Habibi Funk Records is a reissuerecord label based in Berlin, Germany dedicated to music from the Arab world.[1] It was co-founded by Jannis Stürtz, who also works as a DJ using the name Habibi Funk.[1][2] The label is mostly known for its albums and accompanying booklets of Arabic funk and soul bands from the 1960-80s.
History
Jannis Stürtz first became interested in the music of the region while visiting Casablanca, Morocco in 2012.[1] Habibi Funk's first release was al-Zman Saib (الزمان صعيب), a 1970s reinterpretation of British rock group Free's song "All Right Now" by a Moroccan group called Fadaul et les Privileges (فضول).[1]
Editor's attitude towards post-colonialism in the music business
Jannis Stürtz claims to have awareness of the political aspects of the label's work, addressing "the context of post-colonialism" and avoiding orientalist "stereotypical visual language."[1][9] He also added that Habibi Funk Records licenses the music it reissues directly from the artists or their families, who get a 50% cut of the profits.[1]
In an interview with The Vinyl Factory, Stürtz commented: "If you’re a European or Western label and you’re dealing with non-European artists’ music, there’s obviously a special responsibility to make sure you don’t reproduce historic economic patterns of exploitation, which is the number one thing when it comes to the post-colonial aspect of what we are doing."[2]
Discography
Adapted from the label's website.[10] Music recorded at an earlier date but previously unreleased is denoted with "archival".
