Various - Arabic Groove (Putumayo Presents)

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• VARIOS INTERPRETES ARABIC GROOVE

Music reviews of Arabic Groove (Putumayo Presents)

Music Review: Arabic Bubblegum Dance Groove
Rating: 5 Stars

That's not to say you probably won't like what you find on this disc. The souped-up tracks you'll find here, mixing a more stereotypical Arabic sound with a radio-friendly, distinctly American synth-pop sound, are rollicking and enjoyable. You can't do the Electric Slide with these songs, but if you just want to get up and move your feet where the music takes you, this is your compilation.

The tracks dissolve into one another like dance tracks at a club, and many dissolve almost seamlessly. They follow a reasonable arc from Abdel Ali Slimani's "Moi et Toi," which begins with a traditional folk riff, through to Cheb Tarik's "L'histoire," which samples a disco track from Kool and the gang. The pace varies just enough to keep from tiring dancers, even providing a slow-paced respite around track 8.

Though primarily a male-artist-dominated album, the two standout tracks must surely be the two female songs, Dania's "Leiley" and Natacha Atlas' "Kidda." As both songs have backing tracks from Transglobal Underground (whose influence is evident throughout the disk), this surely says something about the pervasive power of the Arabic power pop ensemble.

Though there is one track each from Moroccan, Libyan, and Lebanese artists, most of the CD demonstrates the give-and-take relationship between two centers of Arabic pop culture: Cairo, Egypt, and the large expatriate Algerian community in France. These two centers have a good symbiotic relationship, turning out some of the most dynamic dance music being recorded today.

This disc is wildly incomplete, but it wasn't intended as a thorough examination of the style it represents. Like most Putumayo samplers, it's a rough introduction, intended to whet your appetite and encourage you to seek out more of this style. Like most world music, it will whiz past some people without leaving a mark. To the dedicated listener and red-blooded world citizen, however, it will open up sonic opportunities well worth pursuing further.

Description of Arabic Groove (Putumayo Presents)

International CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop