the eighth wave.

Sham Palace, the label owned and operated by Sublime Frequencies associate Mark Gergis, presents an amazing selection of intense and driving Dabke - the regional folk dance style popularised to some extent in the west by Omar Souleyman। Not limited to Souleyman's native Syria, this selection spans the Houran region "...a swathe of south Syria and north western Jordan, beginning just below Damascus, and encompassing the Syrian cities of Daraa, Suweida, Bosra, and the Golan Heights। Its populations include Syrians, Bedouin, Druze, Palestinians and Jordanians." It takes in seven stunning examples culled from cassettes and discs found in the cities of Daraa, Suweida, and Damascus, Syria between 1997-2010, predominantly using native microtonal keyboards to play both the rhythms and sampled mejwiz tones - that distinctively shrill, droning and hypnotic bamboo flute cadence - together with vocals drenched in echo and reverb to emphasise their impassioned emotional messages. They range from Ahmad Al Kosem's incendiary warning shot 'Love Is Not A Joke' to the EuroTechno-like arpeggios and pitched childrens voices on 'Mili Alay' by Mohamed Al Ali, through the steppin' torque and whooping delirium of Abu Sultan's 'Your Love Made Me Head Hurt' to an incredibly warped and near-psychedelic wedding celebration called 'Afrah Houran'. For exotic-minded DJs, open-minded parties and clued-up dancers, this is a must-have record!!! - boomkat

straight up face melting party jams right here.