Andy Busuttil – Pulse of the Pyramids Volume 2

Pulse of the Pyramids vols 1 and 2 are for students and fans of Middle Eastern rhythm be they dancers or musicians. Both have found the CD’s invaluable in helping them to understand and recognise the variety of Middle Eastern rhythms featured on these CD’s. The CD’s are based around the music of Drum Arabic and Andy Busuttil’s renowned darabuka playing. The format is as follows: a track of rhythm on percussion with lead zils, the same rhythm with lead darabuka and then a track from the Drum Arabic CD ‘Hanina’ that features that rhythm.

Andy Busuttil – Pulse of the Pyramids
Review by Peter Harrison

This album is beautiful.
While it is designed primarily as a teaching aid it still contains some sublime performances.
As a layman when it comes to Middle Eastern music, I found myself entranced by the long loping phrases, the superbly measured and complex rhythms and the seamless way the album moves from one track to the next.
Themes rise and fall, the pattern of the percussion gently evolves throughout one track to the next, and the entire recording is accessible, virtuosic, and a breath of fresh air in this reviewers’ CD collection
The tracks move from the subtle to the intense, most showcasing the drums that this CD is designed to promote the learning and teaching of, the darabuka and sagat.
Andy Busuttil has written a superb set of liner notes.
If you are a drummer, these notes and the CD should have you picking up some new rhythms and instruments with a bit of studied practice.
I would recommend this album to musicians wanting to broaden their range of influence, due to its accessibility in promoting music from a region that we as a general population do not understand enough about.
The album is for anyone who wants something different in their collection to take their mind off an Irish fiddle for a minute or two.