Here are dozen strong tracks of North African Dance music, as the title implies. Putumayo states that their Arabic releases have done phenomenally well in Latin America, somewhat surprisingly! However, if you dig a little deeper, the kinship is not as distant as at first glance. Per the website: “Thanks to the Moors, Spanish music has an Arabic influence. And Cuban music combines Spanish heritage with West African music, a region that also shares historical connections with the Arab world”.

The Algerian group Jomed combines Cuban sounding trumpet lines with strongly North African-influenced grooves. The string sound of the oud is North African rather than the Cuban tradition, making an interesting and effective mix.

In North Africa, Cairo is apparently a magnet for aspiring Middle Eastern musicians seeking an entre into greater recognition. Morocco’s Samira Saeid made her start with local TV singing competitions, and moved on to Cairo. “Aal Eah” is a funky Arab-pop groove.

Egyptian Amr Diab’s “Nour El Ain” is sort of an Arabic-flamenco hybrid. Diab, an extremely popular, trend setting Arabic singer, was the first at combining Arabic music with Latin and flamenco influences. Again, very danceable. Faudel is the hottest of the younger generation of ethnically Algerian rai singers who were born and raised in France; rai of course originated in Algeria. This piece is a great example of how to combine the modern and the traditional successfully. And is one of my favorites on this compilation. Cheb Jilani’s Bahebbak is a damn nice track! He is a Libyan star who resides in Cairo. “Ya-Rayi,” represents Khaled’s return to the rootsy pure rai of his earlier days; has a great modern bubbly synth intro. In spite of Algerian and French political differences, Algerian pop singers have finally started recording in the French language, and scoring mega hit in France that way. Yeah, get that money! Khaled started this trend. Other nice songs from Cheb Mami, Mohammed Mounir, and the Eastenders.

-Root Doctor