Veröffentlicht
Jan 17, 2024Veröffentlicht
December 2023
- The Cairo talent indulges his love for noise music with the help of ZULI, TRAKA and others.
- In 2017, Red Bull Music Academy followed four Egyptian artists as they worked with traditional folk musicians to create samples and melodies for a documentary series. Cairo-based Hassan Abou Alam, one of the four, chose to work in Luxor, crafting a noise-oriented style that paired dark ambient with the stirring vocals of his collaborators. Since then, Abou Alam has turned his attention to more functional dance music, with stellar releases on the likes of Rhythm Section, Naive and local label Rakete, building a clean track record as a well-rounded act whose influences spans jungle, IDM and grime. On his latest release, he revisits his love for noise and experimental music, boldly incorporating a bricolage of odd effects and distorted vocals with ravey drums and broken rhythms.
Until now, Abou Alam's deftly woven tapestries of crisp breakbeats and bouncy techno have largely followed straightforward arrangements. Shalfata, though, is more free-spirited, moving with fresh signs of an unfettered, spontaneous attitude. On his four original tracks, he embraces some of the unconventional production techniques that have long characterised Cairo's underground scene. He flirts with linear narratives like a seasoned philanderer, playing up a quavering bassline on "Mawgood," only to make a sudden 360-degree turn into a breakdown of mangled synths and traditional folk drums. On their remix, Serbia and Montenegro collective TRAKA dismantle some of Abou Alam's eccentricities to focus on heavily syncopated drums instead, staying true to their signature style of leftfield bass and mind-melting sound design.
The record's collection of quirky sounds are a clear highlight. "Mage In a Rage" starts with a whirlwind of whomps and warped Arabic vocals by Egyptian rapper SHBL-LBSH, who featured on Abou Alam's Fasla EP on Banoffee Pies. Unlike that earlier collaboration, which leaned heavily towards Bristolian percussive techno, this one is far weirder—in the best way possible. The MC's verses are constantly manipulated in new ways throughout the EP, referencing Abou Alam's love for off-kilter hip-hop. "Te3ebt" has a delightful build-up of chiptune-like synths and stuttering noises against SHBL-LBSH's bars, which are cold and robotic this time. On his remix, ZULI serves up more wild and wonderful clamour–there's a tornado of crackling static, scratchy bottom-end and double-time drums. It's a lot to digest but true to the VENT cofounder's style, it's compelling all the way.
In the liner notes, Abou Alam explains that the word "shalfata" can translate to "messy, splattered, and sloppy." This is certainly the artist at his messiest, musically, and that's a compliment. He can still hold a listener's attention while indulging in random noises and unpredictable rhythmic structure–proof that Abou Alam is truly in his element.
Tracklist01. Shalfata
02. Mage in a Rage
03. Te3ebt
04. Mawgood
05. Mawgood (Joaquin Cornejo Remix)
06. Shalfata (3Phaz Remix)
07. Mawgood (TRAKA Remix)
08. Te3ebt (ZULI Remix)