Ahmed Malek - Musique Originale De Films '2016

Tracks list

I still remember the first time I heard Ahmed Malek. It was 2012. Back then I
didn’t know much about Arabic music, but I was about to leave Berlin for
a couple of weeks to go to Tunisia. I was working as a project manager for a
music recoding session which ended up being released by Jakarta Records as the
“Sawtuha” release. I knew I would have some time off during my stay
and I was certain that I would dedicate some of this time to diggin. I asked
some people whether they knew of any titles that I should look for. Roskow, who
also ended up re-mastering this release, told me about an Algerian composer
called Ahmed Malek whose music was also released in Tunisia.

Fast forward three years: Arabic records have become my number one hobby and
luckily I got my hands on a copy of Ahmed Malek’s “Musique
Originale De Films” album. I already knew some of the tracks but listening
to the music the way it was originally released, and not as a crappy Youtube
version, made me fall in love with Malek’s compositions all the more. It
manages to create this very special mood: melancholic and reflective, emotional
and touching, but never depressing. Even without having seen any of the pictures
created for this, it immediately brings visuals to one’s imagination.

Around that time I became captivated with the idea of reissuing some of Ahmed
Malek’s music. I 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 this record. I had a DJ gig
in Beirut playing old Arabic records and I mentioned my 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 I heard back, and
what I got was incredibly good news. Her Algerian friend was the neighbor of
Ahmed Malek’s daughter! I’m not a spiritual person, but it felt
like the universe wanted to see this release happen.

I started to speak with Henya, Ahmed Malek’s daughter and she was more
then 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; she also told us more about her
father’s life:

Ahmed Malek was born on March, 6th 1932 at Bordj El Kiffan, Algiers. He was the
oldest son of a family of 3 brothers and one sister. He went to work at a young
age in factories to help his father to raise the family. His mother died when he
was 12. It was then that decided he wanted to become a musician, and after
graduating school he studied at the Algerian Conservatory. He gained recognition
for his craft from an early stage and won several prizes and medals nationally
and internationally (The Premier grand prix des arts et des lettres de la
composition in 1972, the golden medal at the Panafrican Festival in 1976, and
the Prix du mérite national pour la composition musicale in 1987). He was the
conductor of the Algerian Television Orchestra“ for many decades and
represented his country at international events such as the Expo In Japan,
Canada, Cuba and Spain. During his time as an active composer he wrote the music
for dozens of movies, television shows and documentaries. Then, in the late
90’s, his health deteriorated. He passed on the 24th of July, 2008, at
his home in El Mouradio, Algiers. 

Tracklist:
01. Ahmed Malek - Omar Gatlatou (unreleased longer version) (3:10)
02. Ahmed Malek - Tikjda (2:49)
03. Ahmed Malek - La Ville (2:01)
04. Ahmed Malek - La Ville Part 2 ( unreleased) (5:12)
05. Ahmed Malek - Halla (2:51)
06. Ahmed Malek - Maya (2:36)
07. Ahmed Malek - Les Vacances De LInspecteur Tahar (2:12)
08. Ahmed Malek - La Silence des Cendres (3:14)
09. Ahmed Malek - Autopsie dun Complot (3:29)
10. Ahmed Malek - La Côte (2:40)
11. Ahmed Malek - Henya (1:59)
12. Ahmed Malek - Bolero (3:22)
13. Ahmed Malek - Un Toit et une Famille (unreleased) (4:28)
14. Ahmed Malek - Omar Gatlatou (alt. version) (2:31)

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