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Post random pics of your CD/vinyl/cassette collection

Be listed in the great wikified catalogue of recorded music. Rip and upload to YouTube too !
i have about 500 tapes from Yemen. A mate of mine once digitalised them all . Took him weeks and weeks. Then his hard drive died.

To catalogue them I'd have to sit together with somebody who not only speaks / reads arabic but also knows about Yemeni music.
I know a lot of them off by heart, but haven't got a clue who the singer is or what they are singing about.
 
There used to be a few tape shops in the asian areas of my hometown, and I deeply regret their disappearing before I had any interest in the music
 
Currently there's less than 200 releases released in Yemen that are in the Discogs database… and only 2 or 3 of them are cassettes but yes, it would be a challenge if you can't read, write or understand Arabic. It's possible there could be someone who is able to help in the Discogs Arabic forum.
good stuff.
few familiar faces on the first page:

top row, 5th from the left is Ayoob Tarish. One of Yemen's biggest. He wrote the national anthem. Lived in Taizz where I met and and jammed with him. He was an old man then, a year before the Arab spring and the demise of Saleh. Taizz was and is still getting hit hard by the war. No idea what happened to him or if he is still alive.

5th row, first from left is Faisal Alawi. From Aden, the Bob Dylan of Yemeni music. Raw, wild, always against the stream. Whist a lot of Yemeni music is about beauty and niceness, his is all about the grit. With links to the Southern Movement he is treated with care by people close to the regime.
 
I'd love to research and archive when I have time (needy toddler time atm).
When I was in Aden I visited the Asafari (?) music foundation which was an archive / library for Yemeni music. It used to be a studio set up by HMV's world music (colonies) branch. Thousands and thousands of 45s and 33s, tapes, field recordings, etc etc. Even then the place was in a state of disrepair and the harsh climate had gotten to it. The people looking after it tried to maintain it as best as they could but it seemed a task to big for them.
No idea if it has survived the war. Most people I know over there have disappeared or are scattered across the country and are impossible to get hold of.

I'm working on a couple of ideas to raise money to preserve what's left.

There was also a music school for girls and women in Aden in desperate need of support. Last time I was in touch with the founder he had to leave Aden and live in Hadramaut but had plans to return to Aden and re-open the school at the earliest possibility.
 
I'd love to research and archive when I have time (needy toddler time atm).
When I was in Aden I visited the Asafari (?) music foundation which was an archive / library for Yemeni music. It used to be a studio set up by HMV's world music (colonies) branch. Thousands and thousands of 45s and 33s, tapes, field recordings, etc etc. Even then the place was in a state of disrepair and the harsh climate had gotten to it. The people looking after it tried to maintain it as best as they could but it seemed a task to big for them.
No idea if it has survived the war. Most people I know over there have disappeared or are scattered across the country and are impossible to get hold of.

I'm working on a couple of ideas to raise money to preserve what's left.

There was also a music school for girls and women in Aden in desperate need of support. Last time I was in touch with the founder he had to leave Aden and live in Hadramaut but had plans to return to Aden and re-open the school at the earlies
so interesting, let us know if we can help.

fucking endless US&UK crimes


 
this is one of my favourite Yemeni clips. Not trad but pop, from socialist Aden, a decade or so before re-unification, before Islah pushed the country into a more conservative direction.
I love the music, but also love how free and easy the set up is. Funky clothes, men and women together being sexy and enjoying the music. Not a veil in sight. Things looked very different once Saleh tidied up and fucked the south.
 
this is one of my favourite Yemeni clips. Not trad but pop, from socialist Aden, a decade or so before re-unification, before Islah pushed the country into a more conservative direction.
I love the music, but also love how free and easy the set up is. Funky clothes, men and women together being sexy and enjoying the music. Not a veil in sight. Things looked very different once Saleh tidied up and fucked the south.

not something i know anything about but that reminds me of some 50s classic bollywood songs in terms of instruments (esp strings+flutes) / arrangement / phrasing / interaction between singer and instruments
love it
 
This is great stuff guys
I know a bit about Somali music as well. I can share another time. Traditionally South Yemeni and Somali music and culture in general have been feeding off and influencing each other heavily. It's interesting to see how eg politics (from pre Socialism (Brit Colonialism) via Socialism to State Islam) and music interlink those two forgotten places.
 
not something i know anything about but that reminds me of some 50s classic bollywood songs in terms of instruments (esp strings+flutes) / arrangement / phrasing / interaction between singer and instruments
love it
Aden had strong links to India, as it was used as a coaling station for the ships going from UK to India and back. (Geographically it lays half way in between UK and India, hence it was set up as a protectorate. Other than that it was of little value for the Brits). A lot of workers from India ended up in Aden.
 
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