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Habibi Funk is thrilled to share a second collection of deep grooves
and unreleased songs from Algeria's Ahmed Malek, often compared to
Italian heavyweight Ennio Morricone. Malek's music effortlessly
switches between thematic jazz, funk, reggae and Algerian folk -
creating indelible soundscapes that intersect the musical innovations
made in African jazz by Mulatu Astatke, Bembeya Jazz National along
with some of Europe's finest experimental composers like Piero
Piccioni and Janko Nilovic. "Musique Originale de Films, Volume
Deux" is out June 28th, 2024 via Habibi Funk.
Whenever an interview asks about a "memorable moment" in Habibi Funk
label history, one we always reference is how we got in touch Ahmed
Malek's (22K Spotify Followers, 285K Spotify Monthly Listeners) music and
subsequently his family. It all started with us coming across Ahmed Malek's
music on YouTube in 2012. We were mesmerized by how effortlessly the
music would switch between jazz, funk and Algerian folk while
counterweighting it with an undertone of melancholia. Musical perception is
different for every person, but there is a chance that his music will touch
you in one way or another. At the time, we had just started the Habibi Funk
label and we felt Ahmed's music might be a good fit for the sound we were
trying to highlight. Fast forward three years: we had become captivated with
the idea of reissuing some of Ahmed Malek's music. We knew some people
had tried to locate his family but, but with no success. In the end it was an
incredible amount of luck that made it possible for you to read these words
and listen to Ahmed's music. We were on a DJ gig in Beirut playing old
Arabic records and we mentioned our passion for Ahmed Malek's music to
a friend. She said she knew one person in Algier, and as much as it would
be a shot in the dark, she could ask her if she had an idea of how to find
Malek's family. Two weeks went by before we heard back, and what we got
was incredibly good news - her Algerian friend was the neighbor of Ahmed
Malek's daughter! We're not spiritual people, but it felt like the universe
wanted to see the release happen. We started to speak with Henya, Ahmed
Malek's daughter and she was more than happy with our idea. She assured
us that her father would have loved the plan as well. She provided us with
tons of awesome material, from great photos, to unseen video footage and
unreleased tracks. Eventually we visited Henya in Algeria and we licensed
some of her father's music, first for one (Habibi 003), then for another
(Habibi 005), then we eventually organized an exhibition in June/July 2019
- Plan te Malek - Une R trospective - at the Mus e Public National D'Art
Moderne & Contemporain in Algiers, focusing on Ahmed Malek's artistic
life. We also produced a small movie about him that our friend Paloma
Colombe shot and directed. "Musique Originale de Films, Volume Deux" is
a deep collection of unreleased songs and stemmed grooves from the
Algerian master, from jazz, funk, psych to reggae rhythms and Latin flavors,
all under the sonic umbrella of "Plan te Malek;" and to quote the maestro, "I
didn't choose music, music chose me." Lead single is the subtlety funky
"Th me Rythme L ger," out May 3rd along with LP Pre-Order (coincided
with Bandcamp Friday for a larger impact) a delicate sonic dance between
flute, piano and Spanish guitar with a Bossainfluenced groove. The steady,
swingin' drum groove is cloudlike - definitely toe-tapping friendly so just
grab a partner to feel the Rhythme L ger. Second single out May 17th is
the reggae-infused "L'Empire Des R ves" - a sultry sax melody weaves
through a prismatic rocksteady thematic groove. 3rd and final single
"Th me Djalti feat. A da Gu choud" - is a true Western-inspired ode to his
Italian counterpart Ennio Morricone. "Th me Djalti" features the haunting

vocals of A da Gu choud, and combines elements of baroque and Bossa-
jazz in a timelessly thematic way that seems grandiose yet remains

uniquely personal to your ears. Swelling strings, trumpet, fem vox, flute,
and plucked guitar expertly arranged, feels like you're riding a horse into
the sunset. Focus track "La La La" is fiery afro-arab-funk of the highest
order! Put on your dancing shoes as Ahmed cuts the rug and gets us
grooving along. Sonically the cut sounds like if Ahmed ran into The JB's
and Fela Kuti at a Cymande concert. Driving guitar and organ solos vie
over pulsating bass riffs and afro-funk drumming that'll have you out on the
dance floor in no time. As always, both vinyl and CD come with an
extensive booklet featuring background and interviews with Ahmed
compiled through found newspaper clippings and newsreels, also including
unseen photos, scans and more. "Ahmed Malek: Musique Originale de
Films, Volume Deux" will be out everywhere June 28th.