2015 two CD set. Buddha-Bar has set itself as a Lounge music pioneer since the 90's. Known and recognized in France and internationally, Buddha-Bar is the lounge music reference of talent spotters in lounge and electronic music. With a subtle mix of chill, deep and electronic music influences, Buddha-Bar XVII is no exception to the savoir-faire of the little Parisian label, George V Records. Drawing inspiration from Morocco, this opus promises warmth and sensuality to take you to an enchanting dream world. Bold mixes, hypnotic compositions and aesthetic arrangements are the key components of this new selection filled with emotions. Travel from the coasts to the middle of the desert and let yourself be carried away by the warm and soothing melodies that are the signature of the very first opus of the music collection.

Yosefa Dahari is an Israeli singer born of Yemeni and Moroccan parents. Her style blends world beat electronic dance music beats with traditional singing styles of the Morocco and Yemen. Born Yosefa Dahari, she lives in Israel. Her recordings include Middle Eastern instruments such as the kanun, oud, zourna, darbouka and tin drum, as well as European instruments. Her style has been characterized as following in the tradition of the late Yemeni-Israeli singer Ofra Haza.

Sahra is a studio album from Algerian raï artist Khaled, released in 1996. It was the artist's biggest production to date, being co-produced by Philippe Eidel, Don Was, Jean-Jacques Goldman and Clive Hunt, and including performances by many other singers from around the world. It features what is perhaps Khaled's most popular song, "Aïcha". Most tracks are sung in Arabic, with a notable dosage of French. "Ki Kounti" is partially sung in Spanish as it features Mexican Rock vocalist Saúl Hernández from the reputable band Caifanes. The title track is named after Khaled's first daughter, Sarah, to whom the album is dedicated along with her mother, Samira.

Just Say Mao is the third installment of Sire Records' compilation series Just Say Yes, released in 1989. This one features material from Depeche Mode, Ofra Haza, Lou Reed, Erasure, k.d. lang, Morrissey and many more.

Just Say Yo is the second installment of Sire Records' compilation series Just Say Yes, released in 1988. This one features material from Depeche Mode, Ofra Haza, Lou Reed, Erasure, k.d. lang, Morrissey and many more.

The completely unknown debut album of Issam Hajali (Ferkat Al Ard) fuses jazz and folk with Arabic and Iranian influences into unique beauty. Originally released in a limited run of 75 cassette tape copies.

This triple CD set came out on the heels of Ofra Haza's tragic death. It contains all her greatest hits in Hebrew, Yemenite/Arabic and English, and also songs that have never before appeared on an album. This is the ultimate collection of one of Israel's most beloved performers.

For the last 20 years, Spring time has always rhymed with Buddha-Bar. So don’t freak out Buddha-Bar lovers, 2016 will be no exception to this tradition. Behind this new opus, a duo featuring DJ Ravin and DJ Sam Popat, both resident DJ since the 90’s, who have proven their worth and stood the test of time over the years Ravin, passionated and pioneer of the Lounge music movement, will take you to a holistic and enchanting journey by signing the rich CD 1 charged with emotions. Sam, a Parisian heavy clubber, always looking for new music beats and trends will take you to his world infused with electro-ethic music with a CD 2 always more exciting and bold. Along this mystical adventure, discover the new tracks from Bombay Dub Orchestra, Ambray but also remixes exclusively created for the occasion by Fabrice Dayan, Dreamers Inc ou Dole and Kom.

After the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE, a group of Jews settled in Yemen. They remained in exile, sometimes prosperous but frequently persecuted, until the 19th century. They then began to return to what is now Israel, first in small numbers and later in an organized wave with the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948. They brought with them a rich heritage of religious, secular, and devotional (diwan) music, the last of which includes both religious and secular subjects. Every Jewish community in Yemen had it's own diwan, consisting of works from the renowned medieval Spanish poets of the Golden Age of Hebrew poetry, as well as original writings from community members. These poems, in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic languages, were intended to be sung or chanted. According to the album's compiler Avner Bahat of the Jewish Music Research Centre, the Yemenite diwan is "the richest and most valuable of all." Eleven poems are presented in this 1976-77 recording.

I heard about Seif Abu Bakr and The Scorpions for the first time maybe 3-4 years ago. Their album “Jazz, Jazz Jazz” ended up on my radar because of an eBay auction; it might have been the first auction for this particular album on the platform. While the bids kept on rising daily up to a staggering 1000$, if I recall correctly, I was intrigued about the snippet preview bits of the music on this album as well as by the impressive artwork. This album happens to be my first conscious connection with Sudanese music. Habibi Funk must have already existed for a year or so but I had not yet come across any recording from Sudan that I felt fitting in the context we set for our self. I remember I did some quick research in the aftermath of the auction (which I obviously did not win) to gather some information about the band but apart from some vague bits and pieces I could not find anything.

Even when paying homage to the Moroccan music she grew up with, vocalist Natacha Atlas can't help but let the multicultural and modern seep in. With bossa nova, Western pop, and just a thin slice of electronica figuring into the mix, the "back to my roots" album Mish Maoul is a rich collection of music that doesn't sound decorated but natural coming from an artist who prides herself in being a musical nomad. Easy to believe a nomad's memories of her homeland would be foggy and sentimental, and easy to believe the modern nomad's soundtrack would sound something like this – only something like this because this is far and away Atlas' most personal album. Suitably, she seems totally in charge of its construction, making interesting production choices with the help of Temple of Sound, Timothy Whelan, and others. For someone who has worked with Transglobal Underground, Art of Trance, and Jah Wobble in the past, the restraint Atlas uses on the rhythmic and ritualistic "Hayati Inta" is surprising and creates an intoxicating tension with only a slight bit of electric guitar revealing this isn't a field recording.

Les bardes (bakhshi, mot d'origine chinoise signifiant «érudit») du Khorâssân, province du nord-est de l'Iran, contiguë à l'Afghanistan et au Turkménistan, sont des musiciens professionnels qui chantent en s'accompagnant au luth dotâr. Après leur avoir consacré sa thèse de doctorat en ethnomusicologie, soutenue à l'université de Paris X-Nanterre en 1997 sous la direction de Jean During (Les bardes bakhshi du Khorassan iranien), Ameneh Youssefzadeh publie aujourd'hui un CD rare et documenté, fruit de sa longue fréquentation de ces bardes.

Bachar Mar-Khalifé
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, on 13 February 1983, Bachar Khalife’s first encounter with stones was when his comrade Kifah, hiding in a tree, threw a well-sized rock that hit him in the head. That was his first encounter with stones.

Be transported to the cafés of Arabia with chilled grooves from across the region. This mostly acoustic set is performed by top musicians from Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

An underground icon throughout the Arab world, vocalist Yasmine Hamdan presents her mesmerizing debut solo album - an elegant mutant strain of electro folk, inspired by various Middle eastern traditions - written and produced in collaboration with Marc Collin of Nouvelle Vague. Yasmine first became known with Soapkills, the duo she founded in Beirut, which was probably the first indie/electronic band to appear in the Middle East. The music of Soapkills quickly became the soundtrack to the vibrant, young arts scene which developed in postwar Lebanon and elsewhere in the Arab world. On moving to Paris Yasmine worked with CocoRosie and French electronic music producer Mirwais. The inspiration for the melodies and the lyrics of her music comes from the great Arab women singers of the mid-20th century and the mischievous sensuality and the subtle, ironic social criticism which pervades their lyrics. Yasmine's vocals are connected to traditions of Arabic music but the structures and arrangements of the songs are very remote from its codes.