As previously reported here on Adroub.net NEWS a two man band raised $15,000 on kickstarter.com in November 2011. They have finally launched their album of authentic Beja music.
They are based in Cairo, they have booked a few shows to publicly perform their music during April and May, 2012.
You can listen to the tracks from the album online.
http://www.otaakband.tk/
UPDATE: May 1, 2012. A review of this album has been posted at the English language Egypt News.
Seen live, Otaak Band radiate an intoxicating energy that simultaneously fogs your brain and tugs at your feet.
For an album that promises to fuse tribal Sudanese music with elements of the blues, "Bejawiya" is a lot softer than either of its supposed influences would suggest.
While the album’s slick sound may be somewhat at odds with the earthiness it seeks to depict, the real flaw is how cluttered the tracks feel, as if the musicians involved were obligated to meet a quota of instruments.
Heard live, "Ogna" is an urgent call, its latter half setting Abuamna’s lovelorn pleas against what sounds like a raging firestorm of despair. On the album, that fire might as well be a single candle, filmed in soft focus.
Otaak Band claim to be a fusion of sounds, but they’re definitely more Beja than blues, and based on the evidence presented in "Bejawiya," should probably stay that way. And until they figure out whether they want to amp it up or tone it down in the studio, you’d be better off catching a live performance than listening to "Bejawiya."
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