Search - Hakim :: Talakik

Thumbs up to Egypt?s No.1 Folk singer!

Ismail Elshareef | West Hollywood, CA United States | 10/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hakim's Mawaweels (ardent fluctuating vocal and ambient instrumental improvisations expressing intense longing and desire) are bound to make the hair on your arms rise. He is one of a kind with his traditional, folk style music. His uniqueness is what enables him to reach international audiences of different tongues and musical cultures.Hakim's music is the kind of music you hear at most bus stops and cabs in Egypt. His lyrics reflect people's state of mind while his music is typical folk. Other artists (i.e. Amr Diab, Mostafa Amar ... etc) are considered very Westernized in comparison to Hakim, who very much sticks to traditional style and instruments.Talakik is a great dance album (belly dancers' wet dream.) It will delight you with its very traditional (few Westernized) music and rich vocals."

Terrific introduction to this artist

Howard Roark | Salt Lake City, UT, USA | 09/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am relative newcomer to Arabic music. I liked Putumayo's
"Arabic Groove" at lot, and while I was searching Amazon for
some of the names that I found in that CD, Amazon suggested
this artist to me. I bought this CD and have been quite happy
with it. Hakim's style of music is different from, say,
Amr Diab's or Khaled's (what I've heard so far), so it took
me a couple of listens for me to warm up to Hakim, but now
I'm hooked.Hakim has a truly beautiful voice, and nothing captures it
as well as the track, "yamaaya", which sounds like a muezzin's
call to prayer set to dance music. "Halla halla" is my favorite
on this album, a VERY catchy number and, strangely, very
soothing at the same time. Just hearing those two
numbers was worth buying this CD for me. The title track is
also very good, and "El salaam aleikum" is a nice, vigorous
number."

Very interesting, makes me want to go back to Egypt

Malcolm Tramm | New York, NY USA | 04/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have never bought any Middle Eastern Music before, but I went to a Middle Eastern huqa bar the other night and I had an urge to get my hands on some. I listened to some streaming audio stations on the internet and I checked the track lists. It turns out this guy Hakim's music came up quite a lot.



This album is a combination of some more tradidional Egyptian pop and dance tunes with some newer styles I have never heard. He has a Latino style song, a South African song and various other crosses of styles. It is very interesting, and Hakim has quite a good voice. This album is also a change of pace from the run of the mill music I heard all over Egypt. Arabic music connoiseurs (sp?) should probably pay no mind to this review, but for those who are interested in getting some Middle Eastern music for their tiny or non-existent collection, this is a good album to start with."