Grade-A Groove From Hamid El Shaeri’s Upcoming “The SLAM! Years 1983-'88” Compilation

<p> The German reissue label Habibi Funk delivers vintage, synth-driven grooves from North Africa and the Middle East, a genre that Libyan-Egyptian artist Hamid El Shaeri has done better than nearly anyone. Pitchfork singled out Hamid’s “Ayonha” as the “most arresting track” on Habibi Funk’s 2017 compilation release, and now the label delivers a deeper dive into that era of the artist’s work. On Feb. 28, Habibi Funk is putting out a compilation of Hamid El Shaeri’s early work, originally released from 1983-'88 on Egypt’s SLAM! records. <br> </p> <p> To herald the new record, Habibi Funk has launched “Dari Demou’ek,” a dose of dance-floor dynamite to whet the appetite. Check it out right here: </p> <figure><iframe loading="lazy" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3629517839/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/track=2333610206/transparent=true/" seamless=""><a href="https://habibifunkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/habibi-funk-018-the-slam-years-1983-1988">Habibi Funk 018: The SLAM! Years (1983 - 1988) by Hamid El Shaeri</a></iframe></figure> <p> In its ‘80s heyday, SLAM! was one of Egypt’s most successful labels, and while its founder Hany Sabet may have been skeptical about releasing “Ayonha” on a semi-obscure little German imprint, both he and Hamid were excited to present this music to a potentially new audience. </p> <p>The full album is out Feb. 25 <a href="https://habibifunkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/habibi-funk-018-the-slam-years-1983-1988" target="_blank">and you can preorder via Bandcamp now.</a></p>