Nozhet El Nofous, by Nancy Mounir

Nozhet El Nofous

by Nancy Mounir

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Lars Gotrich The past is never past, as it's said, but still speaking to us, through us and with us. There are sympathetic specters within Nozhet El Nofous, an album that pairs 1920s Egyptian classical singers with Nancy Mounir's yearning arrangements, but the distinction between what's old and new isn't as simple as a gritty recording set to strings, piano and horns. www.vikingschoice.org/archive/vocaloid-emo-egyptian-specters-finnish-prog/ Favorite track: Wallah Testahel Ya Albi (with Hayat Sabry).

albinobone Songs sung from a creaky, Egyptian past but finding their way to a haunted turntable in your living room that silently starts up the second your head hits the pillow and seeps into your dream life. You both wake up and fall asleep at the same time.
Favorite track: Matkhafsh Alayya (with Abdel Latif El Banna).

Ben Mahler I don't listen to this with my ears, I listen to this with my heart. Wonderful music. It touches me so much. Thank you Ms. Mounir.

Monsieur 7awli Masterpiece. Deep and subtle arrangements 💜 Favorite track: Taala Ya Shater (with Naima El Masreya).

kiki356 Moved by this from the very first hearing Favorite track: Ana Bas Saktalak (with Fatma Serry).

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1.	Taala Ya Shater (with Naima El Masreya) 03:34	lyrics	buy track
[English below] تعالى يا شاطر .. نروح القناطر هاودني ودينك ما تكسر لي خاطر هات الإزازة واقعد لاعبني دي المَزة طازة والحال عاجبني هنيني بخفتك .. و اسقيني بذمتك في قربك ياغالي أغني الليالي Come on, bright spark, let’s take a trip to al-Qanatir Be sweet and indulge me, don’t disappoint Pass the bottle and keep me entertained The mezze are fresh and I’m having a fine time Charm and delight me, keep my glass filled up When I’m with you, precious, I could sing all night
2.	Khafif Khafif (with Saleh Abdel Hay) 03:41	lyrics	buy track
[English below] خفيف خفيف ووراني المضروب ليالي لون قرن الخروب .. ياما وراني لا يجي بمسايسة ولا بخناقة نهايته أنا مقايسة مهما اتشاقى دا جوة قلبي مربع ونظرة منه تشبع وكل ساعة و له ملعوب .. ياما وراني خفيف خفيف ووراني المضروب ليالي لون قرن الخروب .. ياما وراني عجيبة يخاصمني من غير داعي وأقول له فهمني حب وراعي يقول لي مالك بيا خلاص مافيش مراعية غرامه وعد وكان مكتوب ياما وراني Softly softly An arrogant man Has made my nights darker than carob Neither quarrel nor compromise will bring him around But I put up with him no matter how badly he behaves He has a place in my heart One look from him is enough for me But there’s always some new trouble brewing Strange how he quarrels with me without reason I ask him to explain, to love, to care He says “Leave me alone” "There’s no care here" But I was destined to love him
3.	Matkhafsh Alayya (with Abdel Latif El Banna) 02:48	lyrics	buy track
[English below] ما تخافشي عليا أنا واحدة سجوريا فى العشق يا أنت واخدة البكالوريا ما تخافشي عليا أقعد سهتانة قلبى مشغول بك ولما تشعلل لهاليب نار حبك أرخى الناموسية وأنام لى شوية وأحبكها وأشبّكها بميتين دبوس وأحضن وأبوس وأنزل على صورتك حتتك بتتك ما تخافشي على ليلة ما تجينى فوت جنب البيت وأنده تلاقينى فى أودة التواليت مستنية مـ العصرية .. على شباكها حط الفاكهة مادام الباب من غير بواب مين ده اللى يقول لك ظبطك ربطك ما تخافشي عليا Don’t you worry about me I’m a girl you can count on In matters of love, I’ve got a diploma I sit looking meek but my heart is preoccupied with you When the flames of my love burn bright I draw the mosquito net closed to sleep for a while I pin it in place with two hundred pins I kiss and I embrace Insatiably consuming a picture of you
4.	Baad El Esha (with Mounira El Mahdeya) 05:57	lyrics	buy track
[English below] بعد العشا يحلى الهزار والفرفشة يا حلو ساكن وادي القمر بعد العشا .. يحلى الهزار والفرفشة يا حلو ساكن وادي القمر .. زعلت من غير سبب انسى اللي فات وتعالى بات مستنظراك ليلة التلات بعد العشا بعد العشا يحلى الهزار والفرفشة تلقى الحكاية موضبة بإيدي قايدة الكهربا واقعد معاك على هواك ولا فيش هناك غيرنا ومفيش غيرنا وبلاش كتر الخشا أوعى تسهيني بقى واحنا في عز النغنغة وتمد إيد وهزار يزيد عارفاك أكيد إيدك تحب الزغزغة بعد العشا يحلى الهزار والفرفشة Late in the evening Is a time to laugh and be merry Remember Wadi al-Qamar, my pretty? You were upset with me for no reason Forget what’s over and done with, come and spend the night I’ll expect you on Tuesday Tuesday, late in the evening You’ll find things all ready Electricity in my hands And I’ll sit with you at your pleasure There’ll be nobody there but us And no cause to be shy But don’t you distract my attention While we’re having a fine time You’ll be free with your hands and make even merrier I know what you’re like Your hands like to play Late in the evening Is a time to laugh and be merry
5.	Wallah Testahel Ya Albi (with Hayat Sabry) 03:07	lyrics	buy track
والله تستاهل يا قلبي .. ليه تميل ما كنت خالي انت أسباب كل كربي وانت أسباب ما جرى لي إذا كان حظي ناسيني .. مين أروح له وأشكي له حالي إن شكيت قلبي وحواسي يعملوا مؤامرة عليا وان بكيت الحب قاسي تشتكي مني عينيا أعمل ايه واحنا في غربة والأغراب دول زي اليتامى مين يواسيهم فى كربة ياما بيقاسوا وياما يارب كل من له حبيب وطال بعاده ولا قريب ما تحرموش منه .. وهاته له بالسلامة It serves you right, heart of mine Why grow fond, when you were empty? You’re the cause of all my sorrows You’re the cause of what befell me You’re the one who’ll comfort me When all my hopes are crushed When all my luck has forsaken me… Who can I tell of my pitiful state? If I complain of my heart and my senses They’ll join forces against me If I cry that love is cruel My eyes will surely protest What am I to do when we’re strangers to each other? Strangers like us are like orphans No-one to comfort them in their sadness So much they endure, so much All lovers who are far apart May they never be deprived of each other But be safely reunited again
6.	Ya Einak Ya Gabayrak (with Mounira El Mahdeya) 05:36	lyrics	buy track
يا عينك يا جبايرك .. يا ناري من وحايدك يا راجل برّيه توهت فكري يا قاسي شتت عقلي من راسي تنوح وتشرح ما تهونشي عليا أحن وأصفح تصفر عليا يا عينك يا جبايرك .. يا راجل برّيه فضلت تبكي يا قادر حننت قلبي يا غادر تموت وتحيا تتغزل فيا .. وتقول لغيري يا باي عليا يا عينك يا جبايرك .. يا راجل برّيه The way you treat me is wicked The games you play are torture Man, be damned! Your cruelty has me in a twist You’ve driven me to distraction Then you wail and make excuses You don’t make it easy for me So I forgive and show you some tenderness Then you double-cross me again You cry and cry because you know the power you have You make me take pity, but it’s all deceit You always get me with your sweet words in the end And then you get cosy with somebody else, curse you
7.	Ana Bas Saktalak (with Fatma Serry) 04:08	info	buy track
8.	Gannentini (with Zaki Mourad) 05:23	lyrics	buy track
وجننتيني يا بت يا بيضا وجننتيني شوف المحاسن شوف يا تعذيبي يا وقفتي على الباب ويا تعذيبي يا وقفتى على الباب ويا تعذيبي يا ما أصعب الفرقة عليك يا حبيبي يا وقفتي على الباب عليهم يُفنى العين والحاجب عليهم يُفنى يا مصعب الفرقة بعد ما اتونسنا عود يا زماني عود Pale-skinned girl, you’ve driven me wild You’ve driven me wild, just look at your charms It’s like torture, waiting patiently for you It’s like torture, my heart can’t take the pain of separation Waiting patiently for you I’d die for those eyes and brows When we were once so close Take me back in time, take me back

