Hey everyone,

we’ve been pretty absent from your inboxes and yet we have lots of things to tell you. Here are quite a few updates to help you get through the dark season.

This Week : La Claque #3

3 evenings, 2 cities and 7 concerts (+ a DJ set by the team) to celebrate with us and especially to introduce you to some great artists.

Thursday 06.11 @ KulturA (Liège)

• Martha Moore (indie rock) about to release the acoustic version of her stirring firt EP « Out of Season » 🌻
• KALUPTO (indie soul) for the first time in Belgium
• Oberbaum (indie pop) her show – celebrating the release of here sophomore record « I should be softer » – at Botanique was such a masterclass !
• Sïan Able (heavy synth / dark pop) a new solo format, a new repertoire that will leave no one indifferent, performed for the very first time 🔥

It’s going to be an outstanding evening, powerful with projects by incredibly badass womxn. You don’t want to miss this !

Saturday 08.11 @ KulturA (Liège)

• Bureau de Change (noise, post-punk) a wild frenzy from the UK that we’re dying to share with you ! 🦊 Their last single « Marriage » is wiiiild !
• marcel (indie noise, post-punk) this scorching band needs no introduction… but have you see their latest live video ?!

Tuesday 11.11 @ La Source (Brussels)

Same lineup, different venue: marcel, Bureau de Change and we’re adding B O I who just announced an album – Nothing’s Right 🐦‍⬛ – and we’ll wrap up with a DJ set by Julia Camino, so, come on down!

Quick note on ticket prices: we’ve set up solidarity pricing so that the cost of the evening isn’t a barrier to coming enjoying good music and good vibes 💜

New on the Roster : Future EXES

Ok, maybe we’re biased, driven by unconditional love for everything that’s passed through Amaury Sauvé’s hands. But we have to say that Future EXES is offering a power pop / noise rock cocktail as bold as it is elegant. There’s the sunny energy of punk mixed with cerebral melodies reminiscent of Weezer and the Pixies, all wrapped up in a melancholy rage a la Title Fight (making everyone at the office very happy 😄).

Check it out for yourselves, they dropped a first single announcing the album for March 6th and keep your eyes peeled, as there will very likely be a concert near you in the coming months.

>> Wednesday evening at Crossroads (Roubaix, FR)

Excellent News 🤩 : Sïan Able opening for EMEL

Emel Mathlouthi has consistently released groundbreaking records that have found audiences across the globe. Her latest, MRA, achieves an unprecedented feat: collaborating with 30 internationally renowned FLINTA artists and producers. It’s therefore a tremendous honor to share the VK* stage with her on November 20th. Don’t miss this incredible evening and the chance to discover Sïan Able’s new tracks before anyone else 🌋

New release : The Heart Department – Plush Baby

Probably one of our biggest Coup de Cœur lately ! The Heart Department is now out and yours to enjoy.

You’ll be able to buy their lovely cd’s at their release show on November 28th. It’s gonna be quite an evening so you should definitely be there.

Also, we (hand) made new merch with T-shirts and hoodies carefully thrifted and silkprinted at the office thanks to the kit from Mamacita Matadora – musician and also textile designer.

Available during our events 🙂

That’s all folks ! See you around 👋

– Maureen, Damien & Jeanne

Hey everyone,

the first half of this year has been incredibly exciting for us, with a diverse range of releases spanning multiple genres and welcoming several talented new artists to our roster.

Here’s a quick recap of these six months. Impatient to know what’s ahead? Jump straight to the ‘what comes next’ section.

Releases

• Garance Midi expanded their sonic universe with the announcement of the extention of their first LP, featuring tracks like « dans la maison, » « mauvaise herbe (la suite) » and « rave/cauchemard (LANDROSE remix) ». The first two videos were animated by Garance herself and the one for the remix was made by maureen. 🎥 Speaking of maureen’s music videos for Garance Midi, following her selection at the Barcelona Queer Film Festival, she has just won the ‘Best Director’ 🏆 for « Été Acidulé » at the Nubes Music Video Awards. Extended album soon!

