Drumming Up a Sandstorm

Mahmoud Fadl: Jibal al Nuba and Al Adil Welzein
From: The Drummers of the Nile Go South [Pirahna 2001]

DJ /rupture: Jibal al Nuba / Gemini Dub
From: Minesweeper Suite [Tigerbeat6 2002]

Although it shouldn’t come as a surprise, I’m always amazed at how much outstanding music exists under the gargantuan umbrella of the “world” category, still waiting to be discovered by the Western masses. I’ve found that out of the many flavors I’ve had the pleasure of sampling, whether it’s African juju or Spanish flamenco, what really gets my heart racing is some percussion-heavy Middle Eastern folk music.

Mahmoud Fadl originally started out as limbo dancer for Nubian and Arabic weddings before rising to prominence as a master percussionist in the Nile Valley region of Africa. Following his tenure in various orchestras in Cairo and Assuan, Fadl relocated to Berlin and began recording a series of albums for Pirahna Records. He continues to work with Drummers of the Nile and his tribal-house DJ/drummer collaborative United Nubians, and in recent years has played with The Klezmatics and gypsy saxophonist Ferus Mustafov.

“Jibal al Nuba” and “Al Adil Welzein” are both taken from Fadl’s heavily-sampled The Drummers of the Nile Go South, a record filled with little firestorms of percussion interludes, hypnotic Arabic chants, and some of the most intricate polyrhythms I’ve ever heard. “Jibal al Nuba” features a playful vocal melody atop a head-nodding rhythm, supplemented by loose hand claps from the singers. “Al Adil Welzein” is a traditional wedding song sung to the groom as he enters the bride’s home; it combines call-and-response vocalizations and an infectious stuttering rhythm.

DJ /rupture utilized “Jibal al Nuba” for a brilliant mashup to open his jaw-dropping Minesweeper Suite a few years ago, layering it into J Boogie’s “Gemini Dub.” The rich, colorful chords of the latter complement the voices beautifully, and show how universally versatile Fadl’s interpretations of traditional Middle Eastern rhythms can be.