about

Nancy Mounir’s debut album, Nozhet El Nofous, is a remarkable communion with ghosts. Moody, hypnotic, and sneakily catchy, the album—whose title means “Promenade of the Souls'' in Arabic—explores microtonality, non-metered rhythms, and bold vulnerability through a musical dialogue between Mounir’s own arrangements and the sounds of archival recordings of once-famed singers from Egypt at the turn of the 20th century. Adding her own ambient arrangements over voices haunted with passion and desire as she creates a sound that is warmly familiar but utterly new.

On the album, Mounir slips into the gaps left by the lost frequencies of the aging recordings, finding space for counterpoint and harmony in a traditional sound built on monophony. Elegant melodies unfold in measured gestures as Mounir—who plays most of the instruments herself —revels in the plaintive intonations and brash lyrics of the departed singers. With layers enmeshed together, it’s at times hard to pin down when the past ends and the present begins, but beneath it all is a liberating attitude of defiance that feels timeless.

Nozhet El Nofous is brilliant in the way it explores the techniques and perspectives of a more freewheeling time period in Arabic music, before Arabic maqam (modal systems) and other musical foundations were standardized by the Middle East’s cultural power brokers in the early 1930s. As she summons a rich, atmospheric landscape of tone and texture, Mounir engages an older generation of musical rebels in a creative dialogue across time and space—and the results are stunning in their ambition and beauty.

credits

released June 3, 2022

Mixed by Adham Zidan
Mastered by Heba Kadry
Artwork by Egyptian filmmaker and photographer Ahmad Abdalla, with original typography and design by Salma Shamel.
Lyrics translation by Katharine Halls.

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about

Nancy Mounir Cairo, Egypt

A versatile multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and composer, Nancy Mounir is a key member of Egypt’s independent music scene. Mounir plays a range of instruments—including violin, piano, bass, Theremin, and the traditional Egyptian bamboo flute called the kawala. ... more

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