I've been thinking a lot lately about the Arab influences in Prince's music. They're scattered about, but there are a lot of them. And they seem to span the length of his career. That being said, am I right in thinking that the brief intro to "Ain't About To Stop" from HR1 comes from an Arab instrument? Or at least a keyboard duplicating the sound of that instrument? I feel like that specific sound has been in a ton of Lebanese pop songs.

Nothing?

I'd agree there is a riff in AATS that has that sound to it... "7" is another song with a kind of eastern vibe. There are flashes in "East" from N.E.W.S.

I can't think of any others off the top of my head though. I've heard it said that some people hear it on ATWIAD, but to me it sounds more influenced by some of the Beatles sound rather than directly from the East.

Having said that... stories about the construction of Paisley Park suggest it was originally designed to have at least one, if not multiple blue mosque like structures coming from the roof. Though Prince later settled for the pyramid structure.

I guess around the time of D&P he was using a lot of visual Eastern influences, with Maytes dancing then later the 3 Chains "storyline"?, I guess even the text in the booklet is designed to read in English but look vaguely like Arabic from a distance. But with the exception of "7" not much really comes though in the music though?

Even Emancipation apparently designed around some barely coherent analogy to the Pyramids in Egypt, and with a booklet also making multiple references to pyramids... I can't think of any song on the album that has an Eastern sound?...

EDIT - I forgot "Cinnimon Girl"
EDIT - The video to "The One"

[Edited 6/10/16 13:01pm]

Noodled24 said:

I'd agree there is a riff in AATS that has that sound to it... "7" is another song with a kind of eastern vibe. There are flashes in "East" from N.E.W.S.

I can't think of any others off the top of my head though. I've heard it said that some people hear it on ATWIAD, but to me it sounds more influenced by some of the Beatles sound rather than directly from the East.

Having said that... stories about the construction of Paisley Park suggest it was originally designed to have at least one, if not multiple blue mosque like structures coming from the roof. Though Prince later settled for the pyramid structure.

I guess around the time of D&P he was using a lot of visual Eastern influences, with Maytes dancing then later the 3 Chains "storyline"?, I guess even the text in the booklet is designed to read in English but look vaguely like Arabic from a distance. But with the exception of "7" not much really comes though in the music though?

Even Emancipation apparently designed around some barely coherent analogy to the Pyramids in Egypt, and with a booklet also making multiple references to pyramids... I can't think of any song on the album that has an Eastern sound?...

EDIT - I forgot "Cinnimon Girl"
EDIT - The video to "The One"

[Edited 6/10/16 13:01pm]

I had forgotten about the video for "The One." Thanks for that, Noodled24.

"Thunder" on Diamonds and Pearls!

R&B, pop and hiphop records were full of that type of "arabic" samples and short melody lines played on synths some ten years ago. It's the type of "orientalism" in popular music that seems to become trendy every once in a while. Maybe that sound used on AATS was just Josh trying to make the track sound like some other track that he liked.

Prince made that type of "pseudo-arabic pop" stuff on "Incense and Candles" himself, as well as earlier on "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold". Using "Eastern" sounds was nowhere nearly as "underground" then as you might think, as even hugely popular artists like 50 Cent had them on their records (just check out his "Candy Shop" hit on Youtube etc.).

lavie said:

"Thunder" on Diamonds and Pearls!

What about Thunder" do you think puts it in this category?

I love Thunder. And I agree.

AhPook said:

lavie said:

"Thunder" on Diamonds and Pearls!

What about Thunder" do you think puts it in this category?

Maybe Thieves in the Temple?

[Edited 6/17/16 18:11pm]