Qat, Coffee & Qambus: Raw 45s From Yemen

The word hypnotic may be amongst the most overused in music writing (I, for one, am guilty), but there is no better word to describe the repetitive rhythms on Fatimah Al-Zaelaeyah’s “Ya Mun Dakhal Bahr Al-Hawa (Hey, Who Enters the Sea of Passion?).” If it weren’t for her voice momentarily breaking the spell, I’d feel myself being pulled deeper and deeper into a trance. Then there are the entrancing rhythms of “Hom Bel Hawa Ya Nas Walaoni (They Made Me Fond of Love),” with its low, throbbing drum and intricate qambus playing, or the ululations, shakers, and rhythmic clapping on Mohammed Hamood Al-Awami’s “Wahed Mozawag (A Married Person).” In Yemen this is the kind of music that is played privately at home, while chewing qat or drinking coffee, so Dust-to-Digital’s compilation really does feel like a rare peek into a musical world most of us know little about.