My late uncle Gareth’s music collection is both vast and diverse. Going through it has yielded some interesting finds. Many of the cassettes come from his time living in the Middle East, where he was a correspondent for both The Guardian and The Financial Times. He spent a lot of time in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon amongst others. I’m assuming cassette was the most widely available format over there due to these being on cassette and there being not so much on CD or vinyl, as with much of the Reggae, Folk, Jazz and Rock in his collection.
I’m almost certain this tape originates from Lebanon and musically, like the cover suggests, it has a militaristic feel. The music sounds cheaply made with synthesised orchestration and drum machine snare drum parts. The vocals sound like a group of young men singing and is more functionary than artistic.
I’m not mentioning the group this cassette appears to be in support of, for reasons that should become obvious after listening for a short time. However, I do not speak Arabic so I can not tell you anything about what the songs say.
Why am I hosting it? Because it’s interesting. My uncle was exceptionally curious and I want to honour that curiosity.
You can listen here.
