Mohamed - Ham Safar (808 State Edit)

DE 1989 12" Single; Dance Factory! / Rough Trade: RTD M 19-12 [1-Side W/L Promo in White PS]
DE 1989 12" Single; Dance Factory! / Rough Trade: RTD M 19-12 [1-Side W/L Promo in Gold PS]
DE 1989 12" Single; Dance Factory!: FUN-FAC! M 19-12 [Some with Press Release]
DE 1989 12" Single; Dance Factory! / Rough Trade: RTD M 19-12
DE 1989 CD Single; Dance Factory! / Rough Trade: DANCE! 1912 / RTD CD 19-12

Tracks:

6:07 Ham Safar (808 State Edit)

Released:

24th July 1989 (as stated in Music Master Singles Catalogue, 3rd Edition, 1990).

Credits:

Produced by 808 STATE: A guy called GERALD, GRAHAM and MARTIN.

Press Release:

"Mohamed" is a formation with an Afghanistan singer. Their first Maxi >Ham Safar< will be released in England, Germany and the rest of Europe in February 1989.

KABUL MUNSTER MANCHESTER

THE AMAZING STORY BEHIND "HAM SAFAR"....

Born in Afghanistan, JAWED "MOHAMED" KAZIMI was a political activist imprisoned by the Russians after the 1980 invasion. Mohamed fled to West Germany via Pakistan, and for the last eight years he has lived in the German town of Munster. Steeped in Afghan folk music, which he married with a political lyrical content, late '87 saw Mohamed link up with the German production team of BURHOFF/BLASCHKE /BASLER. It was at this point that the team decided to let loose Anglo/American dancefloor influences on the traditional Afghan sound.

"HAM SAFAR" was born, the team hooked up with hot German label DANCE FACTORY, and Italian producer GRAZIANO MALLOZZI was brought in to produce the RADIO KABUL MIX and the BLACK AFGHAN edit which are in your hands now and bound to find favour in the more adventurous clubs.

The final piece in this master jigsaw was put into place when Dance Factory took the track to Manchester and approached 808 STATE for a further remix. At this time A GUY CALLED GERALD was still an active member of the 808 STATE team, and it was GERALD who came up with the hypnotic synth bassline that dominates this mix.

And so an epic was born. An amazing sequence of events which has led to a unique piece of vinyl. This is the year when overseas labels are opening in the UK (Sleeping Bag, Music Man, BCM, Profile) and now Dance Factory look set to score with their debut UK release. You can become part of this story. Play loud and become obsessed.

UK Distribution via Pinnacle - Commercial Release Set for late July/Early August

Comments:

Dance Factory! is a sub-label of Fun Factory!

The labelling of the numerous releases is fairly confusing, as some have the Dance Factory! catalogue number, and some have the Rough Trade Germany (RTD) catalogue number! In addition, the 1-sided White-Label promo comes in either a Rough Trade gold-sleeve (same front cover as the Fun Factory release), as well as white sleeve with a Mohamed promo sticker on the front. Finally, the released Fun Factory! record comes in either a Fun Factory! sleeve or a Rough Trade sleeve... Confused? You're not the only one! :-)

The release schedule (below) also assigns different catalogue numbers to "Ham Safar", possibly indicating a 5" and a 3" CD single release... To date, I have never seen a 3" CD single release, and also not seen a 03912 catalogue number assigned to either the 12" single or CD single.

Finally, the label to the A-Side incorrectly spells "Kazimi" as "Kazumi"! :-)

This release is taken from the album, "Diwana East". "Ham Safar" in Urdu means "Fellow Travellers".

Mohamed is a group of Afghan friends, including Jawed Kazimi, who released a solo CD called "Bewafa" in 1999.

Jawed Kazimi:

Jawed's musical career started at the early age of 12. His early musical influences were rooted at home. His father was an accomplished musician and his brother was part of one of the first Afghan musical bands in Germany. Jawed quickly began to establish himself within the family by writing music and learning to play various instruments such as the Harmonium, keyboard, and Tabla . While attending high school in Germany, he formed his first band (MOHAMED) with a group of his friends. Their first professional album release on the German dance label, Fun Factory, sold more than 30,000 copies throughout Europe; they also performed live at numerous concerts and raves. His band also worked with top European DJs and producers such as DJ Westbam ( Low Spirit Records ) and the British techno group 808 State .

In 1993 he moved to the States (Kansas City) and while still keeping touch with his former band, he started concentrating on his solo musical career. He setup his own recording studio (K-Sounds) and started to compose Afghan dance music. In 1998, he met Hamid Ahang and the two began collaborating on producing and remixing. In early 1999 they started recording tracks for his first solo release, BEWAFA. This CD is a collection of his past and present material. BEWAFA , is only the beginning of many releases to come from this talented musician. Currently, he has several songs written and ready to be released in the near future.

His former band members formed their own record label, Orbit Records, and have had over a dozen number 1 hits on German and European dance charts. Jawed would like to thank all his friends and family for supporting him throughout his musical career.

There's an interesting interview with Jawed here.