Sublime Frequencies collaborates with Natik Awayez on debut album Manbarani

September 30, 2020

Release Date: Friday 30 Oct 2020 (digital) / Spring 2021 (vinyl)

Composed & written by: Natik Awayez

Produced & arranged by: Maurice Louca

Percussions arrangement by: Khaled Yassine (Lekhfa, Alif, Anouar Brahem)

To record Manbarani in Cairo (May - July 2019), Natik Awayez and producer Maurice Louca enlisted some of the region’s best known musicians including Tamer Abu Ghazaleh and Maryam Saleh (Lekhfa), Aya Hemeda and Adham Zidan (The Invisible Hands), Khaled Yassine (Alif / Lekhfa / Anouar Brahem) and Ayman Asfour (Elephantine).

The seven-track album features songs that have been swirling in the mind of Awayez for decades, collecting nuance and fermenting with influences ushered by migration across cities and continents. His collaboration and deep musical kinship with Louca anchors Manabarani in an organic sound, brimming with sensational string and vocal melodies.

Pure expressiveness breaks free and Manbarani emerges as a unique contemporary folk record that sounds unfrozen and released from another time. Inspired by the infectious polyrhythms of Iraq, Yemen and the Gulf, Yassine serves up some exquisite percussive arrangements that provide the foundation for oud, violin, buzuq, and Awayez’ raw and tender rendition of texts he pens to recall and reckon with love, wars, longing and displacement.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT SARAH EL MINIAWY / SARAH@SIMSARA.ME / +447526704546

Album Credits

Recorded at Dream Studio, Cairo, May/July 2019

Recorded by Adham Zidan

Mixed by Adham Zidan

Mastered by Mark Gergis

Artwork and art direction by Mena El Shazly

Backcover photography by Maged Nader

Design and layout by Engy Mohsen

Lyrics translation by Habiba Effat

Arabic copy editing by Fadi Awad

Aden written by Saadi Yousef

Vocals and oud: Natik Awayez

Violin and viola: Ayman Asfour

Percussions: Khaled Yassine, Mizo Gamal, Ayman Mabrouk, Bouda Abul-Yazeed

Buzuq on La Taktareth and Manbarani and oud on Al Ganoub: Tamer Abu Ghazaleh

Organ on Al Sour: Adham Zidan

Backing vocals: Maryam Saleh, Aya Hemeda, Nagham Saleh, Omnia Hemeda

Tracklist

Al Manafi (The Land of the Exiles)
Al Sour (The Barrier)
La Taktareth (You Don’t Mind)
Adan (Eden)
Al Teeh (The Exodus)
Al Ganoub (The South)
Manbarani

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Maurice Louca is playing a guitar in a dark room. Photo by Aalam Wassef

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