Biography
Mahmoud Fadl, born 12 September 1955 in Cairo, Egypt, conceived Salamat chiefly as a studio project. In September 1993 he assembled an elite assembly of Nubian vocalists and instrumentalists—including several players from Ali Hassan Kuban’s ensemble—at El Araby Studio in Cairo to capture the sound of Nubian Al Jeel, or new-generation music. His goal was a style anchored in Nubian heritage yet receptive to currents from Egypt and farther afield. The sessions yielded the track El Mambo Soudani (“The Sudanese Mambo”), an energetic blend of raw percussion, piercing brass, and fervent vocals that folded Pan-African, Latin American, and Mediterranean flavors into the Nubian and Arabic core.
One year afterward the same Salamat musicians joined forces with the Musicians Of The Nile for a live appearance at Berlin’s Heimetklange Festival. Remaining in Germany, both ensembles laid down the collaborative album Salam Delta, produced by Hijaz Mustapha of 3 Mustaphas 3; the record merged Salamat’s contemporary urban al jeel approach with the Musicians Of The Nile’s earthy traditionalism. Nubiana, issued in 1996, introduced strings and electric guitars, resulting in a soulful, approachable set distinguished by catchy melodic lines and, on one cut, reggae inflections.
In 1997 Fadl issued The Drummers Of The Nile, enlisting a team of percussionists to map the rhythmic and stylistic variety found along the Nile’s banks. By 1998 Salamat had secured its place among world-music institutions. That year the ensemble delivered the fresh-sounding album Ezzayakoum, which retained much the same instrumental and vocal blend heard on prior releases, while Fadl separately released the instrumental collection Love Letter From King Tut-Ank-Amen. On the latter he interpreted a series of classic Egyptian love songs with the support of a string section, a trumpeter, and an accordionist.
One year afterward the same Salamat musicians joined forces with the Musicians Of The Nile for a live appearance at Berlin’s Heimetklange Festival. Remaining in Germany, both ensembles laid down the collaborative album Salam Delta, produced by Hijaz Mustapha of 3 Mustaphas 3; the record merged Salamat’s contemporary urban al jeel approach with the Musicians Of The Nile’s earthy traditionalism. Nubiana, issued in 1996, introduced strings and electric guitars, resulting in a soulful, approachable set distinguished by catchy melodic lines and, on one cut, reggae inflections.
In 1997 Fadl issued The Drummers Of The Nile, enlisting a team of percussionists to map the rhythmic and stylistic variety found along the Nile’s banks. By 1998 Salamat had secured its place among world-music institutions. That year the ensemble delivered the fresh-sounding album Ezzayakoum, which retained much the same instrumental and vocal blend heard on prior releases, while Fadl separately released the instrumental collection Love Letter From King Tut-Ank-Amen. On the latter he interpreted a series of classic Egyptian love songs with the support of a string section, a trumpeter, and an accordionist.
Albums
Singles
