Search - Hossam Ramzy :: Egyptian Rai

Despite its misleading title--London-based percussionist Hossam Ramzy here borrows beats from almost every Middle Eastern style except Algerian pop music--Egyptian Rai is a fascinating blend of Arab melodies filtered through Egyptian film-music orchestration. Call it syncretic belly-dance music for intellectuals. The nine instrumentals here borrow from such disparate sources as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Morocco, offering, as the bandleader (whose collaborators have included Peter Gabriel, Loreena McKennitt, and Robert Plant and Jimmy Page) puts it, an eagle's-eye view of the Arab world. Ramzy and ensemble approach the source material as improvisers, blending quarter-tone accordion, ney flute, strings, horns, and, of course, a variety of drums into a jangly, pulsing party. The only clunker is "The Star Collector," a bland can of Egyptian New Age. --Richard Gehr