About

If there was a defining Habibi Funk track, there are a few that come to mind: from Fadoul’s “Sid Redad,“ Dalton’s “Soul Brother“ to Ahmed Malek’s “Omar Gatlato.“ However, none are as widely connected with us at this point as Hamid Al Shaeri’s “Ayonha.“ Listening to his releases from the early 1980’s opened a whole new door for Habibi Funk. At the time, Hamid had just left Libya to pursue his career in Egypt via a detour in London, where he recorded his first album. Hamid’s distinct sound of the sound is quintessentially reliant on heavy synths and so it was particularly important to purchase these synths in a timely manner. “Whenever a new one [synthesizer] would come out, we would have to buy it immediately, otherwise someone else would get their hands on that sound.” London also played an important role for Hamid as a musical epicenter. He fondly reminisces about the many live shows he attended there, including some of the biggest international musicians like Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson. After returning to Cairo where he also recorded his following albums, he connected with SLAM! for the release of his debut, laying the foundation of a collaboration that lasted for 5 albums.

Hany Sabet had started SLAM! records in the early 1980s and focused on cassette tape releases, the format that expedited the success of a new generation of record labels in Egypt. By the mid 1980’s, SLAM! had become one of the most successful and economically dominant record labels in Egypt, with Hamid El Shaeri being just one of their key artists, alongside Mohamed Mounir, Hanan, Hakim, Mustafa Amar and many more. Luckily, Hany Sabet turned out to be a friend of Habibi Funk Record's team member's father, which probably helped to warm him to the idea of licensing “Ayonha” to this - in the scale of his world - tiny label from Germany. Eventually “Ayonha” ended up becoming a widely successful release and Habibi Funk Records brought up the idea of a full album dedicated to Hamid El Shaeri’s work on SLAM!. This release is dedicated to Hany Sabet, the founder of SLAM! and his wife Rosemary Jane Sabet (who took the photos we used for the cover and the booklet), who sadly passed away during the time it took Habibi Funk to prepare the release. — via Label

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Label: Habibi Funk
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Released: 2022
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul, Pop, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Synth-pop, Soul

File under: Global Sounds
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