Hi, here I am with some special ethnic music for you. A few nights ago as I was coming home and Shinanay, a well known traditional Aegean song sprang to my mind. The reason I still remember this song is because of a rendition by Omar Faruk Tekbilek the world renowned Sufi-ethnic musician from Turkey, who lives in Sweden. I know it might not appeal to people who don’t know the song or don’t understand the lyrics, but it’s a good song featuring some parts of the lyrics in Greek, so it’s a true Greek-Turkish collaboration and it’s a wonderful brasilified rich version with accoustic guitar work.

After this song, another anonymous traditional tune Sehnaz Longa song sprang to my mind. It’s a well known tune from Anatolia and Middle East (I don’t really know the origin, it might be Turkish or Persian). This song has a beatiful version in the Israeli Sheshbesh’s 1998 album led by the principal flutist of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Yossi Arnheim. Great rendition of an Arabic/Eastern sound by a Jewish band, lovely example for cultural fusion and different cultures living together!. I’ve included another song from the same album, which is a rare gem from back in the day.

The closer is from Ilhan Ersahin’s triphop outfit Wax Poetic. Ilhan is a Turkish saxophonist and band leader who lives in NY and is the owner of the Nublu club & recording in NYC. His Wax Poetic project has been widely successful, and although I’ve never been a big fan of the sound, this track named after the Ottoman Sultan Selim the Grim is a classic. This is from the self titled album released on Atlantic.

Omar Faruk Tekbilek - Shinanay
Sheshbesh - Longa Yurgo
Sheshbesh - Kumran
Anonymous - Longa Shahinaz
Wax Poetic - Selim II