In 1980s Somalia, music was effectively nationalised by the Barre dictatorial regime; by day, musicians were state-employed, playing for Radio Mogadishu and the Waaberi National Theatre group. By night, they let loose, playing disco music for swank partygoers in Kooxdas (private bands). This was the heyday of Somali disco music, and “queues of youth lined up along Via Roma to grab one of the bootleg cassettes which were heard in taxis, shops and on street corners throughout the country”. That’s when Dur-Dur Band first came together. By the end of the 1980s, though, the Civil War had swept the nation, and most musicians were forced into exile. Political upheaval scattered them worldwide, with many Somalis settling in London. Although active in the early 90s in Addis Ababa and Djibouti, their members soon also dispersed.
In 2003, Liban Noah, an advocate for the Somali community and executive director, organised a fundraiser in London to reconstruct Hargeisa’s National Theatre, which was destroyed during the war. The event welcomed Somali singers, actors, and comedians from various parts of the Diaspora. As a result, a new Kooxda was established under the leadership of Cabdillahi Cujeeri, the founding member and bass player of Dur-Dur, and adopted the name Dur-Dur Band International (now Dur-Dur Band Int.) to signify their status as exiles. Over the past two decades, they have primarily performed within the Somali community.
“Let’s shake off the dust, boys!” (Inta ka hurguf) exclaimed Fadumina Hilowle, Dur Dur Band International’s regular vocalist, at the start of the first track, Wan Ka Helaa. This was not the band of the 1980s – only one of the original members, Cabdillahi Cujeeri, Dur Dur Band’s founding member and bassist, was present. But all the musicians on The Berlin Session record were there to prove that they would not be relegated to obscurity and that Somalian music was still as relevant and as full of life and rhythm as it was in the 1980s.
With its disco beats and funk influences, The Berlin Session takes listeners on a journey through time. Still, it also traverses continents and various musical traditions, culminating in an unabashedly unique sound. Somalia was a seafaring passage to the Silk Road, and you can hear the influences of both Africa and Asia in the melodies sung by Abdinoor Allale on the track Riyo. His other tracks on the album, Heeyaa and Sallal, show off his voice as deep and warm, like honey dripping from a spoon. The Djiboutian singer was “a true titan of Somali music” and was one of two legendary singers added to the band’s regular outfit for this special recording.
Another guest of honour was Habib Sharabi, singing on three of the eight songs. In Somalia, the singer was a star, nicknamed the ‘King of Pop’ for his hypnotic voice. Still, after going into exile in Sweden, his glamorous career was replaced with that of an occasional wedding singer. He was reduced to tears when reuniting with other Somali musicians at the HKW, Berlin’s iconic arts venue where the recording was to take place.
The album is imbued with a groove that could be mistaken for a reggae beat. The strong accent on the off-beat is called Dhaanto and originates from the Ogaden region (now in neighbouring Ethiopia’s borders). It’s supposed to imitate the camel’s bounce, and it is no surprise that the beat is heard the best on the track Hasha Geel, which translates to ‘the one camel’.
Duurka stands out as the catchiest song on the record. It’s groovy and fun – a song to dance to in a dark, sweaty nightclub. Even in such a light-hearted song, though, Sharabi’s singing brings an emotional dimension that most disco songs don’t even begin to approach. Dur Dur Int’s music isn’t the disco music of the West – although the synths keep cresting the groovy waves, their style fuses funk, Somali tradition, and jazz modes.
In Love My Love, Fadumina’s pulsing, hypnotic vocals take centre stage. It’s a song that her first cousin also recorded – Faadumo Qaasim – “perhaps the most-recorded voice” in 1980s Mogadishu. The final song of the collection, Jija Love, opens with a funky instrumental intro with a rhythmic ostinato and adventurous guitar riffs. The song is an adaptation of Fela Kuti’s Lady, where Sharabi pays homage “to Afrobeat and its empowering heritage”.
This record is “the first new studio recording by a full group from Somalia since the country’s golden era of music”, an exceptional collection brimming with energy, hope, and life. It’s the start of a new age for artists whose lives and careers were exploded by outside circumstances and whose music had been unappreciated for too long. The Berlin Session is a call for the listeners to sit up, and take notice.
Dur-Dur Band Int. are performing live at the London Jazz Cafe on 4 May & Green Man Festival in Wales on 18 August
(more UK dates to be announced).
Dur-Dur Band Int. are:
Somali spellings / English spellings
Faadumina Hilowle / Fadumina Hilowle (vocals)
Cabdillahi Cujeeri / Abdillahi Ugery (bass)
Yusuf Naaji / Yusuf Nagi (keys)
Nabil Sacaani / Nabil Sa`ani (guitar)
Cumar Teesiyow/ Omar Teesiyow (guitar)
Saalax Xariiri / Saleh Hariri (congas)
Saciid Xuseen / Said Hussein (drums)
Akila (claves)
With special guests:
Xabiib Sharaabi / Habib Sharabi (vocals) Cabdinuur Alaale / Abdinoor Allale (vocals)
Also featuring:
Morton Zakaria (saxophone)
Queen Tasha (backing vocals/dancer)
http://outhere.de/outhere/dur-dur-band/
Order The Berlin Session via Bandcamp