Hassouna Bangladish

Hassouna Bangladish is a six-piece band with both traditional and contemporary instrumentation (tabla, doholla, bass, guitar, accordion, violin, bongos). Their catalogue consists of Sudanese songs dating from the 1920s and ’30s featuring wandering vocal melodies, often twinned with accordion and violin, and steady percussion accompaniment. Music From Sudan is part of percussionist/producer Hossam Ramzy's North African series. His nickname, the Sultan of Swing, ensures that the music he issues is rhythm-heavy and, on Music From Sudan, "Sabab El Aza" is enough for him to earn his moniker. Based on the Sudanese "tom tom" rhythm, this song is an example from Hassouna Bangladish's repertoire of a beat not used in any other country's music. In addition, Sudan's Indian folk music heritage is apparent in the high-pitched backing vocals and tabla accompaniment on the album.