Track 8 from Saydisc "Percussion Around the World" - notes from Maureen Hanke.

Alwan Mizan is a piece of Arabic music.The Arabian Gulf is an important geographical and trading link between the Mediterranean and the Far East. It is an area of rich demographic diversity with a commensurate variety of music.

This piece of music features the bandir, a drum which originates from the Arabic region.
The bandir is a circular snare hand drum with a goat skin covering the sides of a wooden frame.
In this piece of music the beats are grouped into 9s throughout. ( in a music session everyone could try tapping the steady beat of 9 - it is quicker than you may think). The bandir often plays the first of each group of 9.