adding wordless vocals, swinging sax solos, tinkling sitting-room piano runs, and the occasional high-octane beats, while seeking out different moods and emotions this time -- like the tenderly nostalgic "Preamble to the Conclusion" or the majestic "The Invisible Cut" -- hes doing what the best artists do, and thats to keep exploring new vistas of sound. With Hawalat, Cherif Megarbane shows that not only wasnt Marzipan some kind of fluke, but it was also just the beginning of his reign as inventor and perfecter of the Lebrary sound. ~ Tim Sendra