The building of the Aswan dam made refugees of a large number of Nubians, and many of them settled in Cairo. The music that resulted from the mixture of native traditions with urban life is the basis of this compilation. Ali Hassan Kuban is listed as the main artist here, but the CD actually gives a nice overview of several generations of musical evolution with tracks by other artists as well. This will sound vaguely ‘north African’ even to the casual listener, but it’s also unexpectedly funky with a more modern feel. 12/02/10
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