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| MUSIC What would belly dance be without belly dance music? This is the essential element that is the inspiration for and backdrop to your dance. Before you find out about your own tastes in this music genre it's easy to make mistakes, especially when buying generic albums with titles like 'The Worlds Best Belly Dance' etc. Perhaps it is just what the title purports but on the other hand, perhaps not. Below you can find a list of recommendations that is a little out of date so we'll be tweaking it from time to time but it'll give you something to work with and make buying your first belly dance music less fraught. Enjoy!Radio stations on the internet: http://www.amulya.info/radio/mix/radio.blog/index.php?autoplay=1 or http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/directory.cgi?site=..&searchdesc=belly+dance&searchgenre=All&x=10&y=5 and keep hunting as the internet is a great open book to the wonderful world of dancing.
George Abdo - The Art Of Belly Dancing: I guess this was one of our first CD's but we still use it again and again. It has fantastic traditional music with a whole range of speeds to suit a whole range of ability levels and moods - I guess that makes it a must!
Orange Blossom - Everything Must Change: What a fantastic CD, just great modern belly dance that goes from the dark and moody to totally uplifting cool stuff that successfully marries traditional to completely state of the art belly dance. Don't buy this if like safe music. I totally adore 'Desert Dub' which even manages to bring in some of the Caribbean side of our family - what a mixed bunch we are and this music just about suits us all. Hope you find something that speaks to you in it too.
Souad Massi - Ghir Etna on Deb - Broken Heart: as a starter but then find more as she ranges from ethereal to hip shakingly overt. This one is totally lovely and I play this at tango, in the car and wherever as it's yummy. Try any of her CD's but naturally if you have i-tunes you can download individual tracks, which is cheaper in the long run as you get what you want. Her influences are Algerian and Andalucian so you get an eclectic mix of Spanish alongside the Arabic and even French. My poor mum will attest my leanings in this direction betray the gypsy side of our family and if she's reading this I'm sure her head's shaking.
Sting - Desert Rose: Yes, seriously, Sting! Give it a whirl and you'll see why we dropped the snotty nosed look of disbelief.
Beats Antique - Tribal Derivations: For those of you who like Tribal and more clubbing sounds this is a great little CD. A collaboration of two musicians and a tribal performer / musician this is spot on for dance. I think that even if you're new to the tribal scene it's well worth listening to this cd and it's 12 tracks are ALL fab for inspiring you to perform experimentally 'with' the music rather than it be wallpaper. I really like this!
Tabel Y Issam: Not my style of music but some of the crew really love this. I hope they won't groan if I say that there is a cabaret dancer overtone in this work - it's just the way I respond to it but as I say, others adore it and use it to get their hips going so it must be just me!
Movie Chill, Lawrence of Arabia: Sounds mad but is great fun and always goes down well at gatherings. I-tunes is the answer unless you want tonnes of additional movie chill type tracks.
Assddine and Bill Laswell - Massafat: Belly dance meets clubbing in a rather modern set of tracks that I'm rather fond of as they reach the clubbing audience and even folk like me who'd rather not go clubbing but enjoy lots of different styles of music. As with Souad Massis music you'll find the French influence coming through so it's a real treat of modern meeting traditional through many realms of world music. Great.
Belly Dance Mystique Cd's 1 & 2 - great compillations and worth every penny as they include all you'd need to get you going and going and going till you're more than merely glowing. A range of musical genres within the belly dance offerings so there's bound to be tracks that will suit any mood.
Shakira - Hips Don't Lie: Okay, a bit obvious but it's an example of one of my favourite modern exponents of belly dancing who does a great job of opening the door for younger audiences to take up this special dance. Shakira and Beyonce doing their thing on the Beautiful Liar track is a good R&B / belly dance cross-over that you could use too. I think that Shakira looks like she's holding back in the video so that she doesn't out-wiggle the lovely Beyonce.... but that's just a personal opinion.
Bombay Dub Orchestra 're-mixed' - Beauty and the East, Feel: We love 'em so why not give them a whirl and see what you think.
Masters of Arabian Percussion & Masters of Belly Dance Music, Two great Cd's which are every bit as cool as their titles boast. I never cease to play these and they're fantastic for creating atmosphere.
Nu Cafe: Arabia - Various Artists: Another great all-rounder for musical and dance tastes with a 'chill-out' feel. One of our ladies says this is good boudoir music so make of that what you will. Naturally I know nothing of these things..... I couldn't even hazard a guess as to what she means but it's certainly good if you like your belly dancing modern yet laid-back. Oh, I might add that it reminds me of music that could be used by new age Thai masseuse and if I'm not selling it well take a listen and see what you think and I do have it on my i-pod so I don't hate it.
Punjabi Lounge 1 - Various Artists: Top fav' of one of our ladies who came to belly dance through her Punjabi roots and just moved sideways to this more Arabic style of dancing. Great fun stuff.
Los Nandez - La Matra-K: not what you'd expect but fantastic Reggeaton that seems to have been woven around the noise of a snake charmer performing in the background as someone raps in Spanish. I bet that's making some of you grimace but I love it to bits and it's just what the Latino doctor ordered. Go for it Mi Chicas!
Les Yeux Noirs - Balamouk: The only one I've got of theirs and I like it loads.
Baligh Hamdi - Belly Dance: Really cool and the track called Ennai is just right for single sharp hip or shoulder articulations and timing body rolls to end on one of the accented beats. Yep, rather sold on this one.
Bombay - Timbaland & Jimmy Beanz Very Asian continent meets R&B and just perfect for belly dancing. A note of caution is that there's a 'parental advisory' label on it so perhaps it's not for everyone but I couldn't see / hear anything too out-there about it.... but make your own minds up on that score.
Tribal Dance - Tribal Drums, Helm: This is one that the Fat Chance Belly Dance group puts their name to and you can see why. There are a whole range of rhythms here to keep you and your dance being spontaneous and diverse and I'm using this a lot while I'm teaching for just that reason.
Aziza Raks - Various Artists: Okay this one proves that I like traditional as well as modern interpretations. It's great and has some incredible tabla that defies even the most tired dancer taking a rest during its really uplifting sounds. Perhaps it's another one that you should say is an essential and add to your 'must haves' as it has everything to explain what belly dance music is about.
Gypsy Caravan - Caravan Rhythms: Another one that might make the toes of my relatives curl but it's really good and I love Chiftitelli so I'll tell those with i-tunes to try downloading it and see if that persuades you to buy the rest of the CD. | |
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