Wewantsounds Label Reissues Rahbani's 'Amrak Seedna & Abtal Wa Haramey

Paris-based record label Wewantsounds reissued the first-ever vinyl of Zaid Rahbani’s iconic 1987 album ‘Amrak Seedna & Abtal Wa Harameyah’, which was originally released on the renowned  Lebanese label Relax-in.

A living legend of Arabic music and a Lebanese cultural icon, Zaid Rahbani is a celebrated musician, pianist, producer, playwright, and political activist. His mother is the legendary Lebanese diva Fairuz, for whom he produced late 70s and 80s classic albums such as ‘Wahdon’, and ‘Maarifti Feek’. 

‘Amrak Seedna & Abtal Wa Harameyah’ is a cult classic, offering a fusion of Arabic music with funk, Jazz and hints of Boogie, a bonified Rahbani classic, sought after by Arabic groove DJs and collectors across the globe. Initially composed and recorded by Rahbani at Beirut’s By-Pass recording studio, the album features instrumentals, short interludes, and songs performed by his regular fellow singers, Sami Hawat, Abbas Chahine, and Nabil Qazan, among others. 

Besides the funky bass-led ‘Break’, the album also features some sonic gems like ‘Mashhad Al Hob’, which sees Rahbani on Fender Rhodes accompanying a dreamy flute. Traditional Arabic music also appears on the album in tracks like ‘Hake Ad Ma Baddak Fe’, and ‘Oghniyat El Gharam’, imbued with classic oud and percussion-heavy arrangements. 

Marking the first worldwide reissue of this famous LP in almost 40 years, the reissue comes with the original artwork of the album, audio remastered by Paris’ Colorsound Studio and a two-page insert with a new introduction by Mario Choueiry from Institut de Monde Arabe in Paris. 

Rahbani also released a succession of classic hits such as ‘Bennesbeh Labokra Chou?’ in 1978, a Disco 12-track EP ‘Abu Ali’ in 1979, and ‘Houdou Nisbi’ in 1985, which were also reissued by Wewantsounds on Vinyl in 2022, and curated by Lebanese DJ Ernesto Chahoud.