Group Doueh - Guitar Music from the Western Sahara

Style: Saharawi
Country: Western Sahara
Format: MP3
Quality: CBR, 320 kbps
Size: 93 MB (5% recovery information included)

"Saharawi songs are from the sung poetry of the Hassania language. The music is based on the same modal structure as Mauritanian music. However, Doueh’s style is a looser appropriation infused with a western guitar scope, one that relies, in his words, as much on Hendrix as it does traditional Sahrawi music. It also adds a playful pop element that rarely filters through in this region." (Sublime Frequencies) — Released as a limited LP edition only, which is out of print now.

Group Doueh
"Guitar Music from the Western Sahara" (2007)
Sublime Frequencies, SF030. LP

1. Eid For Dakhla
2. Eid El Arsh
3. Tirara
4. Fagu
5. Dun Dan
6. Wazan Samat
7. Sabah Lala
8. Cheyla Ya Haiuune

Total time: 38:58 min

Re-upload. Many thanks to the one who originally ripped this album from vinyl and uploaded it!

The Sublime Frequencies label has been covered in these pages before and although I am sure that’ll happen again, I question whether there ever will be a recording I am as excited about as this Saharan sandstorm, Group Doueh’s "Guitar Music from the Western Sahara".

The whole thing started when Alan Bishop heard some squealing lo-fi guitar blasts on Moroccan radio and then went on an expedition for the origins of that particular electrified sound. Seeking out numerous cassette dealers, he was still only able to identify the music as Sahwari and to locate the region as the Western Sahara, a disputed territory situated on the Atlantic Coast of North Africa between Morocco and Mauritania. A few months later, Bishop's colleague, Hisham Mayet, equipped with Bishop's recording traveled back to Morocco to continue the quest, ending up in the last settlement of the Western Sahara, Daklha, where through the help of the Sahwari shopkeepers was finally led to the maker of the strange music himself, Baamar Salmou, or as he is known in Sahwari, Doueh.

What we have here are chosen tracks from Group Doueh personal archive, a massive slab of home-brewed, hallucinogenic mantras of scorching guitars effortlessly meshing with trance mysticism to one of the most beautifully acid-fried rock records I've ever heard. It’s all heavily distorted, primitive, intricately groovy, complex and deranged and the fem vocal delivery from Doueh’s wife only adds yet another dimension to the already timeless and meditative effect. This is one of those rare moments when a recording manages to be gut punching and heart warming at the same time.

This LP is apparently just about sold out so I won’t dive deeper into more ramblings explaining why this is one of the most amazing things I’ve heard all year, but I can guarantee that the reward for tracking it down will be fruitful to say the least.

thebrokenface.blogspot.com

On the first side of "Guitar Music from the Western Sahara", some of the recordings are very tinny sounding, especially the first two songs which are a touch too grating on the ears to fully enjoy. This takes away from Doueh's exceptional guitar playing on songs like "Eid El Arsh," which is completely obliterated from the recording when the chorus of vocals begin singing. Later on, the recordings become much cleaner and Doueh’s playing is given the space it deserves. Being home recordings they are still a little rough but more than acceptable.

A big deal is made in the sleeve notes about the influence of James Brown and Jimi Hendrix on Doueh and while the influence is sometimes audible, this description doesn't do Doueh's playing justice. He is, as one would expect, far more influenced by the immediate culture around him and though he assimilates some western influences into his playing, the music here is firmly rooted in the Sahrawi style. It is interesting to see that one of his guitars pictured on the back of the LP has extra frets added to allow him to play the quarter tones that western guitar makers do not factor into their guitar designs.

There are some dazzling songs on "Guitar Music from the Western Sahara". "Tirara" has a call and response style vocal as a male singer is echoed by a group of female voices. All the while, Doueh plays a jerking rhythm and occasionally moves to places along the fretboard that seem impossible. His elemental playing is perfectly balanced by the earthy vocals and percussion. The most impressive thing about this song is that for all his guitar gymnastics, he stays firmly in the background, the complete antithesis of Hendrix! Opening the second side of the LP is "Dun Dan," where Doueh absolutely blows me away with his lightning fast sweeps which are quite unlike anything I have heard before.

"Guitar Music from the Western Sahara" is a gem of an album. Being vinyl only, this album is not going to reach as many people as it deserves to so hopefully Doueh will be prompted to make more of his music available (as apparently he has turned down all sorts of offers before) as this brief glimpse into his musical world is not enough. While the recording quality at the beginning of the album are off-putting (and for the sake of my ears I skip them), the rest of the music is so wonderful that I cannot recommend it highly enough. As a guitar player myself, I find Doueh's virtuosity a refreshing change to the typical idea of a guitar hero.

brainwashed.com