Trancelike Material

By Robin Denselow, "El Tanbura: Friends of Bamboute" - The Guardian - London, UK
Friday, May 15, 2009

El Tanbura are one of Egypt's great bands. Formed 20 years ago (this is their anniversary album), they set out to revive the music that was popular in the cafes and smoking dens of their home city - Port Said, on the Suez canal - before electronic keyboards took over.

There are more than 20 musicians in the band, most of them singers, and their often trancelike material ranges from sturdy and gently insistent dance songs through to folk, Sufi religious songs and tunes in the Dama tradition, as with the pained Noh el Haman.

Many tracks start slowly, with a solo voice joined by chanting backing vocals; the tempo gradually increases as the singers are driven on by hand drums, the ney flute and the ancient lyre, the simsimiyya, often ending up as a frantic dance workout.

This is a band best experienced live, but this impressively varied set makes a suitable introduction before their June concerts in the UK.

[Visit the official El Tanbura website http://www.eltanbura.com/]