BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988
“Im Nin’Alu” is a song by Israeli singer, actress and international recording artist Ofra Haza. The song is based on a Hebrew poem by 17th-century Rabbi Shalom Shabazi.
Ofra Haza became famous in Europe with the song in 1988, when a remixed version of the song, produced by Izhar Ashdot, reached the Top Ten in various countries and number one in several of these, most notably in West Germany where it topped the charts for nine weeks in the summer of 1988. In the UK the track was a Top 20 hit, peaking at #15 and in the U.S. it reached #15 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart and #18 on Hot Modern Rock Tracks. British duo Coldcut produced a remix of Eric B. & Rakim’s “Paid In Full” which heavily sampled “Im Nin’alu”. The single reportedly sold some three million copies worldwide, making it one of the first world music recordings to cross over to mainstream pop chart success. Even though Haza’s version of the song shows her own interpretation, and its presentation was modern and popular, it still fits in with the Yemenite tradition that she represented.
The original version was included on the 1984 album Yemenite Songs, also known as Fifty Gates of Wisdom. The remixed version was part of her international debut Shaday of 1988.
Sadly Ofra Haza died on February 23, 2000, at the age of 42, of AIDS-related pneumonia.
SIDE A:
Im Nin’Alu (Gates Of Heaven Mix) 6:48
Remix – Frank Inglese, Mark Kamins
Im Nin’Alu (Instrumental Dub) 5:40
SIDE B:
Im Nin’Alu (Played In Full Mix) 5:39
Im Nin’Alu (7″ Version With English Vocal) 4:05
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Im Nin’Alu | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #15 |
| 1988 | Im Nin’Alu | U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | #18 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – PRO-A-3277
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Producer – Izhar Ashdot
NOTES:
Promotional Copy Not For sale
Housed in a unique picture sleeve.
From the Sire LP “SHADAY”
Find the 12″ on DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge:Ortofon OM Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Unfortunatelly download link now is no longer available. I just have a copy of mp3 format years ago. It would be greatly appreciated if I you willing to re-upload again the flac lossless format. Thank you in advance.
RIP Ofera Hazza, I Like Galbi – Dutch Remix, which was never released on CD, dunno why they didn’t release it, even PaulT didn’t rip it even it was a big hit in Europe.
So sad she died from Aids!
She was pretty awesome.
Julian Y.
RIP ofra Haza. more post please
They are working on a 10 CD’s Box set with Demo’s and Rare Tracks including Unreleased tracks scheduled to be released this year.
R.I.P Ofra Haza
This is good news John, do you have more info?
like what years of Demo’s are expected?
I’m looking forward for this release.
I hope they’ll find a cure for AIDS.
thnxxx for this post man
She did a great cover version of Madonna’s “Open your heart”, to be found on the compilation “Ladies of the 80s”.
Thank you very much Paul
How I miss Ofra Haza!! Thanks for bringing her back into our consciousness Paul!! What a tragedy she died so young. Always mysterious and exotic. I could almost smell the incense emanate from the loud speakers!! Listening and dancing to Ms. Haza was like an intense spiritual experience. I even loved the sampling of this song on the Coldcut mix!! BUT, the Mark Kamins’ mix is a real find for me. I really dig this version. Love the scratching and funky cowbell or whatever you want to call it. Nice refreshing change to the original I’ve heard many, many times… Read more »
This was one of my fave songs from 1987-88. The exotic chanting and really beautiful woman made me a fan. This driving song looked so astounding to my ears (still now) and had a hard time trying to get the album. Finally, I found it on a flea-market as an original Chilean cassette.
Excellent post! Thank you. Will you be posting the Coldcut track you referenced for comparison? Would be great to hear that as well now that you’ve grabbed my curiosity!
Together with Pump up the Volume by Ma.r.r.s. one of the best use of vocal sampling in my opinion. The exotic atmosphere was made for some great female moves on the dancefloors in Holland and Spain back then 😉 A culture some are fighting right now.
This is a real treat indeed.
Thanks Paul 🙂
This was a monster hit in continental Europe, it run that the whole year in the clubs and on the radio! Never heard this US remixes, but the Played In Full Mix and the 7″ English Mix which are on the most European 12″ releases are far better.
The best story about this song is the legendary Paid In Full (Seven Minutes Of Madness The Coldcut Remix). Must be one of the DJs all time favourite, my 12″ got used and abused,
it’s a miracle, it is still in one piece after all that scratchin’ !
RIP Ofra
I have also the France CD single with instrumental mix (Ariola – 661 635).
I didn’t listen to Paul’s post yet so I’m not sure if it’s the same instrumental version. The CD single instrumental is the Played In Full mix without the leading vocals.
Wow Paul what a big surprise. Thank you Paul for posting this great song. I remember dancing to it in the clubs back in 1988. It was a huge hit here in Europe. The remixes on Side A are totally new for me. They are not included on my CD-single. I am really overwhelmed by your wonderful posts this week so thank you so much Paul for all the joy you bring me once again.
Stunning tracks Paul.. Shaday is 1 of my all time fav albums.. these mixes are fabulous!
Thanks so much for posting this version. I was a such fan of her work and I always thought this was an amazing mix of traditional and modern styles.
You’re welcome VanceMan 🙂
John Peel played Ofra’s ‘Galbi’ in ’86 and the original of this was on the B-side.
Coldcut must have heard/bought that single (as did I) because they then used that version of ‘Im Nin’ Alu’ on their 7 Minutes of Madness remix of Eric & Rakim’s ‘I Know You Got Soul’ released a year later.
It’s such a sad loss that she died so young. At least she gained her much-deserved global fame (quite possibly because of Coldcut and John Peel)
Thanks for posting this Paul. When I first heard this song in ’06 while playing Liberty City Stories, I was immediately taken by it. Since then I’ve often wondered if there were any remixes of it. Now I know 🙂
You’re welcome Drain <3 🙂
I remember her of course from 1988 and I just looked her up on google. I did not know she died in 2000 at the age of 42, after having been infected by AIDS.
Great tracks! Popular in Chicago clubs
Thanks Paul!
You’re welcome Gilbert 🙂