BEST MUSIC EVER

I know nothing about these videos. I don't know who the performer is, I don't know what style of music this is. I don't speak Arabic, so I can't really search for any more information. All I know is that the performance in these videos completely blows my mind.

The keyboard player is a very engaging performer. At times he plays the keyboard more like a drum than a key instrument. The melodies are repetitive and almost trance-like. Occasionally there is a little bouncy keyboard part that jumps in at times and its absolutely perfect. I'm not sure if the vocals are run through effects or if it is just the echo from the PA, but the singing in the first video is spacey and delayed. It almost sounds like a transmission from another planet.

The whole crowd dynamic is also really fascinating. There really is no barrier between audience and performer. In the second video, you can hear people in the audience singing along with the keyboardist. They effectively become part of the band. This type of relationship to the audience is something we in the United States aren't very accustomed to. Call and response vocals are typical to many types of African music performances. It isn't unusual to hear performers and the audience trade off lines all the time.


This sharply dressed keyboardist plays like a coked out, Sudanese Stevie Wonder. Incredible.

I wish the shows I went to here in the US were half this energetic.