History of the Kufiya

[Tourbeau]

Professor Swedenburg recently uploaded a link to his 1992 article on the history of the Kufiya, if anyone is interested.

http://swedenburg.blogspot.com/2023/11/my-kufiya-article-from-1992-seeing.html

And here's some mood music to read by--Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf singing "Ala al Kufiya" on "Arab Idol" the year he won it.

 

[hippyhips]

Professor Swedenburg recently uploaded a link to his 1992 article on the history of the Kufiya, if anyone is interested.

http://swedenburg.blogspot.com/2023/11/my-kufiya-article-from-1992-seeing.html

And here's some mood music to read by--Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf singing "Ala al Kufiya" on "Arab Idol" the year he won it.

Thank you, i like listening to middle eastern classical singers x

 

[Tourbeau]

Thank you, i like listening to middle eastern classical singers x

LOL, I like listening to everything that isn't belly dance records! Other dancers always freak out when they hear me say that, like I'm some kind of troglodyte who isn't sufficiently respectful of tradition, but then they realize I mean "I'd rather listen to the originals than elevator-music instrumental covers." Right now, I'm one album away from finishing a discography of Badee Masoud, a Saudi singer who was big in the 1990s in the Gulf sha'abi style. There's not much about him online, which is unfortunate, because he sang songs in rhythms I've never heard before.

Anyway, if you like old-school Arabic music, you should check out the Iraqis. They made some amazing music over there.

Poor Sabah al Sahel ended up on the wrong side of Saddam Hussein and was executed.

صباح السهل - نوبه شمالي الهوى

How can you not love Afifa Iskandar, the "Umm Kalthoum of Iraq," especially after she responded to Saddam's request for a command performance by retiring?

Afifah Iskandar عفيفه اسكندر - جوز منهم "سينما الاندلس" 1964

Speaking of Saddam, the Iraqis also claim the song "Ala al Kufiya."

علي الكوفية عراقية للشهيد صدام حسين

...and we're back on topic!