Wewantsounds Vinyl & CDs

Review: Ammar El Sherei's intoxicating instrumental album Oriental Music was written in 1976 and has remained a cult classic for all the deep diggers, world music lovers and curio obsessives. For this record, the iconic Egyptian artist, composer and producer actually served up his own take on six classic compositions by another Egyptian legend, Mohamed Abdel Wahab. The results are utterly hypnotic and majestic melodic affairs with organic drums and percussion and North African melodies that worm their way deep into your brain and transport you to the hustle and bustle of a dusty open air market or street side coffee spot.

Review: When it comes to offering up re-mastered reissues of obscure Lebanese music, Wewantsounds has previous form. They've already delivered a new edition of Ziad Rahbani's "Abu Ali" LP and here serve up a fresh pressing of an album he produced: "Wahdon", a hard-to-find 1978 set by her mother, legendary Middle Eastern chanteuse Fairuz. It's a set of stark contrasts. While the A-side tracks indulge the more traditional side of Fairuz's output -think Lebanese vocals and instrumentation in the style of pop music from the region made in the period - the flipside cuts see her taking calculated risks. "Al Bosta" is a funk, soul and disco influenced club cut of the highest order, while "Wahdon" is a sumptuously symphonic soul slow jam straight from the top drawer.

Review: Farid El Atrache's Nagham Fi Hayati is one of those cult records that diggers pride themselves just for knowing about, let alone owning. It now gets a first ever reissue since its initial release in 1974 by the Voice of Lebanon label thanks to Wewantsounds. It is a soundtrack to the eponymous movie and has been sampled by the likes of The Beatles. El Atrache's unique vocal style and rare versatility is showcased across the tracks as as some brilliantly funky world rhythms on monster grooves like 'Hebina Hebina' which is said to be a favourite of Brian Eno, no less.

Review: Ziad Rahbani is a Lebanese cultural icon. Born into a famous musical family, the renowned pianist and producer is also a playwright, as well as being one of the most important exponents of the Lebanese left-wing counterculture of the '70s. "Abu Ali" was recorded in Athens with a full orchestra and released as a limited run EP in his home country. Legend has it was only pressed at 500 units and hence its rarity The result is a fabulous New York-meets-Beyrouth disco. Wewantsounds presents the first-ever official vinyl reissue of Rahbani's mythical 1978 release on his label Zida Records.

Review: Houdou Nisbi is a top draw, cult classic record from Ziad Rahbani that now gets a deserving reissue on Wewantsounds. It was recorded in around 1984-85 and originally came out on the sought-after Lebanese label Relax-in in 1991, and only on CD and tape. Now it lands on vinyl for the first time and still sounds as good in the way it fuses Arabic sounds with jazz, boogie, funk and even hints of Brazil. Original groove fans heralded this as one of the best of its kind and this newly remastered version, which has been curated by Lebanese DJ, radio host and compiler Ernesto Chahoud, certainly backs that up.