Habibi Funk is dedicated to re-releasing a style of music that historically never existed as a musical genre. We use the term to describe a certain sound that we like from the countries of the Arab world. The songs we chose were created in places quite far from another and under very different circumstances. Some were written and recorded during war times, others in exile.

 

Despite the differences we think there is a musical connection between them. Essentially, we are interested in the musical endeavors, in which artists from the Arab world mixed local and regional influences with musical interests that came from outside of the region. Even though the name suggests it’s all about funk music, our focus is more than just that. Often these influences might be inspired from Western popular music such as soul, pop and rock but it’s not limited to that either.

 

Some of our favorite records are best described as Arabic zouk (a genre originating from the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe) like Mallek Mohamed’s music, Algerian coladera (a popular musical style from the Cape Verdean islands) or Lebanese AOR, which means the process of musical influences displayed on this compilation was much more versatile than just taking Western music as a blueprint and translating it with a local accent.

 

The compilation features 15 different artists. Some you might already know thru Habibi Funk’s releases like Fadoul, Ahmed Malek, Dalton or Al Massrieen, while others are meant as an introduction to artists like Kamal Keila, Sharhabeel Ahmed, Attarazat Addahabia & Mallek Mohamed who will all release full length albums on Habibi Funk in 2018.

In todays world there are still many stereotypical conceptions to be found when it comes to the Arab world. Contrary to what a lot of Western narratives and media suggest, the Arab world we got to know through extensive traveling in several countries of North Africa and the Middle East, is a very versatile terrain. A place full of different stories, ideas and beliefs. And we hope that the music we release helps as a tiny, tiny piece of a larger puzzle to establish a diverse, more nuanced yet adequate idea of how musically vibrant this very diverse region once has been and also still is.

 

At the same time we do not want anyone to misunderstand this compilation as a selection of songs to represent Arabic musical history of the 1970s and 1980s. This compilation is nothing more than a very personal curation of songs we like and in no way reflects on what has been popular in a general sense.

All tracks on this compilation are directly licensed from the artist or, in the case of artists who are sadly no longer alive, from the artist’s family. There are three exceptions: Hamid Al Shaeri’s track was licensed from SLAM! and the tracks from Belbao and Attarazat Addahabia were both licensed from Boussiphone.

 

As a European label dealing with non- western artists we try to be aware of the responsibilities that derive within the making, seen from a post-colonial point of view by demanding ourselves not to reproduce exploitative economic patterns.

 

We split all of the profits from our releases equally with the artists without deducting any costs that are not directly related to the release. Our agreements are license deals with limited terms after which the rights fall back to the artist or the artist’s families. We think it is important in today's reissue market, where too many shady business transactions happen, to be transparent about our licensing policies. 

 

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Those drawn to world music often seek the exotic and the alien, but Jannis Stürz, the German crate-digger behind the Habibi Funk label, seems to explore the vinyl troves of the Arab world in search of the familiar. Specifically, he’s after artists who’ve tried to faithfully recreate orthodox western pop forms, but ended up putting them through a shaky fairground mirror.

 

This 16-track compilation features some entertaining moments from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. A Moroccan take on Beethoven’s Für Elise sounds like Ennio Morricone’s lost blaxploitation movie theme; a wobbly disco number from Sudan resembles Madonna’s Holiday. Meanwhile, one of the two instrumentals by Algeria’s Ahmed Malek would make a great theme to an Africa-set James Bond film.

 

The tracks are arranged chronologically, and the flirtations with funk and garage rock at the start are the most fun, but even some of later R&B pastiches from Tunisia and Egypt are pleasingly odd. - The Guardian

 

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"Just 2 days ago I was sitting in a cafe during my recent trip for Lebanon and Egypt when Donald Trump announced his ban of muslim people visiting the USA marking another climax of xenophobia, anti muslim and anti Arabic narrative (الترجمة العربية أسفله). At the same time I was in Cairo, a colorful, energetic and vital city that despite the cities and countries problems has not much in common with the stereotypical narrative of the Arabic world that is so largely told in the Western media.

 

I’m aware that in times of these music is just a tiny piece of the puzzle to tell a different story but given that this is what I’m working with I felt it was the right time to drop another mix of music from Arabic tapes, vinyl and master tapes.

 

Music that is very different to what a lot of people might expect. Straight up Chicago soul music with the „The Cats“, an Egyptian band covering „The Dells“, Lo-Fi electronic music from Sudan, tropical sounds from Cairo by "Al Massrieen", energetic disco from Algeria by „Zohra", another unknown banger by Morocco’s answer to James Brown „Fadoul“. Or what about some incredible AOR / yacht pop from Lebanon feat. Ziad Rahbani on keys with „Games“ and another little preview of our forthcoming „Ahmed Malek & Flako“ record among some other great music? Music that tells a different story, music to listen to when the world is going crazy and everything in between." - Habibi Funk