From Nubia to Cairo

First released back in 1989, when ‘world music’ was young, this set is as life-enhancing and plain funky as an all-night, no-holds-barred Nubian wedding street party could ever be. It first appeared in the same year Ali Hassan Kuban made his European festival debut in Berlin, having already made his name as go-to singer for thousands of Nubian weddings. His was a pioneering fusion of Nubian melodies set to pulsating Western beats, funky American jazz and international pop.

Self-taught on clarinet and bagpipes, the young Kuban avoided a career as a Cairo tailor and went on to master the pentatonic Nubian roots repertoire instead, becoming one of the most popular wedding musicians in Egypt. Chancing upon a band of visiting Harlem jazz musicians on the Cairo streets one day, the sound of keyboards and a brass section soon ventured deep into his repertoire. This classic set, remastered from the original analogue tapes, was recorded before the only working microphone in Cairo's Delta Sound studios with a band featuring three saxophonists, keys accordion and percussion. There are seven songs here, all in praise of Nubian women, and of Nubia itself. It's got a beautiful spirit, and an awesome sound. All round, a fantastic reissue of a classic.