Experimental/Electronic

No banging techno spiced up with darbouka samples here… no standard dance music with orientalist clichés: Acid Arab's music is sincere and deep. It's not a collage, not an appropriation, not even a "fusion". It originates from encounters on equal terms between different worlds. Between instruments, rhythms, melodic modes, musical technologies… and people. Check!Parisian electronic music crew ACID ARAB have been putting European festival and club audiences under a spell for the last couple of years, with their intoxicating blend of sharp Western electronic music with Eastern sounds & vocals.Formed in 2012 by Parisian DJs Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho, Acid Arab patiently honed their style by meeting with scores of artists from all over North Africa and the Middle East. Born in the transcultural cauldron that is Paris, their concept was to create a space for Arab culture in the world of contemporary electronic music. They laid down groundwork by releasing several EPs (the Collections series) on electronic music label Versatile, featuring collabs, remixes and tracks by other artists.Moving on to create their own tracks, they became a fully-fledged musical entity by teaming up with Pierrot Casanova, Nicolas Borne and, for studio and live activities, with sensational Algerian keyboard player Kenzi Bourras. They are now about to release their first album (on Crammed Discs, an appropriate match, given the label's track record in terms of fostering musical cross-breeding).For 'Musique de France', Acid Arab have worked with a number of guests. To paint a complete picture, they needed voices, and some instruments: keyboards played by Kenzi Bourras (who has been performing live with the band since day one), and also by stellar Syrian musician Rizan Said. There's vocals and saz playing by Istanbul's Cem Yildiz (who wrote the famous song Kime ne for his band Insanlar), and vocals by Yemenite sister trio A-WA (who gained plenty of international kudos with the very first song they released, Habibi Galbi, which got remixed by Acid Arab). And collaborations with Paris-based luminaries of Franco-Arabic music such as rocker Rachid Taha, raï fusion pioneer Sofiane Saidi, as well as gnawa musician/singer Jawad El Garrouge.

Music from Memory’s final release of 2016 is an EP of works by a German trio formed in the city of Wuppertal, in the late eighties. A one off and unique project, Becker, Stegmann and Zeumer were asked to produce an album of recorded material after a string of successful concerts celebrating the work of local poet Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945).Very much an integral part of the Wuppertal jazz scene in the 1980’s, trumpetist Heinz Becker and Pianist Karl-Heinz Stegmann met the actress Isabel Zeumer when performing at the opening of an event organized by Wuppertal’s cultural department. Following this the three of them were asked put together a programme on Else Lasker-Schüler. A unique figure in her time Jewish poet Lasker-Schüler embraced a bohemian lifestyle and became a leading exponent of Germany’s expressionism and avant-garde poetry movement before fleeing the country in 1937. Becker, Stegmann and Zeumer’s programme would combine readings of Lasker-Schüler’s works with experimental music and imagery. These performances were met with great enthusiasm at the time in Wuppertal and were even televised. Following on from the strong response to the music and performances, the trio were invited to release the material on local label ITM Records.Embracing Lasker’s avant-garde sentiments within their own musical compositions, Becker, Zeumer and Stegmann’s album ‘Ich Träume So Leise Von Dir’ LP blends jazz and electronics to create a wholly unique sound. Embracing and experimenting with elements of Ambient and even New Wave; the four tracks selected here, in particular, seem to take music and spoken word into an entirely unique musical realm.

On the leading edge of NYC’s underground music scene, Vito Ricci produced only a handful of self-­‐released cassettes and one LP between 1983-­‐1985 with most of his work being recorded for experimental theatre and performance art pieces.Taking their label name from Vito Ricci’s only LP, Music From Memory brings together a compilation of works by one of the unsung heroes of New York’s downtown music scene.Starting out as a percussionist, Ricci’s early musical journey led him to improvised and experimental jazz; working alongside such luminary musicians as Rashied Ali, Byard Lancaster, Peter Zummo and Yousef Yancey.Quickly becoming involved in the avant-­‐garde scene with spoken word performances, film scores for independent movies and even playing in punk bands with performances at venues such as CBGB’s and Mudd Club, Vito’s own compositions drew on all of these influences whilst channeling them through his experiments with synthesizers and drum computers.Drawing comparisons with New York’s downtown No-­‐wave scene Vito’s compositions blend his unique use of intricate percussion with a wide sphere of musical influences to create a world of hypnotising ambient, meditative minimal-­‐synth through to dubbed out electronic funk and even left-­‐field boogie. With most of Vito Ricci’s music remaining previously unreleased, Music From Memory’s compilation ‘I Was Crossing A Bridge’ unveils Vito Ricci’s unique and visionary take on electronic music

"Synthi Time" is perhaps one of the most suitable albums - within Umiliani's incredibly vast discography - to fully appreciate the composing and experimental genius of the Maestro. For once away from the classic soundtracks that made him popular, this project veers away also from refined works of library music such as "Genti e paesi del mondo" (People and countries of the world) or "Problemi d'oggi" (Today's issues), released under the moniker of Zalla. In this case, we like to imagine him absorbed in his Sound Work Shop studio, experimenting with synthesizers with the same enthusiasm of a newbie in search of the perfect sound. Without renouncing to pop(ular) elements, Umiliani seems almost to anticipate (or at least to be fully consistent with) the sound research that will characterize the careers of musicians such as Roedelius and Moebius in Germany.As the same subtitle reveals, this was 'a new way of making music' through the use of the electronic synthesizer - this happening in 1971 - with occasional interventions by the spinet and the Hammond organ. And, with the exception of other little masterpieces such as "Il mondo dei Romani and Tra scienza e fantascienza", the most 'avant-garde' Umiliani can be found here, among tracks such as "Synthi grottesco", the outstanding "Synthetic Water", "Synthi pianola" and "Synthi pastorale", excellent examples of a Maestro exploring new sounds and the future of the music. Often forgotten and overlooked even by those self-proclaimed Umiliani lovers and fans, "Synthi Time" is actually one of his best works.This was 'a new way of making music' through the use of the electronic synthesizer - this happening in 1971 - with occasional interventions by the spinet and the Hammond organ. The most 'avant-garde' Umiliani can be found here, with excellent examples of a Maestro exploring new sounds and the future of the music.