Search - Sahrauis :: Music of Western Sahara

A Great Surprise of Music.

David B. Leikam | 94306, Earth | 11/17/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this collection used in San Francisco. I was in the state where I was in the record store with several choices of music and limited funds on me. I read the back of this, took a chance, and I ended up with this one that I had no idea what exactly to expect. I LOVE Moroccan music so I thought they are close geographically so... It took me a little while to get into it because I was expecting traditional only but now it is one of my favorite listenings. I keep all three discs in my 24 count CD travel case. The only minor point is that my discs are misprinted number wise. I'm not sure if it's just my copy but after a little bit you remember which is which. No big deal and the music is worth the full price definately! Highly recommended for anybody interested in good world music, I think. :O}"

Mind-blowing desert music from the underdogs of the Sahara

rudiger | Hoople, ND | 05/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Imagine a turban-clad nomad in flowing robes blasting power chords from an amplified Stratocaster, hammering away on a single droning tonic for mesmerizing minutes while hand drums beat and women ululate in the background. It is reminiscent of Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure, only with more distortion, more drive, more intensity. On a few numbers a bowed electric guitar adds amazing texture. Disc 1 is full of such tracks.Disc 2 features some in this style as well, along with a few acoustic numbers which are equally fun to listen to. Unfortunately there are also a couple of tracks here which the Spanish producers arranged with synthesizer and drum machine, which are bland and quite forgettable. In the main though it's great stuff.Disc 3: more "traditional"-sounding music from Sahrawi ensembles without any guest musicians or European instruments.As a package, this makes for a tremendous listening experience. For those who prefer not to deal with the "political" content, i.e. songs praising the Polisario liberation movement, if you don't understand Arabic I suspect it won't be a problem. If you do, and you are okay with Morocco having shamelessly stolen these people's country away from them, then you probably won't be buying this music in the first place."