• Yawners brought us « Superbucle » her 3rd LP from Spain,
• while marcel contributed the fiery « ô fornaiz« .
• Oberbaum kicked things off with her haunting single « Solitude« , setting a contemplative tone for the year ahead and her new LP New album soon!
• Martha Moore joined us with a stunning EP « Out of Season, » that immediately established them as an artist to watch. * NEW ON THE ROSTER *
• Thomaslovefashionverviers delivered « La route du succès, » a full-length album that showcases his artistic frenzy.
• Plush Baby brought their unique pop art sound with « Haha » and « Lonely, » adding a fresh dimension to our catalog. * NEW ON THE ROSTER * New album soon!
• Totorro are back ! And they have new stories to tell, starting with « Bernard Guez« . * NEW ON THE ROSTER * New album soon!

• Atum Nophi shared « Mirage, » a compelling new single, New EP soon!
• and échec released a collaborative split EP that highlights the power of musical partnerships.
• And we just saw Équipe de Foot drop a standout new single, « Healing but No, » that caught our attention. New album soon!
• B O I delivered their first EP that perfectly captures that catchy, grungy en proudly queer vibe we like so much. * NEW ON THE ROSTER *
• We were happy to book them both with the Bernadette Maries for La 2e Claque x fête de la musique. And they also release their first EP earlier this year. * NEW ON THE ROSTER *
• Gawbé, proudly based in the lower town of Quebec City and very soon in a town next to yours! We discover her vivid universe through pop rock that shifts between grit, relaxation, and melancholic softness on her debut LP, « L’endroit l’envers« . * NEW ON THE ROSTER *

New on the Roster

Alongside Gawbé, B O I, the Bernadette Maries, Totorro, Plush Baby and Martha Moore, we also welcomed:

Bureau de Change; same same but different, pure rage and energy, pure love for this English band soon on our lands. New EP soon!

KALUPTO; we absolutely fell in love with their music and discovered that storms could sing. We can’t wait to bring them to Belgium (more on this on the next section).

Some other things

• We shed approximately a thousand tears during V.O. + River into Lake‘s aniversary show at AB 🥲
• We are also always very moved to see so many of you at our events (Ambiance Cordiale and La Claque) and we’re prepping others for next season.
• Mamacita Matadora recorded her new EP (coming soon) chez Nini studio. Can’t wait to release the first tracks 💜.
• Sïan Able is also currently producing her next album and even working on her live show simultaneously 🥵💪❤️‍🔥

• 2 new episodes of our podcast Coffee with Julia (in French)
• DISCARE is online and (a)live ! We’re still looking for teammates – please reach out if you want to help us improve mental health in the music ecosystem 🫶

What’s coming next ? 👀 👀 👀

Julia’s Upcoming Events

21.09 Ambiance Cordiale #4 @Les Yeux Gourmands, Bruxelles

Well spotted, this time we’re leaving our offices to go to a really nice bookstore full of friends and there’s a good reason for that: the theme of this chill Sunday is books that talk about music (entirely or just a small passage that you find striking). See you there to read and/or listen 📖

And for the 3rd Claque: a triple Claque 🎉 ! Already note these dates in your calendars and we’ll send you the events and tickets links in the next Gazette. 👋👋👋

06.11 La Claque 3.1 @KulturA, Liège with Martha Moore + KALUPTO + Sïan Able + Oberbaum

08.11 La Claque 3.2 @KulturA, Liège with Bureau de Change + marcel (+TBC)
Oh yeah Liège, we really thought of you!

11.11 La Claque 3.3 @La Source, Bruxelles with B O I + marcel + Bureau de Change + DJulia

Other Events

26.09 Oberbaum release party @Botanique, Bruxelles
Lucie recorded 𝘐 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘉𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳, her second LP in Brooklyn with Katie Von Schleicher. It blends McCartney-esque piano, melodic bass, fuzz guitars and vintage synths in a joyful melancholy.
Come discorver it on stage this late September. And it’s Martha Moore who will open the evening. 🌻

Fall European Tour for Gawbé
Alternative rock full of contrasts, gentle and fierce, slacker and dramatic, carried by the singular voice of Gabrielle Côté. She draws from the raw energy of DIY and the intimacy of first impulses.
This fall, Gawbé will be in Europe with a stop at FrancoFaune. 🍁

💿✨ As you saw in the first section, there are plenty of new albums to be released in the coming months. We already have them on repeate at the office 🤩

Ok, this is just a glimpse but this newsletter is waaaaay too long already ! Once again : take care, drink water, wear earplugs when you go to concerts and most of all, slow down and enjoy 🙂

– Maureen, Damien & Jeanne

On ne va apprendre à personne ici l’importance pour une entreprise, une entité, une marque… même pour les petits biz comme nous d’avoir une identité visuelle. Pour qu’on puisse nous retrouver dans ce bruit constant de la communication continue. Hé coucou, nous aussi on est là. — Cynique dès le premier paragraphe, oopsie. — On va plutôt vous embarquer dans le processus de création, c’est un peu plus rigolo. Alors, voici les coulisses de notre réflexion, nos débats internes, et nos choix pour façonner l’identité de Julia Camino.

