Cafe Arabica by Ulaim az Zama Orchestra

In times, when the relationships between the Orient and the Occident are rockier and more explosive than ever, a charming little success story creates a spark of hope:
In the early 80ies Harun al Arab and Nik Tyndall learned to know each other while studying architecture in Berlin, when they met after a concert in the cafeteria of the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (house of the cultures of the world). In the years after, they frequently bummed into each other at concerts and exhibitions, enjoying a lively rapport and exchange of ideas, until they both left Berlin in the mid-90ies and subsequently lost track of each other.
Soon after, in 1996, Harun al Arab founded the Ulaim az Zama Orchestra – named after the region from which it’s lineup was assembled. Over the years the orchestra, under the wise guidance of Harun al Arab, gained great respect with its concerts in Egypt, Syria, Lybia, Jordan, Cyprus or Turkey. When the orchestra was about to perform on a worldmusic festival in Rethymnon / Crete.
Harun al Arab remembered Nik Tyndall and his fondness for Crete. He invited Nik to the concerts – and thus their first musical collaboration came about. The recordings made in nightly sessions in Crete finally were furtherly arranged by Nik and completed with tracks by renowned Tabla player Talvin Singh.
And so now we can proudly announce: The Ulaim az Zama Orchestra together with Cafe Arabica takes you through an Oriental night in the desert. Composed and produced by Nik Tyndall.

Harun al Arab - Ney and Keman

Umar al Karim - Clarinet, Tar and Metallophones
Munir Hanafi -  Kanun and Santur
Abbas Abu Nasr -  Darbuka and Congas
Sadiq Bahagia -  Bendir, Mirwas and Congas
Nadim Ar-Rizqi -  Ud
Yunes Reis - Harmonium            

Special guests:
Talvin Singh - Tablas
Nik Tyndall – Studio electronics