Syria

Omar Souleyman is a musician from Ra's al-'Ayn, Syria, in the northeastern region of Syria, born in 1966. He began his career in 1994, working with a number of musicians with whom he still performs. There are purportedly more than five hundred studio & live albums that have been released under his name. An estimated eighty percent of those releases are recordings made at weddings that were then presented to the married couple. Later many of these were copied & sold at local Syrian kiosks.

Omar Souleyman qualifies as a cultural phenomenon. Highway to Hassake was his first Western release. The album was compiled by Sublime Frequencies' Mark Gergis from cassettes recorded between 1996 & 2006. Most tracks were recorded for release straight from the mixing board at live events, making for often less-than-ideal sound quality. However, the performances are generally spirited enough to make up for the sonic flaws.

Souleyman is a charismatic performer. His rich, flexible voice dives into the frantic numbers (mostly in dabke style, typical Syrian party music), classical Arabic mawal-style vocalizations & ever so soulful in ataba songs (a mournful song style). Among his other influences are Iraqi choubi & Turkish pop music. Omar is also surrounded by highly talented musicians, including oud players Hamid Souleyman & Ali Shakir, & keyboardist Rizan Sa'id, whose lightning-fast solos can put Rick Wakeman to shame.

This amalgamation is the sound of Syria. The music often has an overdriven sound consisting of phase-shifted Arabic keyboard solos & frantic rhythms. Oud, reeds, baglama saz, accompanying vocals, & percussion fill out the sound. Mahmoud Harbi, a long-time collaborator is the man responsible for much of the poetry sung by Souleyman. Omar Souleyman is a man of striking musical integrity. His style is his own, he is a singular original.

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Omar Souleyman - Highway to Hassake / Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria 2xLP, 

Sublime Frequencies SF031, 2009. 

Side A –

Leh Jani

Dabke 2001

Atabat (2)

Side B –

Alkhatiba Zaffouha

Jani

Jalsat Atabat

Side C –

Jani (2)

Alshikhani

Don’t Wear Black, Green Suits You Better

Bashar Ya Habib Al Shaab

Side D –

Arabic Dabke

Toul Al Zeenah

Atabat

Enjoy,

NØ