Wash Ya Wash Vol. 7

Yousry Sharif has released another compilation of music composed for Raks Sharki. Lovers of the series will not be disappointed. For me, it usually takes me a few listens to become enamored of a song – and it was on my third listen-through that I really started to hear this new music. I thought I would make a post about the compositions on this album. I wish I knew more about music so that I could be more specific and I welcome contributions and discussion on the music for others that have listened to it.

Layalina Raks Sharqi & Finale Layalina Raks Sharqi

If the name sounds familiar, it should be. Yousry Sharif released Layalina as an instrument composition on a previous Wash Ya Wash release. This one is different because it has vocals, a lovely female singer. The chorus sounds lighthearted and playful, adding interest to what might be a monotonous introduction. The first two and a half minutes are the same upbeat pop sound. The three-minute mark does begin a slower section, followed by a juicier musical interlude. Many of the sections are repeated frequently. At five minutes, a chiftetelli clocks in with a nay and then accordion taqsim. It is long enough to fit in some floor work if you were so inclined. Then, it returns to an electrified repetition of the introduction. Some people might feel that a song that clocks in at 7:49 needs to cover a lot more ground. For those of us who have short sets, we might prefer a version with half as many repetitions of the sections.

Tango Arabeka

As you might expect, there is a bit of a tango feel in this song. I don't know much about tango, but I imagine you could do some actual tango to the steady beat, with some Arabic stylings to the melody overlying it. This is a relatively short song, under 4 minutes, that could be good for a Argentinian-Arabic fusion piece.

En Continuasse

Dum, teka tek teka teka teka tek – I believe this is called the Waheda rhythm. This song starts out slow with that rhythm with some female vocals singing "oohhhhh". Then it gets a bit more up-tempo, following the same melody. A little baladi sound enters at the 1 minute mark, with interesting drums. It's not exactly a baladi progression, but it has that feeling with the instrumentation and the accompanying drums. This transforms into a very up-tempo repeat of the original melody with a lot of musical ornamentation. A woman sings a vocal chorus in the following section, which is repeated for the meat of the song, before returning to the original slow and wave-like melody that began the composition.

Alf Layla wa Layla

This is not the Alf Layla Wa Layla you might be expecting. I'm not sure if it comes from a different part of the same Oum Kolthoum masterpiece, but it bears no relation to the song that most bellydancers are familiar with. It's extremely orchestral, with some Western orchestral instruments to be heard. It is definitely a grand piece of music, and quite beautiful. I'm not sure if I would be driven to dance to it, or just listen to it. It is full of drama.

Haneen Raks & Haneen Raks Finale

I have most definitely fallen in love with this song. It has a big orchestral prelude before a slow and melancholy waltz-like section, and then finally kicking into the malfouf after the one minute mark. The songs contains so many different sounds, from baladi, to saidi mizmars and rhythms, to chiftellis with taqsim. The accordion baladi taqsim begins at 3:20. This song would really give a dancer the chance to show off all of her skills and folkloric knowledge. Everything mentioned came in small bits but it is there.

Wadah Howak

This composition sounds like a modern balady, with singing that reminded me of Adawaya.

Shagalounee

This is definitely a fun song. It seems to have a bit of the Spanish-Arabic fusion thing going on, stronger than Tango Arabeka. Heck, it starts out with flamenco castanets, stomping and callouts of Ole and Arriba. It also has a strong Arabic foundation in the melody that begins around one-minute. Then there is a section starting at 1:45 that sounds like a celebration or a carnival, very much arms around each other swaying back and forth.

Ya Nessene

This composition begins with the sound of a lone violin, soon joined by other instruments. It reminded me very strongly of Western classical music. The song wanders in and out of this slow tempo, into an only slightly more uptempo melody. What it conjured in my mind was one of those classic Disney movie scenes where the heroine is waltzing along pretending that she is with her prince. It does speed up towards the end. There is potential in this song to create an internal storyline to enhance one's performance. The section that begins at 4:04 seems to have a fiddle rather than a violin. It's definitely very Western influenced, and classical for that.