“EGYPT NOIR: NUBIAN SOUL TREASURES,” various acts (Piranha)

There are cultural lessons packed into “Egypt Noir: Nubian Soul Treasures,” but its educational relevance shouldn’t scare away those looking for entertainment. Because the release is an unconventional good time, regardless of a listener’s knowledge of history or Arabic and Nubian languages.

“Egypt Noir” (“black Egypt”) generally exemplifies the assimilation of descendents of the ancient Nubia empire into modern Egypt, and the compilation loosely shows how Nubian/Egyptian music has further been Westernized into a contemporary style that could be played anywhere yet still maintains ties to its roots.

The late Ali Hassan Kuban, who is credited for updating the Nubian sound by marrying “village music” to the likes of saxophone, is featured on two tracks — “Gammal” and “Bettitogor Agil.” On the former, his voice plays off the vocals of Salwa Abou Greisha as they weave through gorgeous, mesmerizing melodies, and on the latter he stands tall through sweeping, infectious refrains. Both tracks are tethered to incredibly vigorous rhythms.

In fact, the energy of “Egypt Noir” is nearly as relentless as that of just about any current dance, pop or hip-hop product; it’s simply more organic, driven by all manner of drums and percussion. Also, although the arrangements fluctuate from the primal (Fathi Abou Greisha’s “Hager”) and the subdued (Abou Saleh’s “El Zekra”) to the electrified (Salma’s “Yanas Baridouh”) and the complex (Hassan Abdel Aziz’s “Elleya Misafir”), the vocals are consistently dramatic — sometimes overly acrobatic or too croonerish, but never without soul.

Ultimately, this stirring cultural mash-up sounds both otherworldly and grounded.