ALBUM REVIEWS

Attarazat Addahabia & Faradjallah Al Hadaoui

Habibi Funk

German re-issue label Habibi Funk have a mission to release rarely discovered Arab music from the ’70s and ’80s. Bringing these sounds to Western countries for the first time, they’ve played an important role in widening people’s minds to alternative music cultures and de-busting stereotypes. Their latest find is the outstanding 1973 unreleased album from Moroccan band Attarazat Addahabia & Faradjallah, Attarazat Addahabia was a 14-member family band, formed during the ’60s. Known for their lively and, a brilliantly energetic and fascinating record. Electronic guitars clash with wild percussion and intense rhythms as female backing singers, spliced-up funk and low-slung bass push on below. Bursting with life, passion and positivity, the record surges forward with unstoppable momentum. Its songs talk about Arabic hippies, power imbalance and betrayal. The band once turned down an invite from the king to play on national TV and that spirit of rebellion is palpable within their music as its power and drive burst free from constraints and spill over into a heady and intoxicating concoction of sounds. A wildly addictive and enthralling listen, Habibi Funk have once again made the world a richer place by sharing another Arab masterpiece with the rest of the world.