Le point de départ

Assez rapidement, Damien nous a trouvé une typo cool (on y reviendra), mais à mon sens, Julia Camino n’était pas une marque suffisamment forte — ou du moins pas encore — pour pouvoir stand out rien que par le nom. De plus, cette typo est super quand on s’attarde sur les détails, qu’on l’analyse, mais pour le commun des mortels, ça ne se passe pas au premier coup d’œil. En tout petit en bas d’une affiche, impossible de se faire remarquer. Et pour le côté 100 % pratico-pratique, un logo qui rentre dans un carré c’est quand même mieux. Si Julia Camino ne parle pas à beaucoup de monde, JC c’était carrément prendre le risque que tout le crédit revienne à Jésus et nous aux oubliettes de l’histoire.

Bref, maintenant qu’on a compris le problème, il faut que la solution soit alignée avec nos valeurs, que ça porte un message (sans nécessairement être trop in your face).
Le nom, Julia Camino, se charge déjà un peu de ça.

Je voulais donc ajouter une sorte de pictogramme, une mascotte, en tout cas un dessin qui corrobore et prolonge nos idées :

On en discute avec Damien : « marcher sur les mains ». OK, il aime bien l’idée… on réfléchit en se baladant pour finalement arriver à ce croquis. Première étape ​​✅ Check

Recherches et inspirations

On a ensuite regardé des tas d’illustrations avec des mains qu’on a regroupées dans un tableau Pinterest. Il y a pas mal de dessins de Geoff McFetridge (un artiste visuel que Damien adore). Moi j’aime bien aussi le côté dessiné et les grosses mains qui donnent un aspect sympathique.

Les éléments clés de l’identité graphique

Typographie : Karrik

Karrik est un caractère typographique open source dessiné par Jean-Baptiste Morizot et Lucas Le Bihan. Commandité par le magazine Cercle à l’occasion du numéro 8 consacré aux fantômes. Dans la mythologie bretonne, l’Ankoù, serviteur de la mort, collecte les défunts dans sa charrette grinçante appelée Karrik. Damien l’a choisie (entre autres) parce qu’il est tombé en amour avec le petit « a », mais finalement, une typo qui porte le nom d’une charrette (tirée à la main) pour un (dernier) voyage, est-ce que ce ne serait pas une jolie coïncidence ?!
Le Karrik parle des mythes régionaux, des villes abandonnées et des nationales qui les traversent. Ça me plaît encore plus depuis que je sais ça.

« Le Karrik est un héritier de la typographie vernaculaire. Les déplacements de graisses, l’absence de corrections optiques et les proportions anarchiques des lettres sont autant de caractéristiques qui nous ont inspirés et que nous avons cherché à réinterpréter. Nous avons conservé ces caractéristiques visibles en grand corps, avec la contrainte que le caractère fonctionne en labeur. Un set de capitales désordonnées, accessible par le jeu stylistique “SS01”, rend hommage aux origines du Karrik ; lettrages maladroits d’enseignes de garage et caractères oubliés d’obscures fonderies depuis longtemps disparues. »

J’ai pas tout compris à la première partie, mais encore une fois, l’idée des formes populaires, des choses bidouillées à la main, on aime bien.

Logo : PopoCucu derrière la main

Pauline Cuny (aka popo.cucu) est l’illustratrice qui a réalisé notre logo et d’autres dessins pour notre com. C’était super de bosser avec alle car elle a vraiment capté le brief (en gros, ce qu’on vous a expliqué plus haut), la communication était fluide et ses propositions au top.

