Mohammed Ben Abd-El-Kader (Leo Clarens) et ses Rythmes Orientaux - Shish Kebab EP - Vintage Vinyl Record Cover/Alamy
Qalam strives to explore the interpenetration of different cultures. To this end, we have decided to launch a series of playlists in which music mediates between different geographical and ideological spaces. Our first playlist is called ‘West to East: One Hundred Best Songs’. It will be updated several times a week, and its curation will focus on how Western pop culture has reflected the realities of the East, whether they are musical, geographical, religious, or political. (The terms ‘West’ and ‘East’ should be taken as broadly and arbitrarily as possible.)
The Parisian label (and the wonderful eponymous store on the right bank of the Seine) called Born Bad specializes in collecting and releasing various French productions of the past century. However, their catalogue also includes very modern artists and works as well. Four years ago, they released another compilation called Cha-Cha in the Harem (Cha Cha au Harem), reflecting the moods of Gaulish France at the beginning of the 1960s.
After the film Lawrence of Arabia received seven Oscars in 1963, and Omar Sharif's moustache became as much of a sexual fetish as the bouffant hairstyle, Middle Eastern motifs flooded the French music scene. On the one hand, it was typical cocktail exoticism for parties, and on the other, one could detect the rebellious spirit of the anti-colonial war in Algeria. Marseille clarinettist Léo Clarens formed his first orchestra at the beginning of the First World War and moved to Paris shortly after its liberation. Subsequently, he worked with French giants such as Paul Mauriat and Jean-Jacques Goldman, and this piece from the early ’60s reflects the fascination with Eastern culture at that time, including its gastronomy.