Secretly Famous

The Spy From Cairo – Secretly Famous
Reviewed by Sadie O., 11/18/09
Funky Arab/club grooves by multi-instrumentalist and producer Zeb, outa New York. Born in Italy to an eastern European/Kurdish Gypsy mother, he worked in London and studied stringed instruments from around the world, as well as electronics/sampling. This particular outing (he’s recorded and produced an almost absurd number of various projects) is heavily Arabic instrumental, with a funky rhythm section and some electronic/dub elements – and it’s gorgeous.
Vocals all in Arabic (and Kurdish?) – no FCCs detected.
All tracks are AWESOME; I like 6, 8 and 10 most of all.
1. 5:26 Blood and Honey ***flute intro, then midtempo belly-dance sway with a funky back beat.
2. 5:14 Nayphony ***midtempo lilting Arabic groove with a bit of funk and dub, lower in timbre than previous track. Gets really dubby.
3. 5:38 Kurdish Delight ***lovely oud, cool beat, bits of vocal samples. The music reminds me a bit of Rachid Taha (not the vocals, which are quite pretty, a bit like Indian singing). Ends with water and birds.
4. 5:31 Kembe ***very pretty strings, a bit of a club beat, then goes electronics and funk. Alternates between belly dance and electronic club.
5. 5:07 Ana Arabi ***hey! More pretty strings and hand drums!, gorgeous female vocals saying “I’m an Arab”.
6. 4:44 Leila ****low-pitched strings and club dub. So nice!
7. 6:12 Oudfunk **a bit more relaxed and atmospheric, still with great strings.
8. 5:50 Sufi Disco ****mysterious vibe – breathy flute and drone, as well as strings and funky eastern beat.
9. 7:26 Saidi the Man ***very trad intro – flutes, hand drums and male vocals, but they’re almost like Arabic folk hip hop, sounding like Rachid Taha, with extravagantly rolled R’s. Turns into dub reggae. Huh!
10. 5:32 Reggada ****swingy groove with a Reggae beat and wide variety of strings. This is bitchen!