CD reissue of the very first LP on Sun City Girls' Sublime Frequencies label. Some truly original guitar-based business going on here. The label say: "If you think you've heard all the great electric guitar styles in the world, think again. This Saharan sand-blizzard of fine-crushed glass will grind your face to a bloody pulp. Group Doueh play raw and unfiltered Saharawi music from the former colonial Spanish outpost of the Western Sahara. Doueh (pronounced "Doo-way") is their leader and a master of the electric guitar. His sound is distorted, loud and unhinged with an impressive display of virtuosity and style only known in this part of the world. His wife Halima and friend Bashiri are the two vocalists in the group. Sahrawi songs are from the sung poetry of the Hassania language. The music is based on the same modal structure as Mauritanian music, however, Doueh's style is a looser appropriation infused with a Western guitar scope, one that relies, in his words, as much on Hendrix as it does traditional Sahrawi music." If you're having a hard time getting your brain around what that all sounds like, just check these: "Cheyla Ya Haiuune(1)," "Wazan Samat(2)," "Tirara(3)," "Fagu(4)," "Sabah Lala(5)." 8-panel booklet included with rare color photos from Doueh's archives. 8 tracks; 40 minutes.

reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red