Noori & his Dorpa Band – Beja Power! (Ostinato Records, 2022)
“Beja Power!” presents the captivating music of Noori & his Dorpa Band, an ensemble from Sudan that plays modern music rooted in Beja tradition. Port Sudan-based Noori & his Dorpa Band were discovered in 2021 by a team from Ostinato Records, who returned to Sudan’s capital Khartum, shortly after a November military coup and country-wide protests.
Noori & his Dorpa Band is an electric and brass-fueled ensemble that skillfully weaves long forgotten Beja melodies and irresistible Sudanese rhythms with soul, blues, jazz, and rock music.
The story of Noori & his Dorpa Band started in the early 1990s, when a young musician named Noori entered the area around the scrapyards of Port Sudan and found the well-preserved neck of a guitar, a rare musical instrument in that region. Later, his father (a prestigious musician) gave him a vintage tambur (traditional lyre) from the 1970s. Using his own singular technique of welding and tuning, Noori forged the two musical instruments and created an electrified tambo-guitar, the only hybrid instrument of its kind in existence.
At the time, Noori was 18 and his goal was to perform and disseminate the eastern Sudanese sounds of Beja, are area by the Red Sea.
Noori’s Dorpa Band was founded in 2006.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.