Sherifa Fadel | Mawal Al Ashaq (Soutelphan, 1969)

 

Sherifa Fadel (also transliterated Sharifa, Cherifa, or Charifa; Arabic: شريفة فاضل) passed away on March 5, 2023, at 84 years old. She was a significant presence in Egyptian film and music in the 60s & 70s, her voice inhabiting a space somewhere between maybe Faiza Ahmed and Badriyya al-Sayyid. She was dead center of what was going on in Egypt in the 1960s & 70s and boasts a track on every significant Egyptian compilation of the period, even if she hasn’t (yet) been reissued by the Europeans.

Fadel’s voice was among the most assured of her generation and hit hard, tho al-Sayyid’s might’ve smacked it into neat submission. Take, for example, Fadel’s duet with Mohamed Taha, “Fallah,” which, spoiler alert, isn’t really a duet. It’s Taha laying down the Egyptian farmer-ass folklore in all its grass-muddy tangle for a hot minute or two*, and Fadel surfing catch-up for the track’s remaining 07:00. If that makes it sound like it’s not a great record, it’s because “surfing catch-up,” while accurate, doesn’t capture what it takes to catch up to Mohamed Taha. (*We don't understand Arabic, and understand this is a pretty grotesque assumption.)

This is our 50th post and, thus, our 50th single we've shared. We wanted to make it something special, and this track, we think you'll agree, fits that bill perfectly. Composed by longtime collaborator Mounir Murad, "Mawal Al Ashaq" starts off with a groovy guitar riff, a BANG!, a continuation of said guitar riff, another BANG!, a surprise bass lick, strings, and then Fadel's voice, "Ah lee lee ah lee lee ..." Once the  song-proper kicks in, it's a relentless, heart-pounding seven-minute ride to the finish. Turn it up.

(Listen to "Mawal Al Ashaq")