Album Review
Sabreen – "Death of The Prophet" – [Akuphone]
Ms. Conduct 10/26/2021 12-inch, International
Sabreen formed amidst the drama of political turmoil in 1980 as a collective of Palestinian musicians & artists interested in channeling the generational sentiments wrought from social strife and the hope of eventual conciliations. Death of the Prophet, originally recorded on cassette at the beginning of the first intifada (the insurrectionist rebellion of Palestinians against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank) in 1987 and was re-released in 2020 by the Akuphone label.
This album blends traditional classical Arabic music with popular folklore:
—Barbed chords pluck misery from heaven as the larynx releases a white dove.
—A sanguine calligraphy bleeds out an arsenal of poetry to wrangle the holy landscape.
—Ghosts send up a solemn prayer for peace that the usurpers hold mute.
The oud and the kanun instruments preserve echoes of their classical origins, but are adapted to modern composition with freer improvisation. Lyrics deploy sanctified words from the Palestinian poets, Mahmoud Darwish and Samih Al Qasem, imbuing this album with postcolonial righteous zeal.
you heard it 49 times on kfjc! most recently:
- 103 days ago, Sir Cumference played Eash Ya Kdeesh
- 110 days ago, Sir Cumference played a Song For Childhood
- 115 days ago, Ann Arbor played A Patriotic Song
- 118 days ago, Puplaif played a Song For Childhood
- 120 days ago, Naysayer played Improvisation On Moondance
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