Highway To Hassake (Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria), by Omar Souleyman

Highway To Hassake (Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria)

by Omar Souleyman

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more

1.	Leh Jani (When I Found Out) 03:14	buy track
2.	Jani (She Came To Me) 04:11	buy track
3.	Dabke 2001 03:42	buy track
4.	Atabat 08:08	buy track
5.	Atabat Dabke 03:19	buy track
6.	Alkhatiba Zaffouha 05:43	buy track
7.	Jalsat Atabat (Atabat Session) 06:28	buy track
8.	Alshikhani 03:34	buy track
9.	Toul Al Zeenah (The Length Of The Bride's Ornament) 06:04	buy track
10.	Bashar Ya Habib Al Shaab (Bashar, The People's Beloved) 06:31	buy track
11.	(Don't Wear Black, Green Suits You Better) 02:16	buy track
12.	Atabat (2) 10:40	buy track
13.	Jani (2) 05:21	buy track

about

Omar Souleyman is a Syrian musical legend. Since 1994 he and his musicians have emerged as a staple of folk-pop throughout Syria, but until now they have remained little-known outside of the country. To date, they have issued more than 500 studio and live recorded cassette albums which are easily spotted in the shops of any Syrian city. Born in rural Northeastern Syria, he began his musical career in 1994 with a small group of local collaborators that remain with him today. The myriad musical traditions of the region are evident in their music. Here, classical Arabic mawal-style vocalization gives way to high-octane Syrian Dabke (the regional folkloric dance and party music), Iraqi Choubi and a host of Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish styles, among others. This amalgamation is truly the sound of Syria. The music often has an overdriven sound consisting of phase-shifted Arabic keyboard solos and frantic rhythms. At breakneck speeds, these shrill Syrian electronics play out like forbidden morse-code, but the moods swing from coarse and urgent to dirgy and contemplative in the rugged anthems that comprise Souleyman's repertoire. Oud, reeds, baglama saz, accompanying vocals and percussion fill out the sound from track to track. Mahmoud Harbi is a long-time collaborator and the man responsible for much of the poetry sung by Souleyman. Together, they commonly perform the Ataba, a traditional form of folk poetry used in Dabke. On stage, Harbi chain smokes cigarettes while standing shoulder to shoulder with Souleyman, periodically leaning over to whisper the material into his ear. Acting as a conduit, Souleyman struts into the audience with urgency, vocalizing the prose in song before returning for the next verse. Souleyman’s first hit in Syria was "Jani" (1996) which gained cassette-kiosk infamy and brought him recognition throughout the country. Over the years, his popularity has risen steadily and the group tirelessly performs concerts throughout Syria and has accepted invitations to perform abroad in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Lebanon. Omar Souleyman is a man of hospitality and striking integrity who describes his style as his own and prides himself on not being an imitator or a sellout.

Sublime Frequencies is honored to present the Western debut of Omar Souleyman with this retrospective disc of studio and live recordings spanning 12 years of his career, culled from cassettes recorded between 1994 and 2006. This collection offers a rare glimpse into Syrian street-level folk-pop and Dabke– a phenomena seldom heard in the West, not previously deemed serious enough for export by the Syrians and rarely, if ever, included on the import agenda of worldwide academic musical committees.

credits

released March 31, 2010

Mastered from cassettes of varying quality.
Assembled, edited and designed between December, 1997 and October, 2006 by Mark Gergis.

1. Album: I Put My Heart in Your Hands.
2. Album: Al Jazeera Weddings. 1997.
3. Album: Dabke 2001.
4. Album: Jani. 1997.
5. Album: I Have a Million Wounds. 2000.
6. Album: Masterpieces of the Future. 2000.
7. Album: Atabat Session.
8. Album: Masterpieces of the Future. 2000.
9. Album: Al Jazeera Weddings. 1997.
10. Album: (same as title). 2000.
12. Album: Jani. 1997.
13. Album: Jani. 1997.

Thank You: Omar Souleyman and associates for the hospitality in Hassake & Damascus; Moahammed Hussein (Hassake) for mediation and oral translation; Faiz Mikael, Liz Allbee for on-site assistance; Alan Bishop for production support; Raed Yassin, Erik Gergis, Miles Stegall, Chris Cones, Chris Khoury, Ronald Vendrik and our police escort in Hassake.

license

about

Sublime Frequencies Seattle, Washington

SUBLIME FREQUENCIES is a collective of explorers dedicated to exposing obscure sights and sounds from modern and traditional urban and rural frontiers via film and video, field recordings, radio and short wave transmissions, international folk and pop music, sound anomalies, other forms of human and natural natural expression not documented sufficiently enough by various communication channels. ... more

sublimefrequencies.com

contact / help

Contact Sublime Frequencies

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Highway To Hassake (Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria), you may also like:

Musique Hauka
by Lingo Seini et son groupe

supported by 4 fans who also own “Highway To Hassake (Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria)”

Beautiful release! "Sacral Grooves 1000Hz" - Record Label on Bandcamp, has more contemporary field recordings of devotional music, this time from Malawi... Colour_
go to album
Afrique Victime
by Mdou Moctar

supported by 4 fans who also own “Highway To Hassake (Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria)”

Very happy a colleague recommended Mdou Moctar to me after I discovered & fell in love with Tinariwen and this new (to me) desert blues sound! Mdou Moctar inject more of a psychedelic sensibility into their music rather than Tinariwen's drone, making it flavorfully distinctive, while still carrying that shining, twanging, sun-drenched sound we all love about Saharan desert rock. Love the grooving rhythms and the alternately snappy clean or drowned-in-effects guitar melodies. Excellent work! pinkytheent
go to album
Music from Saharan WhatsApp
by Various Artists

supported by 4 fans who also own “Highway To Hassake (Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria)”

Been loving this stuff since “Music From Saharan Cellphones” dropped. More obscure greatness! Kinda wish it had those notes found with “…Cellphones” releases tho. Lord Dubious
go to album
Gathering: Solidarity With Turkey & Syria Earthquake
by House of Spring

This international compilation raises funds for members of the LGBTQ+ community impacted by the earthquakes in Turkey & Syria. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 30, 2023
go to album
Shlon
by Omar Souleyman

On his second full-length for Mad Decent, the dabke singer dabbles in EDM while keeping the joyous fundamentals of his art intact. Bandcamp Album of the Day Nov 22, 2019
go to album
Saadia Jefferson - سعديا جيفيرسون
by El Khat - القات

featured on Bandcamp Radio Nov 12, 2019
go to album
ሸገኔዎች (Beauties)
by Aselefech Ashine & Getenesh Kebret

supported by 4 fans who also own “Highway To Hassake (Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria)”

This is my first recension within one year. The outstanding re-release of this great album from the times before the Ethiopian Dictatorship is a importont document and witness of humanity - a society in which the free expression is a human right as free speech, religion, gender and so forth. I am deeply moved by this life force. Liberation of all oppressed people is the one and only hope for the forthcoming existence of humanity as a whole. Glory be to Jah and: tell the children the Truth. torsten
go to album