VA - Agent Du Monde The Marrakesh Mission



Type: Compilation
Genre: Lounge/Chillout/Ethnic
Date: 2004
Quality: MP3 VBR (~192kbps), Full Stereo
Label: Union Square Music / OCHO
Size: 207MB
Ripper: OBC
Covers: No

Description:
AGENT DU MONDE FRIDAY... 2PM. PLACE DJEMAA EL FNA, MARRAKESH.

The heat’s exhausting. Walking ‘round the medina, the ancient city, just exchanged a Marra-fresh mint tea for a copy of my BARCELONA FILES CD with a local dude. So much life here – snails, snakes, fruit, plates, bowls, lamps... and music from every corner. The Marrakesh Mission has been one of the best yet and, like my other assignments, I’ve scoured the globe.

Haven’t taken three steps out of mission HQ back in cloudy ol’ London town before I chance upon a mysterious flyer. Turns out that London’s North African connection goes beyond a few swish eateries. Ex-pat music man U-Cef behind the decks in some Kings Cross sweatbox – plays me an exclusive tune with crisp beats and plaintive vocals from Tunisian tigresse Amina. Beautiful! This was already becoming Moor-ish.

Discover that UK studio hermits have been cooking up musical tajines since way back. I recalled Lounge uber-lords the Karminsky Experience destroying dancefloors years back with the ‘Hip Sheik’. And here’s the return - ‘Belly Disco’, an all-new finger cymbal dance jam for those dames with rubber-hips. And I don’t mean my grandma. Natacha Atlas is another UK-based belly-shimmering diva who fuses her muses – lived in the Moroccan district of Brussels before shifting to Northampton – a town known more for shoes than the Arabian blues. She famously jammed with those dubby cats Jah Wobble and Trans-Global Underground back then and her new jam ‘Eye Of The Duck’ is pure future Arabica – belly beats meet the booty call! And talkin’ of the Trans-Global, I hear that the original Eastcote legends have a new album surfacing. And it’s a belter. I dip in for ‘Take The A Tram’.

Quiet night, I decide to explore the lights of the West End and stumble across If, a super-hip vinyl emporium tucked away in Soho. My man JC shows me the ropes – his Amalgamation Of Soundz alter ego have mined deep for the gnawa-jazz nugget ‘Sharm’. Poom! Hot like souk sauce.

Pop in to Portobello music haven Honest Jon’s on the way to Heathrow and discover a juicy nugget on the shop’s own label - Specials legend Terry Hall and ex-Fun-Da-Mental man Mushtaq on a soundclash. Asian, Arabic, Hebrew, Gypsy – all stirred into the pot. The vibe on this one simmers! Was also tipped off on two more hidden gems – one from Syrian classical genius Abdullah Chhadeh (this man can make his ganun TALK!) and a nice Eastern hip hop blend from this sultry dame called Sultana. Known as much for mad hair buns and interesting videos as her skill with new rhymin’ styles, her lyrics range from political to passionate. Sultana? Give me a raisin to love you, baby!

...3 hours later, strolling through Paris, the capitale romantique, the jewel of la Belle France. Sensed strong North African connections here and I was right. First stop - legendary hippy francaise, musical voyageur and ambassadeur for humanity, Monsieur Claude Challe. Check his quote, "Music is the salt of life; its vibration, its most beautiful energy, its Verb." Yes! Teach us, Monsieur Challe! Amazing cat – fashion guru, photographer, club owner, DJ, producer of oriental dancefloor magic dust. Passes me a hot mix of his ‘Psyche Paradise’ fave by Loic Vanpoucke from spacey trance combo Total Eclipse. Claude’s own label, Ch’allo, proves beyond doubt that he is a one-stop magnet for lush grooverama – Denmark’s Peter Mossman and his Out Of Phase project painting ancient-meets-modern sound tableaux and percussionist Mohamed Bellal’s Karmix oozing pure exotic gold. His ‘Kuan Ganjo’ album (meaning ‘Eternity Of Life’) is overflowing with intricate Indo-Arabic soundscapes and, as he puts it, "the steamy heat of the dancefloors." Aiee! It’s gettin’ hot in herre!

The links hit me thick and fast – I’m joining the dots in the Paris studio netherworld. Loic and Stephan from Total Eclipse link me up with another crack production team called Toires (Guillaume Thevenin & Florian Seriot), more hermits immersed in the North African trancefloor through some blinding tracks and remixes including ‘Sidi’h ‘Bibi’ and an ultra-chilled rub of ‘Don’t Cry My Love’ featuring Turkish master Faruk Tekbilek and Steve Sheehan.

So much music in Paris of all shapes and sizes. A Paris / Beirut mix, anyone? Try Soap Kills – sensual, melancholic, throwing in everything from Chet Baker to Aphex Twin. Freestyle! I hook up with one of France’s most prolific backroom gurus, producer and guitarist Christophe Goze, a globe-trottin’ Francais into dudes like Dave Gilmour, Pat Metheny and the original bluesmen. He’s laid down jams in the UK and Japan, has recorded as Radar, produced soundtracks and music for games and ads. Impressive! I catch him as he steps out from the shadows with his new solo set, ‘Anything Goze’. During my last day by the Seine, I discover the holy grail of the Parisian-oriental dancefloor, a project from premier league duo Smadj (studio God) and Mehdi Habbab (guy behind pioneering fusionists Ekova). Their DuOud project cherry picks the best in classical Arabic tunes and super-sharp electronics. Check ‘Racailles’ for instant proof.

