Syrian vocalist Omar Souleyman scored his first hit with Jani in his native land in 1996. In 2004, Khataba cemented his reputation as an innovator in the trans-Arab world. Some 500 live albums released on cassette appeared between those two outings. In 2007, Highway to Hassake (on Sublime Frequencies) introduced Souleyman's new wave dabke music to the West. Dabke is wedding and dance party music from Syria. Souleyman updated the sound with the aid of multi-instrumentalist and pitch-wheel keyboardist Rizan Sa'id and electric saz player Ali Shaker. Souleyman was forced into exile in 2011 at the dawn of the Syrian civil war. That summer, his thunderous performance at England's Glastonbury Open Air Festival made him an internationally renowned dance music star, and the show was documented on Haflat Gharbia: The Western Concerts. Souleyman teamed with Kieran Hebden for 2013's studio-recorded Wenu Wenu and its follow-up, Bahdeni Nami. The latter two albums, perhaps due to being recorded in proper studios rather than live, are somewhat undercharged, almost staid, though they are lovely. His band was beginning to fragment from all the traveling, and Souleyman sought new inspiration in exile. He found it with a new band on 2017's To Syria, With Love, his debut for Diplo's Mad Decent label.

1		Shlon
2		Shi Tridin
3		Mawwal
4		Abou Zilif
5		3tini 7obba
6		Layle
7		Shlon
8		Shi Tridin
9		Mawwal
10		Abou Zilif
11		3tini 7obba
12		Layle

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