I bet the traditionalists will be upset, but I fear you can't stop it: The oud becomes more and more popular in the west, even in commercial music.
Not really my kind of music, but I think it's interesting to hear the oud in dance floor club music.
I tried to find out, who the oud player is, but so far I wasn't lucky. fernandraynaud - 7-3-2010 at 05:20 AM
Good dance piece. Glad someone posted this!
The oud on this recording could be acoustic or (more likely) it could be sampled and played from a keyboard. Tremolos, and various slides etc are
available in the sampled ouds of two collections I know of, Ethno4 and RA. The quarter tones are easy to program in or play live on the pitch bend of
the keyboard. It's impractical to play a taqsim using a sampled oud on a keyboard, it's too naked and does not sound like an acoustic oud, but for
riffs like here, where the mix conceals anything that gives away the sampled nature of the instrument, it's entirely feasible for a good keyboard
player who is familiar with the way an oud sounds/is played to do it. Same with the dumbek, horns and vocals. Who knows. Who cares. It's a good dance
tune.
As far as "traditional issues" are concerned, anything that increases the penetration of the oud and its associated musical idiom into the general
consciousness is good.
Tremolos, and various slides etc are available in the sampled ouds of two collections I know of, Ethno4 and RA.
I didn't knew that some are that good, so I expected this to be a real oud. Who knows?
Quote:
As far as "traditional issues" are concerned, anything that increases the penetration of the oud and its associated musical idiom into the general
consciousness is good.
I would expect many different opinions regarding this topic. We'll see ... let's wait for further comments.Reda Aouad - 7-3-2010 at 01:18 PM
I'm one of the traditionalists fernandraynaud - 7-3-2010 at 01:20 PM
I think there's room for all views and types of music.
This particular piece is not brilliant, but it's got a bit of a "hook", and if it makes the oud sound more popular, peace be with them.
As to the "sampled" vs. "real", no question it's simplest to just hire an oud player. But if you don't have one and you have all the technology on
hand, people have done harder things. I haven't used sampled oud since I've been playing a real one. I'll have to go back and try it just to see.
Reda Aouad - 7-3-2010 at 01:24 PM
Sure ! I'll be happy to hear other views.
I'm not against the introduction of the Oud in "western" music or getting it out of its traditional box, but I just didn't like this particular piece.Aymara - 7-3-2010 at 02:15 PM
..., but I just didn't like this particular piece.
Though the Stereo MC's did better in the past, I find it ok.
But I found it interesting to hear the oud in a dance floor song.ameer - 7-6-2010 at 07:50 AM
It doesn't offend my traditionalist sensibilities; I think it's something worth exploring. What does annoy me on the other hand is the excessive use
of the higher pitches such that it sounds like a guitar which is not necessarily an issue of traditional versus not.Aymara - 7-6-2010 at 09:44 AM
What does annoy me on the other hand is the excessive use of the higher pitches such that it sounds like a guitar which is not necessarily an issue of
traditional versus not.
That's a matter of horrible sound engineering, a problem very common in commercial music.fernandraynaud - 7-6-2010 at 11:17 AM
Maybe the classical Egyptian type sound doesn't "cut through the mix" enough as they say, that's a legitimate concern, not bad engineering. And maybe
it's the sampled oud's timbre. Sampled ouds tend to be recorded with the strings perfectly in tune out of a sense of perfectionism that actually
degrades the timbre. Many Iraqi ouds also sound like that. And it depends on the strings. Nasseer Shamma's ouds for instance.
fernandraynaud - 7-6-2010 at 05:26 PM
Ok, it seems first of all that a original "Fever" exists, with no oud.
Then Steve Hillage released a much improved remix with either programmed or acoustic oud and dumbek. The original suggests an Arabic something with
the synthesized horn part. Hillage picked up on the flavor and carried it further. He has produced many Arabic music albums, is certainly familiar
with the oud, and could have enlisted people he'd worked with like Simon Shaheen or Nabil Khalidi to play the part, or programmed it, or played it
himself.
No shocking here, they are using sampling with a keyboard, they use even a banjo at the end of the sound, I doubt they engaged many musicians, may be
the same guy is playing Oud and Banjo but I doubt it, it's a keyboard, I have a friend very talented on the keyboard who imitate any instrument
because he is used to hear them and so how others plays with them.fernandraynaud - 7-7-2010 at 12:58 PM
The best part is that nobody can be sure. The other relevant thing is that it takes a very good familiarity with an instrument to convincingly play
it on a keyboard.
