Habibi Funk Records
| Habibi Funk Records | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jannis Stürtz (co-founder) |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Location | Berlin |
| Official website | habibifunkrecords |
Habibi Funk Records is a reissue record label based in Berlin, Germany dedicated to music from the Arab world.[1] It was co-founded by Jannis Stürtz, who also works as a DJ using the name Habibi Funk.[1][2] The label is mostly known for its albums and accompanying booklets of Arabic funk and soul bands from the 1960-80s.
History[edit]
Jannis Stürtz first became interested in the music of the region while visiting Casablanca, Morocco in 2002.[1] Habibi Funk's first release was al-Zman Saib (الزمان صعيب), a 1970s reinterpretation of British rock group Free's song "All Right Now" by a Moroccan group called Fadaul et les Privileges (فضول).[1]
Habibi Funk has re-released an expansive collection of Arabic funk and soul bands from the 1960-80s, including compilations. Apart from these, there are albums featuring a specific band, like Sudanese funk musician Kamal Keila,[3] the "King of Sudanese Jazz", Sharhabil Ahmed[4] or The Scorpions and Saif Abu Bakr,[5][6] as well as North African musicians such as Al Massrieen, Ahmed Malek, Raze de Soare,[7] Mallek Mohamed, and Hamid El Shaeri.[8]
Editor's attitude towards post-colonialism in the music business[edit]
Jannis Stürtz claims to have awareness of the political aspects of the label's work, addressing "the context of post-colonialism" and avoiding orientalist "stereotypical visual language."[1][9] He also added that Habibi Funk Records licenses the music it reissues directly from the artists or their families, who get a 50% cut of the profits.[1]
In an interview with The Vinyl Factory, Stürtz commented: "If you’re a European or Western label and you’re dealing with non-European artists’ music, there’s obviously a special responsibility to make sure you don’t reproduce historic economic patterns of exploitation, which is the number one thing when it comes to the post-colonial aspect of what we are doing."[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f "The label dedicated to reissuing stereotype-busting Arab music". The Independent. 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- ^ a b Nazif, Perwana (2017-10-11). "Habibi Funk: Tales from digging in North Africa". The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- ^ "Musique : le label Habibi Funk présente Kamal Keila, le "James Brown soudanais"". Franceinfo (in French). 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ^ Honigmann, David (2020-07-17). "Sharhabil Ahmed: The King of Sudanese Jazz — urgent and explosive". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
- ^ Moore, Marcus J. (2019-09-17). "The Making of Moroccan Funk". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
- ^ Music, Pan African (2018-09-12). "Habibi Funk to reissue legendary The Scorpions & Saif Abu Bakr album". Pan African Music. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ^ "Habibi disco from around the world à La Folie Paris". www.sortiraparis.com (in French). Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ^ "Various Artists: Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection of Music From the Arab World". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ^ "The Record Label Unearthing the Arab World's Rarest Records". Mille World. 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
