Altered Zones

Mark Gengis has been collecting records from around the world for the past 20 years, and has worked with world music beacon Sublime Frequencies on some of their most memorable releases, like the Iraqi pop comp Choubi Choubi!, the Cambodian Cassette Archives, and the recent Erkin Koray singles and rarities collection. Now he's starting his own label, Sham Palace, and is gearing up for a double LP from Omar Souleyman called Le Jani, due November 22nd. On the horizon is also some "later-period music, long-form pieces harvested from international cassettes, electronic folk pop and even some contemporary artists." --Ric Leichtung, Altered Zones via The Wire

Hailing from the currently turbulent Syria, Omar Souleyman continues to contribute to the A to "Arab-cool" with his tradition of Shabbaba flute keyboard sounds, rhythmical clapping, electronic saz, and cheeky motivational shout-outs. Framing it all with the inherently sentimental melodies, I can't help but imagining epic Dabke moves whilst listening to Omar Souleyman's "Haram." How could anyone stay aloof in the face of his thunderous charisma? If I unplugged my headphones and blasted this track in a dead coffee shop, it would launch the surrounding weary souls into a therapeutic transcendental mode. --Coco Zoabi, International Tapes

MP3: Omar Souleyman: "Haram (Forbidden - I Signal, You Deny)"

This track was recorded live and is part of Haflat Gharbia: The Western Concerts which is the fourth release of Omar Souleyman on Sublime Frequencies