The Darbuka Kings
Doumtekastan & Lawrence of Suburbia
As reviewed by Johonna
When Zaina handed me these two compact discs and I read the covers I thought to myself, “What? Are these guys doing a Weird Al Yankovic thing to Middle Eastern music?” Oh, how pleased I was to put these into my CD player and have such intriguing tunes…..with no philking lyrics or parodies, just lovely melodies and enchanting drum beats. And though it is a bit ostentatious to call oneself the drum kings, (the darbuka is another name for a goblet or chalice drum aka the doumbek or tabla) that is what The Darbuki Kings are calling themselves.
Doumtekastan, The Darbuki Kings, The Darbuki Kings Records, 2007 http://www.robinanders.com/ Review by Johonna Gamble 6/2008
In their debut album, Doumtekastan, these two musicians put together a blend of music from India to Turkey with stops along the way. Following the Silk Road these songs are not entirely what most bellydancers might think of as mainstream bellydance. Starting medium-slow with ‘Bollywood’, the album continues at a modest tempo till track 4, ‘The Seven Thieves’. Then we shift gears a bit into a more flamenco sounding piece with an intriguing drum solo at its heart in ‘Laouto Romántico’. Slowing down again for ‘The Darbukinator’, the album works into the drum solo track, ‘Jurjuna’, which is not a bellydance drum solo. There are no repeats or sets of music in this drummers delight, with its steady back beat and all the variation in sounds from the drum. Coming back to the more melodic tracks again with two medium/slow tempo songs this album overall is great for a relaxing evening.
The tracks have no vocals and are well mixed. The sound they put together often has a low electric feel which I attribute to the Laouto, Bouzouki, and Sitar which are octave instruments, so more than one note sounds when a chord is struck or strummed. The drumming is crisp with not a lot of echo while at the same time sounding separate from the other instruments. It’s hard to think that only two people could be playing, when there is such full and luscious sound. This implies extra hours in the studio….but it really paid off in a softly paced debut album.
Lawrence of Suburbia, The Darbuki Kings, The Darbuki Kings Records, 2008, http://www.robinanders.com/ Review by Johonna Gamble 6/2008
On their second album, Lawrence of Suburbia, they start out with a very electric guitar and synthesized sounding track which is medium fast and upbeat. Moving into a medium tempo track, they slow down for a leisurely pause in rush hour traffic for Khartoum. Nine Time just isn’t long enough. Its lively 9/8 rhythm flashes by in the shortest track on the album. Blue Eyes moves into a nice, soft flowing blend with a bit of slinky that reminds me of a good rumba. Moving at a slow steady pace we drift through the next track and into the soft synth sounds of The Silk Road before embarking on the wild ride provided by Drum Talk. We are again surrounded by the many sounds of the drum in a drum solo song that is not the norm for the bellydancer. Filled with a heavy, fast backbeat this track goes through many of the rhythms and sounds of the dumbek, Drum Talk sounds more like a jam session where two drummers are having a drum-off rather than a drum solo we dancers are so used to on bellydance albums. Timbuktu picks up the pace with some complimentary zill work and Maha (The Deer) finishes the album nicely with sounds that remind me of many a modern egyptian/lebanese track; light, electric and very danceable.
With this album, it seems that The Darbuki Kings decided to add some more electric equipment to their arsenal as well as a bit more humor. The synthesizer and electric guitar fit right in to the medley of sounds. Continuing to put out full sounding music with crisp drum accents these two guys are a delight to listen to. Their many-stringed instruments give a depth of sound that makes it hard to think that there are just two musicians to this band. With both of thier albums available for purchase on-line or as downloads….I somehow misplaced Doumtekastan in transit back from California and had to purchase a replacement download from amazon.com….Well worth it! I’ve already used tracks from both albums at a local restaurant performance. I look forward to more albums by this duo who seem to take the music very seriously while still having some humor about their album and track titles.