Yemeni Beats

Post number two hundred in this venture and probably the first full blown "world music" disk to be considered. I have several in this genre in fact, just the way they have come off the shelf that has made an entry take so long. Anyway, this disk is titled Sakat and is by DuOuD and Abdulatif Yagoub. The music is Yemeni in origin, although this is something of a fusion album with assorted ouds and percussion augmented by keyboards, sampling and the occasional trumpet solo. None of this overwhelms however and the authenticity of the middle eastern sound shines through. Sung in that typically gutteral Arab voice, the lyrics as translated in the booklet notes are poetic and lovelorn and not the sort that might immediately be associated with Islamic culture until you remember 1001 nights etc. Most of the tracks are upbeat and danceable with an occasional techno feel but the main drive of the album is the sound of the oud which I love. A close cousin of the lute or mandolin, the oud has a wonderully soulful and bluesy feel and the playing here from Abdulatif Yagoub, Mehdi Haddab and Smadj is easily virtuosic. I try to resist the casual appellation of the term blues to all kinds of styles from around the world but have to concede it is that underlying bluesy feel that attracts ears such as mine which have long been attuned to it.