Baligh Hamdy – Gada


Baligh Hamdy is a composer well known for his work with Egyptian super star singer Oum Kalsoum and Hamdy’s wife, Algerian born Warda. Here’s a real oddity from his hand, an EP with a rather daring silk screened cover (daring considering it was released in Egypt in the sixties). This mini-album has 6 beautiful instrumental tracks, an exotica suite of sorts, all with some east-west cross-over and very rich arrangements featuring flutes, surf guitar, trumpets, saxes, strings, drums and percussion.

In Egypt this is something out of the ordinary because unlike in nearby Lebanon or some other Arab countries, there really hardly existed a local variety of western popular styles at all.

Baligh Hamdy – Gada part 2

Baligh Hamdy – Gada part 6

15 Comments

  • besilarius says:

    Wow… this is really great, i’ve always been an Oum Kalsoum (Kalthoum?) fan but, as you point out this is really different, i love the dry sound and the mixed instrumentation… any chance we could hear a little more of it? any more specific information on the date of release? you’ve got me really geeked out over here.

  • boub says:

    wow! great music. thanks for sharing it.

  • MikeB says:

    If you have any extra copies that you’re willing to sell, let me know. This is good.

  • Milan says:

    Thanks for the replies, glad you like it. It doesn’t state a date so I don’t know. Mike, I’ll keep an eye open for another copy.

  • t-woc says:

    this, i really like.

  • boutros says:

    I dig this music! thank you

  • milan says:

    I spoke to an Egyptian record collector and asked him about this. He was sure at least two of the tracks on this EP were recorded to be used in the 1972 film “City Lights.” So they can be heard in some club and nightlife scenes That’s rare in itself since at that time “source music” was often ripped from western records. Info courtesy of mister Hany.

  • ahmed says:

    thats nice i searched for baligh hamdy music for long time i didnt find anything

    please where is the other i think the tape has 8 concerts thats 2 only

    where is the other ?

  • Tibo says:

    thanks Milan this is great .. i am a fan of baligh yet i did not know of these pieces before.. thanks again… also for those who want to known more about baligh ..can go to balighhamdy.com but please note that the site is in arabic only

    thanks once again Milan

  • Mourad says:

    All Baligh Hamdy music is great, But the site doesn’t have enough pieces.
    Hope it contains much more

  • Stuart says:

    Hello.I have this record, and had someone translate the song titles for me. The songs on the record are: 1) Masrya, 2) Ghada, 3) Zouba, 4) Amira 5) Hanem and 6) Sahar. For a really great example of Hamdy’s work, track down a copy of the Abdel Halim Hafez album “Mawood” (which a portion was featured on the Sublime Frequencies “Radio Morocco”).

  • Milan says:

    Thanks, Stuart, for the translations and the tip. I’ll do a post on Hamdy’s Indo Arabic Variations very soon too. That’s a terrific album.

  • Damon says:

    Where the hell can I get this??
    Thank you Milan for posting this.
    Any chance of more MP3’S in the future?

  • Adam says:

    Stunning! can u tell me how to get such CD ?

  • armand says:

    Hi Milan,

    Would you have a copy for trade / sale ?

    Regards,

    Armand

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