AMMAR 808’s ‘Club Tounsi’ is a classic example of a culture clash that works magnificently. It is a mix of bass-heavy, floor-shaking dance rhythms from the TR-808 drum machine of Denmark-based producer, Sofyann Ben Youssef, combined with the Mezoued folk tradition of his native Tunisia.
Mezoued takes its name from the goatskin bagpipes that provide the music’s entrancing melodies and originated in the 1950s with the surge of rural migrants into the capital, Tunis. It is considered the music of the downtrodden and working classes, frowned upon in polite society. It takes its roots from the variety of music performed in Tunisia, including Sufi devotional hymns, malouf melodies, Arabic scales and ancient folksong. Although the lyrics focus upon hardship and the painful nature of love, ‘Club Tounsi’ highlights its joyful, party elements, The fezzani rhythm is emphasised, one that predominates at wedding parties, bringing a sweating mass onto the dancefloor with their hands in the air.
‘Club Tounsi’ begins with ‘Douri Douri’, immediately grabbing attention with its pulsating electronic rhythms and freeform percussion that has the spirit of a samba carnival procession, blasts of sinuous bagpipes and devotional vocals from Brahim Riahi who has a background in Sufi singing. Even without the lyric translations, it would be easy to imagine its calls to pray to the prophet and appreciate the beauty of his beloved. ‘Ah Yallila’ maintains the mood, a family celebration under candlelight, the electronic rhythms having such vigour, energy and bounce. Combined with those twisting bagpipes and vocals from Mariem Bettouhami (who like Ben Youseef is an alumni of the Institute of Music in Tunis) and Mahmoud Lahbib (a stalwart of the Mezoued tradition), it is a glorious exhortation to dance.
‘Brobba’ is a tale of Tunisian folk romance, celebrating both the beauty of Fattouma (the song’s muse) and community as love spreads like wildfire, the song given momentum by the rhythms and Lahbib’s chanted vocals. While ‘Lelliri Yamma’ has even greater emphasis on the rhythms, they are lighter and less intense than on the previous tracks. The song is full of poetic declarations of love (“I want to tattoo her name on my ankle” and “your skin is dark like sugar, sweet like dripping honey.”)
Starting with synths, quickly followed by autotuned vocals courtesy of Bettouhami, ‘Aman Aman’ is unlike anything that has gone before. A tale of love lost as her beau leaves and moves abroad; it is given a haunting quality by the bagpipe melody while the autotuning gives the vocals a disembodied but heartbroken feel. Like any party, the mood shifts over its course and ‘Rakeb Aalhamra’ is rooted in Sufi tradition and has Riahi’s vocals to the fore. An invocation of spiritual guidance, hope and freedom from hardship, it is located within the devotional tradition but is driven by deep bass rhythms. ‘Eddeym Allah (Allah Remains)’ contrasts the impermanence of people, time and worldly goods with the eternal presence of Allah but the hypnotic and exhilarating power of the rhythms and Mezoued melodies ensure that even those like your reviewer of no religious faith can be swept along. Unlike many parties that end with wailing and self-pity in toilets or kitchens, ‘Club Tounsi’ ends on an unadulterated high with ‘Tichtiri Cherbuk’, a tale of a schoolgirl’s simple pleasures: parties, friends and chewing gum. Driven along by a perfect combination of mechanical and freeform beats, ever more joyful bagpipes and Lahbib’s vocals, it makes for an ideal conclusion.
With ‘Club Tounsi’, AMMAR 808 has created a blend of worlds and traditions that is emotional and exhilarating, one that acts as the ideal tonic.
AMMAR 808: Club Tounsi – Out 23 May 2025 (Glitterbeat Records)
808 Featuring Brahim Riahi ” Douri Douri ” عمار 808 & براهيم الرياحي “دوري دوري”
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
