Coming off two excellent records released on Habbi Funk that showed off his skills as a beatmaker, sample wrangler, song crafter and arranger, the Lebanese musician Charif Megarbane teamed with the Indonesian trio Ali to make a record. Tirakat is the result of the pairing and it’s brilliant. Organic, genre-bending, flowing and free, the album was recorded in three days’ time and feels like a well-curated journey through an amazing record collection. They jump all over the map, trip through time, and visit as many styles as possible, all with a mix of precision and spontaneity that makes the record a joy to listen to.
They venture into disco on “Mosaics”, Arabic funk on “Kuda Arab”, tender balladry on Ahmad’s Lament”, dancehall reggae on…
Tag Archive: Habibi Funk
Bourj Hammoud Groove celebrates the music of Armenian-Lebanese artist Ara Kekedjian, a key figure in shaping Beirut’s distinctive Estradayin pop sound. Blending disco rhythms, synth-pop textures and Armenian melodic traditions, Kekedjian crafted a sound both rooted in community and universal in appeal.
…Born in 1946 in Bourj Hammoud, Lebanon, Ara became a central figure in the Armenian pop scene of the 1960s and 70s. With his mix of Armenian rhythms, hard-hitting drums, funky guitars, and charismatic stage presence, he carved out a bold sound in Estradayin (Armenian) pop rock.
In the 1970s, the Beirut suburb Bourj Hammoud became a hub of creativity and it was home to countless labels, record shops, and venues.
…This compilation isn’t a sweeping history of Libyan music — it’s a personal journey into the sounds we fell in love with while digging through tapes, conversations, and stories across Libya and beyond. Rather than spotlighting the country’s most famous musical exports, the compilation brings forward a mix of overlooked gems and local classics of the cassette era: artists whose work thrived in spite of political limitations, and scarce international exposure.
The music featured here blends reggae rhythms, synthy disco grooves, gritty pop, house, and funk, a vibrant collision of genres that reflects Libya’s unique sonic landscape from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Many of these recordings were recovered from the TK7 cassette factory in…