Friends Of Bamboute

acclaimed veteran egyptian musicians el tanbura celebrate their 20th anniversary with songs from old-time cafes and hashish dens along the path of the suez canal. el tanbura is a collective of veteran egyptian master musicians, singers, fishermen and sufi philosophers. custodians to some of egypts oldest folk melodies at their home in port said (the mediterranean gateway to the suez canal), the bands music is driven by the seductive call of the simsimiyya - an ancient lyre dating back to the times of the pharaohs, which according to legend, is said to enchant those who hear her strings. friends of bamboute is the long-awaited follow up to 2006's 'between the desert and the sea'. recorded in cairo and port said, the disc recounts both tales of the 19th century bambutiyya merchants who frequented the old-time cafes and hashish dens along the path of suez canal, and devotional sufi songs from the egyptian delta.