The Musicians Of The Nile

The Musicians of the Nile, a soaring, intoxicating, hypnotic effort incorporating wailing vocal ululations, dramatic percussion and the alternate trills and drones of the rabbabah. Originating from Upper-Egypt (Al-Sa'eed), for four generations the Mataqil have cultivated alliances with Gypsy families specialized in the art of singing. Frequently imitated and sometimes plagiarized, The Musicians of the Nile - lauded by the likes of Sun Ra and Keith Jarrett - have, for the last two decades, carried their majestic ancestral dream across the globe. The first "Arab music" group to win universal acclaim, Les Musiciens Du Nil (their original name, the other being for promotional convenience) have been seducing audiences since being discovered in 1975 by Alain Weber, a man who has acted as their manager ever since. Wooing the world with concerts comprising deep gusts of spontaneity interspersed with percussive flourishes, The Musicians - true to their origins - have wandered from Paris to New York, Berlin to Stockholm and London to Montreal. They made their presence felt at 1991's Gypsy Festival of Florence and 1995's Gypsy Festival of Lucerne, and they're proud to have been part of the original WOMAD in 1983 - a debut which led to collaboration with Peter Gabriel on his PASSION album. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.