Catalog Number: HAB001-7 Color: Black Format: 7" UPC: 4018939282738 After being out of stock for years finally the debut release of HabibiFunk by Tunisian band Dalton is back in stock including an updatedartwork and booklet.This is the story of the release: Dalton's ,,Alech" single was our first release as a label in 2015.In the years before we had started to get into Arabic records and we came across a Moroccansinger called Fadoul and after some time we decided to try to find him to get his blessing to rereleasehis music. This search eventually took years and in the end we learned that Fadoulhad passed many years ago but we managed to find his family and license an album fromthem. Sometime during this search we came across a copy of Dalton's single and weimmediately fell in love with it. While it was only a 7" single with 2 songs it was the perfect mix.An upbeat and infectious a-side, paired with a mellow and soulful b-side. While the search tolearn about Fadoul took us years, Dalton's band leader Fawzi Chekili was just one onlinesearch away and within minutes we found his profile on social media. We reached out to himpresenting the idea of a reissue and he was with it from the get go. Over the years to come wehave met him a few times in Tunis and he has told us the story of the band:Dalton was a band from Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. They came together as a band around1968 when most of the members studied together at the University of Tunis. Fawzi Chekilistudied English literature, though he didn't graduate as after his first seat he started to focusmore on his music. Back in Tunis there was a community of musicians and eventually he metRidha who studied French literature at the same time and together they decided to form aband, this was the moment Dalton was born. The members changed frequently in thebeginning until the key members came together: Fawzi Chekili on guitar, piano and vocals,Ridha Kouhen on bass guitar, Mustapha Rehouma and sax and percussion, Sadok Gharbi ontrumpet and vocals and Skander Alim on drums and vocals.They were active in the local scene, playing music that was heavily influenced by Americansoul and funk and rock'n'roll. Fawzi Chekili recalls that it was bands like ,,Chicago", ,,Blood,Sweat & Tears", ,,Average White Band" and ,,Billy Cobham" that they listened to at the time andthat left a big impression on them.Eventually they realized that if they wanted to keep on going as a band they needed to makesure they were able to play shows frequently which would guarantee them a certain income.After some shows here in there they eventually got lucky. In the early 70s the band got aregular gig at a beach hotel called Sahara Beach Resort on the coastline of Tunisia. It was ahuge compound spread through 3 major buildings. During peak season it allowed 3000 gueststo stay there at the same time. They signed a six month contract which eventually kept ongetting renewed for a couple of years and during that time they would play every single nightof the tourist season. While the hotel gig required the band to play sets leaning towards touristentertainment, the regular work helped put some money into the band's accounts. Using thosefunds the band was able to travel to Rome to record their one and only 7" single release"Alech" around 1971/1972. While the b-side "Soul Brother" sounds like a Tunisian version ofmodern soul / AOR with it's English lyrics and lush arrangements, the title track "Alech" is theone that will get every party started. An infectious 3/4 rhythm, a great horn arrangement andbrillantly layered vocals that made us think of Brazillian music or the Georgian groove bandGaya.The band eventually dismantled in the mid 70s and returned briefly as a new group with newmembers in the late 1970s under the name Carthago. You can listen to their music on anotherHabibi Funk release. Fawzi Chekili is still active as a renowned musician in the Tunisian jazzscene and remains active recording and playing concerts both in Tunisia and internationally.Ridha Kouhen, his co-founder in Dalton sadly passed away in a car crash in the 1980s.