Bleep

Another winning turn in excavation and restoration from Honest Jon’s with this compilation chronicling some of the very first recording sessions from the “countries of Damascus” (Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine). The historical relevance of these early cultural exports is heightened by current events. Performances from revered singer B?lus ?ulb?n, lute player and musical director Q?sim Ab? Jam?l al-Durz? and some relatives of the founders of Lebanon label Baidaphon Records which was founded at the turn of the 1900s. A bulk of these recordings come from an era where public music performance - let alone recording - was frowned upon. These early incarnations of creative freedom are truly fascinating.

###Tracklist

1. Farjallāh Bayḍā - Yā zēn yallī ‘ala qatlī
2. Aḥmad al-Shaykh - Al-nafsu ba‘d al-‘la
3. Na‘īm Sem‘ān - Ḥnayyīna
4. Ḥikmat Ḥajjār - Yā burdāna
5. Būlus Ṣulbān - Kallilī yā suḥbu
6. Aḥmad al-Shaykh - Khalliyānī bi-law’atī, I & II
7. Bāsīl Ḥajjār - Yā marīḍ al-jufūn ‘adhdhabta qalban
8. Muḥyiddīn Ba‘yūn - Lammā badā yatathanna
9. Farjallāh Bayḍā - Laylan ṭawīlan
10. Būlus Ṣulbān - Mēlak ‘an el-ṣabb
11. Muḥammad al-‘Āshiq - Baka al-zamān, I & II
12. Ḥasība Moshēh - Yilba’lik shakk el-almās
13. Yūsuf Tāj - Thalāth da''āt ‘ala el-mabsam
14. Farjallāh Bayḍā - Ḥawwal ẓarīf el-qadd
15. Aḥmad al-Mīr - Lā taẓunnū lā‘iga el-wagdi
16. Muḥammad al-‘Āshiq - Janaytu min khaddihā, I & II
17. Iliās Shahwān - Ma‘āhum lā, khudhūnī
18. Yūsuf al-Naḥḥāl - Anā ḥirmāni nāẓirī
19. Thurayyā Qaddūra - Fatakātu laḥẓiki
20. Aḥmad al-Mīr - Izzāy bi-tihgor