Heavy funk and more from Somalia's Dur Dur Band

This triple LP reissue of the band's first two albums – the first installment in a three-part series dedicated to Dur-Dur Band. Remastered from the best available audio sources. Some thirty years after they first made such a splash in the Mogadishu scene, they have been freed from the wobble and tape-hiss of second and third generation cassette dubs, to reveal a glorious mix of polychromatic organs, nightclub-ready rhythms and hauntingly soulful vocals. 

In addition to two previously unreleased tracks, the music is accompanied by extensive liner notes, featuring interviews with original band members, documenting a forgotten chapter of Somalia's cultural history. Before the upheaval in the 1990s that turned Somalia into a war-zone, Mogadishu, the white pearl of the Indian Ocean, had been one of the jewels of eastern Africa, a modern paradise of culture and commerce. In the music of the Dur-Dur band – now widely available outside of Somalia – we can still catch a fleeting glimpse of that golden age. 

Tracklist:

A1 Ohiyee 5:57

A2 Yabaal 5:56

A3 Heelo 8:58

B1 Hiyeeley 4:00

B2 Aw Baahilowlow 6:17

B3 Doon Baa Maraysoo 7:27

C1 Intro Vol.2 1:05

C2 Jaceyl Mirahiis 5:20

C3 Dab 7:46

C4 Saafiyeey Makaa Saraayeey 2:50

D1 Jaajumoow Jees 5:43

D2 Diinleeya 5:43

D3 Caashaqa Maxaa ii Baray 5:10

E1 Keene Gardaran 4:00

E2 Jubba Aaka 7:35

E3 Aduun Hawli Kama Dhamaato 8:40

F1 Salkudhigey 6:40

F2 Haddi Aanan Gacaloy 8:50