Midnight Magic

I used to regularly ransack the bargain world music CD bins at Amoeba Records in Hollywood. This was in the mid-2000s, when Amoeba was on Sunset Blvd. at Cahuenga. I based my purchases on names I didn’t recognize and cover art I liked.

One of the CDs (I still have all of them) is entitled Midnight Magic - Belly Dance Music, by someone named Dr. Samy Farag. The information says it was released in 1999 on Sphinx Records, Hollywood, CA. A belly dancer, dressed in a glittery green outfit with matching white shawl, poses on the front cover. Multi-colored fireworks explode next to her. Dr. Farag wrote three of the tracks. He produced the entire album.

Right at that time I needed to see a doctor about something I was worried about that turned out, like most things, to be nothing. My then-girlfriend, now my wife, wanted me to go to UCLA Medical Center. Lower-rent Hollywood Presbyterian was much closer to our apartment. I went there. I didn’t mind waiting with the local riff-raff, I told her. I found a doctor, made an appointment, and showed up later that day, close to 5pm.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the office were numerous framed photos depicting Ancient Egypt. Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, and other landmarks. Stelae, plinths, hieroglyphics. There were more in the examination room. And a photo of Egyptian singer, the immortal legend Umm Kulthum. That was when I looked closely at my appointment sheet. Dr. Samy Farag. Could this be the same Dr. Samy Farag who created the $4.99 belly dance music disc I acquired at Amoeba the previous week?

Dr. Farag walked in the room. An older, heavy-set man. A bit slumped over. Dour, as if he didn’t want to be there. He doesn’t want to be here, I thought to myself. Don’t take it personally. He wants to be in the studio making music. Dr. Farag asked me what was wrong. He examined me for about a minute. He shrugged his shoulders, told me it was nothing, like most things in life, and not to worry about it. Then, before I could mention the CD I had bought, he left.

I’m not surprised I didn’t say anything. I’m shy around people I admire. I freeze. I wonder what our conversation would have been like.

If there’s a moral to this story, one might be, never be reluctant to spend hours rummaging through the bargain world music section at your favorite record store. You never know what kind of magic could happen.

Several belly dance CDs, along with this one, can be purchased from Dr. Farag’s Sphinx Records website. Solid, Jackson.

In this Substack podcast I listen to albums and cassettes from the collection of my father, the late jazz bassist Charlie Haden (although this one’s from my collection). If you like what you hear, please consider subscribing. I’m writing a book of Memoires about life, death, jazz, slowcore, and survival. The address is joshhaden.substack.com.

Dr. Samy Farag

Midnight Magic - Belly Dance Music (CD, 1999, Sphinx Records)

Accordian: Ahmed Berjaoui

Drums: Amir Sofi

Drum Solo: Ziad Islambouli

Guitar: Samer Hawari

Vocals: Joelle Chamaa, Nadia Salameh, Bilai Hakkani, Ahmed Berjaoui, Samy Farag, Samer Hawari

Arranged, played, recorded by Bilai Hakkani

Produced by Dr. Samy Farag

Original tracks recorded at National Radio Studio #35, Cairo, Egypt.

Recorded, mixed, mastered at Sphinx Records Studios, La Canada, CA.

1. Gawaher (Dr. Samy Farag)

2. Efred (Isam Tawlik)

3. Haiati (Rageb Alama)

4. Bahebak (Dr. Samy Farag)

5. Taklan (Dr. Samy Farag)

6. Awwedouni (Amer Tantawi)

7. Drum Solo (Ziad Islambouli

   

   Front cover, Dr. Samy Farag, Midnight Magic - Belly Dance Music, CD, my personal copy.

   All words & images © 2024 Josh Haden, except where noted. All rights reserved.