Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Al Balabil- The Nightingales البلابل

Al Balabil ("The Nightingales") are three singing sisters who are considered to be "The Supremes of Sudan". Their wistful harmonizing is among the most beautiful sounds that has ever graced these ears. As I've been wildly unable to track down an actual album, tape or disc by these ladies (since I don't speak Arabic), I went ahead and culled these recording from various Sudanese TV performances and ordered them here into a one-disc collection of my favorite tracks. I hope this does for you what it does for me. Pardon me, but I didn't even attempt to decipher the track names. If one of you out in webland happens to know their catalog, by all means, please help me translate the song titles.

Osha Sagira البلابل

Mashaina البلابل

Altareeg البلابل بعد العودة - الطريق


Mediafire Download Link: Al Balabil- The Nightingales (ghostcapital mix) *I originally mistranslated (via Google Translate, I beleieve) Al Abalabil as "The Hummingbirds". I have yet to correct this mistake within the file upload.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

these ladies were a new find for me. thx. have u checked the tafo bros yet?
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EV2Y9T5E

nicholab said...

hadn't heard them yet. they rule!!! thanks...

Jack said...

Thanks so much for making this available. Like you, I don't speak Arabic, and can't make out a word on their facebook pages. But two of the sisters, Amal and Hadia, live in the U.S. now and speak English (at least Hadia) in occasional interviews (Hayat still lives in Khartoum, but rejoined her sisters in 2008 for a concert in Detroit). They may be happy to tell you on facebook how to get official albums, though there isn't one mentioned that I can tell.

Alex said...

This is simply incredible music, stunningly beautiful. Thanks a lot for this discovery. Great blog, keep up the good work.

øשlqæda said...

dearest ghosthug, that mediafire.myfiles.phb mess only werks if i am ghost or i pretend to be. i am owl, so for me, it avails itself w/ all the seeds an owl planted at mediafire, rather than ghosts' loving gift to owl ;oD i reckon the option yur after only happens if u choose some kinda share option but aint really certain. would still luv to hear that strings slab, either today or somesweetday & as much fun as swappin comments owl the thyme surely is, hear goes a junk email where i don't mind if spam arrives. subsequent to initial contact, i will summarily reply from me mainline email addy so we may communicate w/ the quickness. hope yr having as glorious a day as portland can provide. much heart
owlmighty@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Hello, bouncing youtube today, coincidentally fell on the first clip you offer us Osha sagira.

On page eleven of the comments, I read that the uploader is willing to provide an album in mp3 to a reader, I remembered your blog.
And I suggest a way to find your desire, luck and thanks for sharing.

Hammer said...

Howlo, Ghostcap.
Your ethno-siasm is beyond words, good ol'chap. Mucho respect.

As for El-Balabel, which means The Nightingales as you've discovered by your ownsome (the songbirds are known in Arabic adages to have the best of songs; and anyone who sings rather immaculately is called sing. a Bulbul)... http://anasudani.net this site here features WMA files for nearly (workable only as some artists' links come 404'd) 40+ Sudanese singers/singresses from the 70s, and 80s.
The site is actually a multi-thread forum that says on its door "I Am Sudanese", made by an expatriate Sudanese living currently in good ol'Germany.
Good news? The Balabel has 19 downloadable WMAs IYI, and I jus' felt the urge to show you this very link because:
1.) it's only in Arabic regardless of having a Deutsch-English translation-generator which leads ya to the entire music files held in 'frames' within the Music-Center. Go there, and navigate the artists' pages (six in number. Sadly, only 4 work). Some songs there to be found are really rare.
2.) You rule the blogistani sphere.
Dig and enjoy.

H.H.

Hammer said...

Translation handy...
1.) Osha Saghira: Small Coop (a playword on their name, and also this is how humble lovers mean to say that love's enough and not the mawney).
2.) Mashaina: We Walked (reminiscence and nostalgia etc... call it Arab's own Memory Lane-ism).
3.) Altareeg: Synchs with the previous Mashaina, this is the 'Road' which they walked through olden memories' lane.

Note: if you need anything to be transliterated from Arabic into English or vise versa, I'd gladly do so. E me brudah
hythammer at hawtmail dot com

'Njoy.

H.H.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for switching me on to this wonderful music. Combining this with the cassette over at World Service has made one beautiful CD (with a bit of judicious editing).

(& just in case you're not way ahead of me,) then I searched images which took me to

http://theaudiotopia.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/al-balabil-band-ode-to-ghost-capital.html

(An ode to YOU!)

which led me to this page:

http://www.mediafire.com/?o83roova6b711

An absolute GOLDMINE of AL BALABIL!

Thanks again - Mick from Oz