专辑简介

Bejawiya is the first record for Otaak Band, which is the collaboration of Miguel Merino from the United States and Ahmed Said Abuamna, from the Beja tribe of Eastern Sudan. It is the first album to feature the masankop, the Pharaonic lyre played by the Beja of which Ahmed Said is a master. Produced by Miguel Merino, who plays masankop as well as drumset, hand drums, and other instruments, and engineered by Grammy award-winning engineer Alaa el-Kashef (Youssou N'Dour), ”Bejawiya” features the entire history of the instrument, from the oldest traditional Beja songs, such as “W’annaafi” and “Yhaab Yhaaba,” to the country-rock of “Ogna” and the Sudanese-inspired but original melodies of “Daleeb” and “Ifaarsa.” The album's lyrics are exclusively in the Beja language, written and sung in the style which has been passed down over countless generations. Otaak Band is not only a vehicle for introducing a little-known instrument and culture to the world, but for preserving the Beja traditions and language which in the age of globalization are rapidly disappearing.