Ready to leave la France - take a few hours out to explore Rennes, known mainly for its huge cathedral. This is an altogether different spiritual experience, though - Aiwa, the French kings of oriental breakbeat who are, in their own words, "Averse to simplistic beat culture". Too right – with dub, hip hop and intricate North African flavas in the mix, Aiwa are smashing it!

I follow the European – North African axis across the border to Deutschland to find hot global beatfreak DJ Eastenders. This guy’s no cockney rebel but, like the British soap opera, he’s got all the drama – Oriental and Asian flavas peppering his productions and DJ sets. ‘On The Ride’ is a real party belter.

In the dance music underworld, there are loads of producers hiding behind mysterious names. Take The Spy From Cairo and their crisp North African fusions – I was sure I could track this one down with the links from HQ. Checked my Egyptian moles but drew a blank. Turns out that The Spy is the latest scam from Zeb, New York’s most prolific studio cat. Knew him from my first runnings to Sao Paulo – this guy must have eight hands – he can play Oud, strings and smoke a cigarette all at once! Making great tracks on Turntables On The Hudson, Codek, Irma and now DJ Pathaan’s Stoned Asia label in the UK. I can’t keep up! The New York connection was a strong lead – traced a tune all the way back to seminal trashy 1980s Big Apple club Save The Robots. Chillout big guns Wax Poetic hung out there and band founder Ilhan Ersahin broke out for solo action in 2002 with his epic ‘Wonderland’ set. Check ‘Ask’ for pure oriental drum & bass perfection. Souk on this!

The Cairo search was not wasted. I discover the real Egyptian deal in the form of Hakim, a pioneer bringing the music of the people, shab’i, into the 21st century with all new electronic beats and witty lyrics. He’s a big star in his homeland with over 6 million albums under his belt – had to include ‘Esma Yalli’ here. Means ‘Listen You’. I did and you should.

So many new cats in town, and they’re taking their history lessons. Package from Austria’s Couch label dropped into HQ with tracks from Karuan, drawing deep on his Kurdish heritage and blending it with ultra-bright beat wizardry. Check out ‘Dunya’ and leave yourself lots of wiggle space. Good to see the label bosses getting in on the act too. dZihan & Kamien driving the road marked ‘exotic’ in their fully loaded Ford Transit.

So much for the intricate trad meets beats fusions, what about some good ol’ pumping house? I look to Italy, the spiritual home of the BIG house sound and hook up with the new master of large tribal rhythms, Giampiero Ponte. A few crackers to his name – ‘Tan Ku Dan’ and the one here, ‘Sphinx’, a beast of a groove and a true Arabic anthem. Zohar was a surprise too – knew their spicey chilled Arabic beats formula but ‘Do You Have Any Faith?’ heads straight for the dancefloor podium with its mucho funky bendy bassline. Trust me, it’s a rump-Sheikh-er.

Now, like most people, I can get quite funky knocking a couple of spoons against my leg but multi-talented musicians always leave me in awe. Take Ali Slimani. DJ, percussionist, bandleader and cool vocalist. Came to London from Algeria as an unknown, waltzes into Peter Gabriel’s place, releases an album on his Real World label. Now his mix is more dub, electronica and house blended with trad Algerian sounds and thought-provoking peace messages. I discover more Algerian links with Rachid Taha, now in France for his music-making. He explored dance music and a rockier rai-based sound before expanding his sound wide-open with the ‘Made In Medina’ album from 2000, recorded in Paris, London, Marrakech and New Orleans. ‘Barra Barra’ from this one received a nice re-rub from UK hip hop beat controllers The Wiseguys. Top soundclash, this one.

I couldn’t finish the Marrakesh Mission without featuring a legend, the great dame Cheikha Remitti. She received her free bus pass over 20 years ago and she’s still funkier than your little toe, conjuring her unique bittersweet tales of rebel poetry. Cheikha your thing, baby!

Until the next mission in Paris, adieu and keep your beat radar nice and sharp.

-------------------------------

mission: to seek out the hottest moroccan magic, souk specials & belly
dance beats including anthems, rare mixes & exclusive tracks
destination: marrakesh, morocco

CD1:
01. christophe goze - sirocco [4:18]
02. eastenders - on the ride [4:15]
03. karmix - barkani [4:50]
04. terry hall & mushtaq - a gathering storm [5:04]
05. natacha atlas - eye of the duck [5:57]
06. soap kills - tango [4:07]
07. abdullah chhadeh & mike roberts - baghdad downtown [4:54]
08. karuan - dunya [5:06]
09. ilhan ersahin - ask [7:43]
10. dzihan & kamien - ford transit [4:53]
11. rachid taha - barra barra (wiseguys remix) [5:23]
12. duoud - racailles [3:32]
13. out of phase - ship of the desert [6:22]
14. the spy from cairo - ride my camel [6:47]

CD2:
01. hakim - esma yalli (listen you) [4:02]
02. ali slimani - sohabi [4:01]
03. zohar - do you have any faith [5:50]
04. karminsky experience inc. - belly disco [3:58]
05. trans-global underground - take the a tram [4:52]
06. sultana - filo sepet [4:11]
07. toires - sidiah bibi [4:45]
08. u-cef feat. amina annabi - kalzoom [6:21]
09. amalgamation of soundz - sharm [5:57]
10. aiwa - soutanbi [3:16]
11. giampiero ponte feat. moran - sphynx (club mix) [9:38]
12. claude challe - psyche paradise (loic vanpoucke mix) [5:50]
13. cheikha remitti - guendouzi mama [5:57]
14. omar tekbilek & steve sheehan - dont cry my love (mix) [5:46]

VA-Agent_Du_Monde_The_Marrakesh_Mission_(OCHODCD018)-2CD-2004-OBC.rar