| Habibi Funk Records | |
| Founder: | Jannis Stürtz (co-founder) |
| Country: | Germany |
| Location: | Berlin |
Habibi Funk Records is a reissue record 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.[2] The label is mostly known for its albums and accompanying booklets of Arabic funk and soul bands from the 1960-80s.
Jannis Stürtz first became interested in the music of the region while visiting Casablanca, Morocco in 2002. Habibi Funk's first release was al-Zman Saib, a 1970s reinterpretation of British rock group Free's song "All Right Now" by a Moroccan group called Fadaul et les Privileges .
Habibi Funk has re-released an expansive collection of Arabic funk and soul bands from the 1960-80s, including compilations. Apart from these, there are albums featuring a specific band, like Sudanese funk musician Kamal Keila,[3] the "King of Sudanese Jazz", Sharhabil Ahmed[4] or The Scorpions and Saif Abu Bakr,[5] [6] as well as North African musicians such as Al Massrieen, Ahmed Malek, Raze de Soare,[7] Mallek Mohamed, and Hamid El Shaeri.[8]
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."[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.
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."
Adapted from the label's website.[10] Music recorded at an earlier date but previously unreleased is denoted with "archival".
| Cat. No. | Artist | Title | Type | Country | Original Release Year | Reissue Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Dalton | "Alech" | Reissue single | 1971/2 | 2015 | ||
| 002 | Fadoul | Al Zman Saib | Compilation album | 2015 | |||
| 003 | Ahmed Malek | Musique Originale De Films | Reissue album | 1978 | 2016 | ||
| 004 | Carthago | "Alech" | Reissue single | 1979 | 2016 | ||
| 005 | Ahmed Malek & Flako | The Electronic Tapes | Album | / | 2017 | ||
| 006 | Al Massrieen | Modern Music | Compilation album | 2017 | |||
| 007 | An Eclectic Selection of Music from the Arab World | Various artists compilation album | 2017 | ||||
| 008 | Kamal Keila | Muslims and Christians | Archival album | 2018 | |||
| 009 | The Scorpions & Saif Abu Bakr | Jazz, Jazz, Jazz | Reissue album | 1980 | 2018 | ||
| 010 | Issam Hajali | Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard | Reissue album | 1978 | 2018 | ||
| 011 | Attarazat Addahabia & Faradjallah | Al Hadaoui | Archival album | 2019 | |||
| 012 | Ahmed Ben Ali | "Subhana" | Archival single | 2020 | |||
| 013 | Sharhabil Ahmed | The King Of Sudanese Jazz | Compilation album | 2020 | |||
| 014 | Solidarity With Beirut | Various artists compilation album | 2020 | ||||
| 015 | An Eclectic Selection of Music from the Arab World, Part 2 | Various artists compilation album | 2021 | ||||
| 016 | Rogér Fakhr | Fine Anyway | Reissue album | 1977 | 2021 | ||
| 017 | Majid Soula | Chant Amazigh | Compilation album | 2021 | |||
| 018 | Hamid El Shaeri | The SLAM! Years (1983 - 1988) | Compilation album | 2022 | |||
| 019 | Ferkat Al Ard | Oghneya | Reissue album | 1978 | 2022 | ||
| 020 | Maha | Orkos | Reissue album | 1979 | 2022 | ||
| 021 | The Free Music | Free Music (Part 1) | Compilation album | 2023 | |||
| 022 | Ahmed Ben Ali | Subhana | Archival album | 2023 | |||
| 023 | Charif Megarbane | Marzipan | Album | 2023 | |||
| 024 | Ibrahim Hesnawi | The Father of Libyan Reggae | Compilation album | 2023 | |||
| 025 | Rogér Fakhr | East of Any Place | Archival album | 2023 | |||
| 026 | Solidarity with Libya | Various artists compilation album | 2023 | ||||
| 027 | Ahmed Malek | Musique Originale De Films (Volume 2) | Reissue album | 1978 | 2024 |