Wax Wonders :: Abdou El Omari

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In the mid ’70s, to western ears, records rarely arrived more exotic than these Moroccan beauties featuring organist Abdou El Omari. Combining rock / funk / progressive jazz and (very psychedelic) Moroccan melodies, these are the types of records that get collectors salivating, opening their wallets deep to capture a piece of El Omari’s Moroccan magic. Regarded in his homeland as an innovator who took traditional music and added a contemporary flavor, the following two singles (1976) compile a good chunk of an entire album that Abdou laid to tape. With a rhythm sometimes reminiscent of Can (a their most exotic), “Hind” has a melody line that at times feels vaguely western — but beyond those traits this is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. “Fatine” is especially remarkable; the rhythm is hypnotic, and the organ is both beautiful and discordant. words / d see

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