On a finalement mixé une version filled plutôt que outline pour que ce soit un peu plus bold (pardon my English). On a mixé deux des propositions pour arriver au résultat final. J’étais subjuguée que ça aille « si vite », mais ça vient certainement de la partie du processus où l’on a choisi la bonne personne pour le job 🙂 Le petit pouce plié rappelle l’empattement du petit « a » que Damien aime tant (c’est avec cet argument que j’ai eu gain de cause). Et l’ensemble peut aussi faire croire à un « A » majuscule pour Agency, qu’on dit, mais qu’on n’écrit pas nécessairement. 👌

Palette de couleurs

Là-dessus, j’ai eu 100 % la main parce que Damien n’a pas cette sensibilité-là (c’est lui qui le dit). Je voulais quand même garder le noir et blanc comme choix majeur, pour le respecter un peu et aussi parce qu’on n’est pas maître d’où finit le logo. Si c’est pour qu’il ait une couleur et qu’on le foute toujours en noir et blanc ou piiiiire qu’il jure avec le reste des éléments, ce n’est pas la peine ! 

Les trois couleurs devaient initialement faire chacune référence aux différentes branches de la big picture du big projet : l’agence Julia Camino, le Studio Camino pour nos creative endeavours et la Julia Academy pouuuur transmettre des trucs (c’est toujours le cas sur le site).
Je les ai choisies instinctivement, mais, la vie fait bien les choses, côté signification, ça colle :

• #ffc700 (ambre) : Le jaune saturé rayonne de luminosité et d’énergie, incarnant l’enthousiasme et la positivité. Son ton vibrant attire l’attention. Il évoque le bonheur, la spontanéité.
• #C7BAFF (pervenche) : Représente la sérénité et le calme. Il peut également symboliser l’épanouissement des amitiés, les souvenirs sentimentaux et l’amour éternel. C’est une teinte d’ancrage.
• #236445 (vert sapin) : Associé à une communication fluide et à la clarté. Il est serein, apaisant, et associé à la nature.

Amen.

Conclusion

On ne va pas laver le linge sale en public tout de suite, mais il y’a évidemment eu quelques tensions lors du processus entre Damien et moi. Avec son passif de graphiste, mon tempérament borné et nos goûts divergents. Cela étant dit, je pense qu’on est arrivé à un résultat satisfaisant qui nous donne de la joie et qu’on est content·es de vous partager : ) Maintenant, c’est dans la nature, on verra bien comment c’est reçu, comment ça évolue et vieillit ✌️

Au final, le processus en lui-même a été un bon condensé de notre manière de faire : un mélange entre un truc longuement réfléchi et des choix instinctifs.

– maureen

On Sunday 13th March 2022, we took the road to Mayenne (France) to give birth to something quite important. For many months now, Damien and I have tagged along with Audrey, Vankou and Hugo in the maturation of their second album. In Laval, we have an appointment with the obstetrician of this new record: Amaury Sauvé. And it’s funny sometimes how dates coincide. You can believe it or not, but it’s still a bit stunning for us to think that two years ago exactly, those lovely humans from Annabel Lee had to abort their tour (for the first album) and go back home with a sad feeling of dismay. Then this Sunday we all went the other direction to come and record an album. Today it’s spring.

I know that recording this new album with Amaury is a real shift for Annabel Lee. The guy has an incredible work method that is impossible to summarize in a few lines. It forced the band to approach this session in a different way. There are more steps, more accuracy and above all a long list of homeworks at the end of the pre-production. The band preyed on the long forced break (due to the pandemic) to gather and compose, then everything accelerated after their first visit to the studio in January. Suddenly there were only 5-6 weeks left to fix things, work to ensure what was already quite good, find the missing bits, all this with daily life throwing a spanner in the works at the same time.

If you’re not a musician yourself, some of the conversations in the studio may seem a bit obscure. It goes about Fuzz, Boost, Pettyjohn, sustain, halftones that sometimes you can feel, sometimes can’t even hear at all. They are pulling the strings, changing the drumheads, reshaping the tempo maps. Your ears buzz a bit and your heart whirrs a lot because you don’t necessarily need to understand everything to be overwhelmed by the exultation of collective creation.

During the whole session, we are squeezed up together 24/7 (but it’s fine). It’s intense because we’re there to work, yet it feels like a holiday camp. And the place is pleasant. What a treat to have a huge live room bathed in sunlight and windows in the control room. This configuration is also very useful to keep visual contact between all the band members and the sound engineer. Essential to get the music grooving. Some of the tracks have already been played on stage, others are only a few weeks old, but they all sound great put together because they reflect the cohesion of the band.

