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 (الزمان صعيب), a 1970s reinterpretation of British rock group Free’s song “All Right Now” by a Moroccan group called Fadoul (فضول).
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, the “King of Sudanese Jazz”, Sharhabil Ahmed or The Scorpions and Saif Abu Bakr, as well as North African musicians such as Al Massrieen, Ahmed Malek, Raze de Soare, Mallek Mohamed, and Hamid El Shaeri.
