Mahmoud al-Sandidi | Shagaret al Sabr b/w 3oud el Qasab (Bourni Records, 1972)

Mahmoud al-Sandidi has two records cataloged on Discogs, both on Bourini Records, a Libyan label that recorded northern Egyptian and Libyan artists. We could find no information on al-Sandini and cannot say with confidence whether he was Egyptian or Libyan.

Discogs lists three dozen Bourini releases; we have two dozen in our collection, some not on Discogs. We assume that the label, which ran from the early 1960s to 1970s, may have produced as many as 50-100 titles, although this is a complete guess.

Both tracks on this single feature the accordion and percussion in addition to al-Sandini's voice. This sparseness is typical of the other releases we've heard, which all feature percussion and one or two other instruments, often a reed of some kind.

This is nonetheless a powerful performance and one of the reasons that, whenever we see an opportunity to pick up something from this label, we don't hesitate. Take a listen for yourself.

(Listen to "Shagaret al Sabr")

(Listen to "3oud el Qasab")