The ferocious heat on Tihama, the Red sea coastal plain of Yemen, is matched in its intensity by the tibbal music, an Afro-Arabian amalgam that features lyres, reeds and, particularly, virtuoso drumming. Its practitioners are largely drawn from the akhdam, an outcast group with a reputation for sorcery, who bring passion, skill and stamina to performances which accompany acrobatic dancing and ceremonial trance.

“..uncompromising and raw music with a rhythmic intensity that will have you either transfixed or running from the room.” Songlines

Tracklist:
1. Wedding Song
2. Lambuna Zar
3. Teahouse Drumming
4. Simsimiya Ballad
5. Habashi Dance
6. Tumbara Zar
7. Tahdira
8. Indian Film Song
9. Sharah Dance
10. Wadi Mawr Zar
11. Saint’s Day Drumming
12. Saint’s Day Drumming
13. Saint’s Day Drumming
14. Sham Allah
15. Tahdira: Marisi Dance

Recordings and text by Anderson Bakewell

Available now from:
TOPIC SHOP, AMAZON, ITUNES and on SPOTIFY