The curious sound, moving back and forth between maqam (the fundamental scales of Arabic music) and avant-garde synth, strikes an exquisite balance of Arabic percussion and synth that feels great to dance-tuned ears too. Since it's a collection of film and TV pieces (he worked on as many as 93 film scores over his career), rather than strictly following traditional rhythms it's a bit more easy-listening with Western musical elements mixed in, resulting in a strange Egyptian exotica flavor. A mysterious floating feeling you feel like you've heard before but haven't, plus busy Arabic/belly-dance percussion made this pleasant... I've had it on repeat. This is surely the mark of excellent production.
A soundtrack-style compilation from HANY MEHANNA, who raced through the era alongside the equally legendary blind producer Ammar El Sherei, as Westernization arrived with the Egyptian government's market liberalization in the 1970s. It also includes a track (sample2) featuring OMAR KHORSHID, the legendary Egyptian guitarist who likewise had a compilation released on SUBLIME FREQUENCIES. Everything's connected. (Original Japanese text by Shhhhh)