Thread: "Easy listening" ME Music?

So, in your (possibly vast) collection of ME music, do you have artists or albums that you don't particularly like to dance to, but really like to listen to? While you clean the house... at your outside job... in the car... just something to put on because you enjoy it, but you're not improv-ing or choreographing in your head?

My favorite at the moment is "The Legendary Fairuz." I really like her voice, but the arrangements don't speak to me for dancing.

Got anything to recommend to others?

I dance to almost exclusively traditional Egyptian and other ME music, but I have a huge collection of new-agey ME music, and ME-inspired new age music: everything that Solace ever put out, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Stellamara, Azam Ali and her project V.A.S., Dead can Dance to name some of my favorites.

In the Middle Eastern but not belly dance category: Djivan Gasparyan, Simon Shaheen, Fahir Atakoglu

I have a rather random collection of Sufi music that is *not* for dancing to, but usually what I will put on when I am painting anything not-so-secular or doing calligraphy, or in a meditative state of mind. Some of it is zikr/sema recordings.

(I am a Muslim Sufi, so this is sort of purposeful listening, maybe not precisely in line with what you're asking. But some of this stuff would probably work well for just chilling, though, if that was your thing :) )

My teacher used to use a Sufi CD for gentle mood music at events, along with Hamza el Din's "A Wish", and I like both CDs for when I need to chill out. See also George Sawa's Art of the Early Egyptian Qanoon, much of which is a bit challenging for dancing, for me, but very lovely to listen to.

I am enjoying medieval Andalusian music, like Eduardo Paniagua, Hesperion XXI / Jordi Savall and Naxos's Sephardic collection. I travel back in time with it. Lovely stuff.

I'm taking some notes!

I forgot to mention Shusmo, which is a Palestinian-influenced jazz band from NYC, and also Niyaz, which is... uh... I don't know what to call it, but the musicians are from Iran, I think.

I like Samir Srour. His arrangements are too long and whiney for me to want to dance too, but I like listening to it. I actually used his CD's as background music for my law school grad party and got a lot of compliments on the background music!

Mercan Dede

Keti Sharif in Australia has a jazz fusion type of CD. I just can't get into dancing to it but it's OK otherwise.

Omar Khariat

My most recent discoveries include Askin Serbetci, Meeting of the Giants and Hasan Isakkut's Hayat 1 Hayat and Kibar (all through CDBaby). Nice for sitting on the porch with a glass of wine. Hayat 1 Hayat has an interesting version of Fire Dance as well as Benefse, the song used on Ruby's Totally Turkish DVD, too. Another favorite for that setting is Cairo Blue with Hosein al-Issawi & Ahmed Ramaah (also available from CDBaby).

Believe it or not,most of my Balkan/turkish/MENA music is non dance music(because I´m a lazy listener and a music&dance fan rather than a dancer

I think that the best collection of "easy listening"is this one(exclude the one w. clarinet for those who don´t find it soothing)NO SYNTHESIZERS,YAY!
Aziz TSM Topluluu Discography and Music Samples

Samir Siblinis "Oriental Mood"is soft versions of famous song+impro,also good:
Oriental Mood - Samir Seblini - Album: MP3s, Music Videos and Reviews - Music - Virgin Media

Originally Posted by emma-bessa

... (exclude the one w. clarinet for those who don´t find it soothing) ...

<scratches head> So, yeah, I admit it, I may get a bit too excited when I hear a good clarinet, but that should not be a reason to not listen to it, should it?

SCNR :-)

Heheafter buying the violin one I was so delighted that I bought the whole collection,and the only one who has not been well liked by guests has been the clarinet one...I <3 turkish myself,but like the mizmar it´s not everyones favorite

I don't know if its the kind of music you are looking for but..... "So Close, So Far" by Mohammad Reza Algholi.

These have all been around awhile, but when I think of "easy listening," I think of the calming "Eternal Egypt" & "Immortal Egypt" by Hossam Ramzy. Two CDs that are not quite as mellow but interesting and my perennial listening favorites are the motion picture soundtrack from "Steam" (Hamam, the Turkish Bath)," and "The Third Planet" by multi-ethnic group The Third Planet.

-Devora