As their name might suggest, Habibi Funk are a label dedicated to releasing funky Arabic music from the 1960s to 1980s, much of which has vanished into obscurity since. Their first release came from Dalton, a band from Tunis, who blended soul, funk and rock with an Arabic DNA on the infectious ‘Soul Brother’ and ‘Alech’. The band’s composer, Fawzi Chekili, was also part of another band called Carthago, who take over Habibi Funk’s fourth release.
Released as part of a self-titled album – their one and only – at the end of the 70s, ‘Hanen’ ups the disco feel compared to the Dalton release we’re already familiar with and, stripped back to its instrumental, the musicianship of the band shines through even more.
Alech / Hanen is out 2nd December – pre-order from the Habibi Funk Bandcamp.
