Latifa Raafat - Ash-shouk

 

A lovely album from my fave singer of chanson moderne (or musiqa 'asriya). This genre represents the Moroccan version of 20th century Arab art song, based on the model of great Egyptial musical artists such as Umm Kulthum and Muhammad Abdel Wahab. Big orchestras, lush arrangements, large-scale song forms, thoughtful poetry.

More recent works in this style tend to feature percussion and dance beats more prominently than in the past (e.g. this recent album from Latifa).

The cassette featured here was pretty new when I got it in '92 and has that old-school-modern feel to it.  Enjoy!

1. Ash-shouk
2. Nasyak
3. Harou f-'Amri
4. Nasyak (instrumental)

Get it here.