I’m amazed that I’ve still not bought this album, it was 2018 that I first featured Kamal Keila and this is the third time the LP Post has shared his glowing sound (check out the other two posts, here)
The story of the label that has reissued today’s funky song goes back to 2012 when Berlin DJ, record collector and Jakarta Records label owner, Jannis Stürtz was touring round Morocco in search of old vinyl records.
A chance visit to a second-hand electronics repair shop (that was previously a record shop owned by a man who used to run the Mekauiphone music distribution business in Casablanca) introduced him to a wealth of hidden vinyl gems where Stürtz has reportedly recollected, “You could still see in the back there were stacks and stacks of records”
This fluky discovery has since taken him across the Arab nations where he has hunted down and purchased a rare (and rapidly growing) collection of LP’s and dusty cassettes, and although there are many labels out there carrying out similar work, Stürtz has explained how his label focuses on Arabic-based funk, a sound that had been all but overlooked and forgotten….until he came along! Habibi Funk Records have since been dedicated to unearthing and thus reissuing the wealth of Arabic funk-based music. What a job, that would be my dream job to reissue old sounds!!!
This is exactly what Habibi Funk did in 2018 when they released Kamal Keila Muslims and Christians album back in 2018. Kamal Keila was a Sudanese singer active from the late 1960’s whose (often political) music was influenced by funk and afrobeat. The story behind this record is really interesting and though the songs you hear were part of Keila’s set list from the 1970’s, these tracks were actually recorded in 1992 – but did lose lost that original sound! As Habibi Funk wrote in their write-up: “Both sessions stand as a hearable testament how Kamal Keila stuck to a sound aesthetic from decades ago….”
Known as “the James Brown meets Fela Kuti of Sudan” today’s song pretty much encapsulates that very statement! African Unity has such a heady groove and I love how it beats a such hypnotic rhythm throughout. Vocals linger and stray from this line, but never feel out of place and such is this songs mesmerising qualities that seven minutes passes in a blink.
Check it out above and if you fancy hearing more from this album, you can listen/purchase it from here.
thelisteningpostblog.wordpress.com 