Noori & His Dorpa Band, Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass from Sudan’s Red Sea Coast Review

Noori & His Dorpa Band hails from Port Sudan and is a band creating a soundtrack of Sudan’s revolution. Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass from Sudan’s Red Sea Coast is the first-ever international release of the Beja sound that combines electric soul, blues, jazz, rock, and surf, with fluent styles from Tuareg, Ethiopian, Peruvian and Thai—all grounded by hypnotic Sudanese grooves. Beja is an ancient community with ancestry dating back millennia. Some say they are among the living descendants of Ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush. Beja melodies—nostalgic, hopeful and sweet, ambiguous and honest—are thousands of years old. The band is Tambo-guitar: Noori; tenor saxophone: Naji; bass: Gaido; rhythm guitar: Tariq; congas: Fox; and tabla: Danash. Noori’s Tambo-guitar is a unique self-made hybrid of an electric guitar and an electric tambour, a four-string instrument found across East Africa.

Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass from Sudan’s Red Sea Coast is six songs brought to life, focusing on music from the East African melting pot, where musical styles of blues, jazz, folk-rock, and soul are combined with the complex hypnotic rhythms of Africa to create unmatched grooves. The all-instrumental set is kept afloat by each song containing a hip groove. Both Naji and Noori improvise around the central theme through the song forms to add exciting variations and colors. “Saagama” and “Qwal” indeed show their reggae influence in their rhythmic patterns. However, other influences are put into the songs, taking them to another level. “Qwal” has a hypnotic call and response melody with a unison riff. “Al Amal” features the percussionist and is a very joyful melody. The interaction between Naji and Noori is always enjoyable and keeps the repetitive nature of the melodies moving forward and fresh. Finally, the skipping rhythm of “Wondeeb” will grab your attention for a fun musical journey. Overall, these six hypnotic Sudanese grooves are something that any music lover will enjoy and to support this music is to support a more significant cause. Now that is a win, win, and that is the short of it!