Arabian Travels documents the extraordinary power and far-reaching influence of music from the Near and Middle East and North Africa, the music of the Islamic Diaspora. A host of different ethnic groups inhabit the Arab world, whose shared musical culture is earmarked by several easily recognized characteristics. The flowing, highly ornamented melody lines based on skilled improvisation, the linking of smaller melodic kernels to form a larger arrangement like the patterned tiles decorating the wall of a mosque, the use of sound to effect spiritual transport and an atmosphere of immanence. These are some of the distinguishing features of Arabian music, along with the distinctive sounds of instruments such as the oud (the Arab mandolin) and the spiky report of the taut-skinned darbuka drum.

As this compilation will show, the allure of this mysterious music radiates beyond the borders of Arabic nations. Musicians in the West, especially those involved with various forms of electronic and dance music, have noted the close association between music and trance states in Arabian culture. Conversely, artists from the Arab world - who have always been adept at assimilating outside influences - have begun to integrate contemporary technology within their own music, blending electronic timbres with centuries-old melodies and instruments. Regardless of the point of origin though, the sounds you will discover on this disc are at once eclectic and distinctively Arabian. ~

Track Listing
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(01) [Fifth Sun] Kamtarie
(02) [Banco De Gaia] Sakarya
(03) [Dzihan & Kamien] Just You & I
(04) [Karsh Kale ft. Hassan Hakmoun & Ustad Sultan Khan] Indus Railway
(05) [Dahmane El Harrachi] Ya Rayah (Sonar Remix)
(06) [Arabic Breakbeats] Blue Turban
(07) [Dissidenten] Telephone Arab (Bucovina Dub - Remixed by Shantel)
(08) [Ekova] Sabura (Desert Delight Remix Reconstructed by Max Pashm)
(09) [Acid Queen ft. Egyptian Musical Club] Sema
(10) [Euphoria] 1001 Dreams (Arabian Travels Remix by Garry Hughes)