Highway to Hassake: Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria

by Omar Souleyman

Highway to Hassake: Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria cover art
  • Type: Compilation
  • Released: 2007
  • Label: Sublime Frequencies
  • Country: Syria
  • Length: 1:09:11
  • Community rating: 3.62/5 from 2 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Introduced Western audiences to the frantic, overdriven synthesizer street-pop of the Syrian wedding singer and local legend. The anthology selects from hundreds of incredibly lo-fi cassette releases, capturing the raw, relentless energy of his modernized Dabke dance music. The release famously catalyzed his improbable transformation into an international festival and club phenomenon.

Genres

Descriptors: Folk, lo-fi, melodic, improvisation, jamming

Tracklist

  1. Leh Jani (When I Found Out) (3:14)
  2. Jani (She Came To Me) (4:11)
  3. Dabke 2001 (3:42)
  4. Atabat (8:08)
  5. Arabic Dabke (3:19)
  6. Alkhatiba Zaffouha (5:43)
  7. Jalsat Atabat (Atabat Session) (6:28)
  8. Alshikhani (3:34)
  9. Toul Al Zeenah (The Length Of The Bride's Ornament) (6:04)
  10. Bashar Ya Habib Al Shaab (Bashar, The People's Beloved) (6:31)
  11. (Don't Wear Black, Green Suits You Better) (2:16)
  12. Atabat (2) (10:40)
  13. Jani (2) (5:21)

Credits

  • Omar Souleyman - primary artist, voice
  • Maher Asaad - composed by [additional compostion]
  • Rizan Sa'id - composed by, keyboards, performer [rhythms]
  • Lazgin Khaled - fiddle [kamancheh]
  • Mahmoud Harbi - lyrics by [poetry and verse]
  • Ali Shakir - oud, bouzouki [bozouk], baglama [saz]
  • Hamid Souleyman - oud, bouzouki [bozouk], baglama [saz]
  • Salah Hamid - percussion

More from Omar Souleyman: full discography