Habibi Funk Records | |
---|---|
Founder | Jannis Stürtz (co-founder) |
Country of origin | Germany |
Location | Berlin |
Official website |
habibifunkrecords |
Habibi Funk Records is a reissue record label based in Berlin, Germany dedicated to music from the Arab world. [1] It was co-founded by Jannis Stürtz, who also works as a DJ using the name Habibi Funk. [1] [2] The label is mostly known for its albums and accompanying booklets of Arabic funk and soul bands from the 1960-80s.
Jannis Stürtz first became interested in the music of the region while visiting Casablanca, Morocco in 2002. [1] Habibi Funk's first release was al-Zman Saib (الزمان صعيب), a 1970s reinterpretation of British rock group Free's song " All Right Now" by a Moroccan group called Fadaul et les Privileges (فضول). [1]
Habibi Funk has re-released an expansive collection of Arabic funk and soul bands from the 1960-80s, including compilations. Apart from these, there are albums featuring a specific band, like Sudanese funk musician Kamal Keila, [3] the "King of Sudanese Jazz", Sharhabil Ahmed [4] or The Scorpions and Saif Abu Bakr, [5] [6] as well as North African musicians such as Al Massrieen, Ahmed Malek, Raze de Soare, [7] Mallek Mohamed, and Hamid El Shaeri. [8]
Jannis Stürtz claims to have awareness of the political aspects of the label's work, addressing "the context of post-colonialism" and avoiding orientalist "stereotypical visual language." [1] [9] He also added that Habibi Funk Records licenses the music it reissues directly from the artists or their families, who get a 50% cut of the profits. [1]
In an interview with The Vinyl Factory, Stürtz commented: "If you’re a European or Western label and you’re dealing with non-European artists’ music, there’s obviously a special responsibility to make sure you don’t reproduce historic economic patterns of exploitation, which is the number one thing when it comes to the post-colonial aspect of what we are doing." [2]