I could spend hours telling you about the recording of each track, and each person present will tell it differently. Not to mention that sometimes brains tend to remember the hard stuff. There were some with the clock constantly ticking, tiredness and everyone’s sensitivity.  There were also plenty of happy accidents, fortunately, all of which will be fixed on a record (but you’ll have to wait quite some time to hear that). This and lots of the other stuff were captured by my camera and audio recorder. Something will surely come out of it, even if it’s still blurry in my mind at the moment.

It’s a lot about feelings difficult to put into words but there are also very concrete things that we can list:

Annabel Lee used 4 sets of strings, changed the drumheads two times and killed 13 pairs of sticks. 10 tracks were recorded and edited in 10 days (including the installation, so more like 9, and the reamps, so more like 8, and the arrangements, so… well, anyway) and then on the day off we also found the time to not rest and shoot a video. We drove 588 KM back and forth. In one morning everyone agreed on a photo suggested by Audrey for the cover and Damien did the layout in the wake (never seen before). We had the first barbecue of 2022 and ate at least 19 baguettes. As for the number of beers, that will remain a manufacturing secret.

– m.

I think it all started with a message from Damien saying “You wanna make a video for MORE? It’s due in two weeks.” I obviously replied “Let’s go!”

The starting pitch was: a simple and effective idea. We wanted to blow things up very quickly because it’s about over-consumption and we needed something strong at the climax as the song is built up. Then, if possible, have a motorised two-wheeler as a nod to the motorbike break (code name for the guitar at 01:40). Ideas came in all directions. My producer persona thought « Ok, we don’t have much time, we can’t go off on a tangent that will take us more than a day to shoot ». So our different scenes had to be shot in the same area. 

By some celestial trick, I think back to that caravan in which my brother and I used to hang out during our teenage years. I hadn’t been back there in ages so there’s no guarantee it’s still there. I asked my mum to check as she still lived in the area and she said « what caravan? » (I had at least confirmed that our hideout was perfect). No choice then, two days later I made the return trip. The caravan was still there, it hadn’t moved an inch but it was even more beautiful than I remembered because nature had continued to gain ground. At the time it was obvious, we had to shoot there – then my practical side was delighted because we had this caravan within reach but also a field, a grove, a vacant lot and the family house for the lunch break. We now had to start from the location and build the story with these different elements.

Two buddies in the countryside who zone out, get pissed, break things and who, with adrenaline, end up hooking up. Well, all we had to do was find these two buddies for a rocking country Sunday in front of our camera. (Oh, and find things to break!) There were still a lot of unknowns in the equation: the actors, but also the weather (in Belgium, in March…), the farmer who owns the land and whom we could never reach for authorization, could just show up at any moment to shoot us with buckshot, and all those things like a shard of glass in the camera or in the eye that could make this shoot go completely wrong. You could say that luck was on our side. And let me quote Orelsan: If you want to make films, you just need something that films. I was quite relieved when we said « It’s a wrap » but we weren’t there yet.

In the end, between the script and the final result, only the bare minimum remained. First of all, because during the shooting we were carried away by the energy of the moment and we were quite confident that we had enough interesting shots even though we left out almost half of the scenes. The same goes for the editing, some filmed sequences were skipped because more than a story that goes from one point to another, it was a general atmosphere and a build-up that we wanted to construct. But as I said, the essential is still there. 

As it is a co-direction between Damien and myself, we wanted to stick together in the editing (in the same way that we passed the camera around on the set). This is, I think, an unorthodox thing to do in the discipline, especially on such a short video, but I think we managed to bring out the best in each other. We each took charge of one part and the other came to make adjustments, propose ideas, etc. As he obviously has a different knowledge of the piece than I do, his contribution to the rhythm of the editing was also considerable. And then he dealt with my phases of doubt and stress, and that too was considerable.

Once we agreed on the final cut (and after tearing my hair out on a rough color grading because it’s clearly not my job), I was happy but not entirely satisfied, and impossible to find out why. We prepare the upload with the video as it was, anyway at some point you have to let it go, accept that on any production you always have the impression that it’s not finished and that you could probably do better, anyway, the deadline approaches. Until I woke up at 5am a few days before the release with an idea… Everything has to be cropped to a 4:3 ratio (that’s the ratio I’ve always preferred to shoot, with a little Hi8 I’ve been lent for a long time). 

It makes more sense with the way we want to tell this story – besides, it’s striking when we crop the images that this is how we had filmed (unconsciously) and that nothing interesting was happening on the edges. So it’s getting out, we tighten everything up and we finally find ourselves at the right distance from our characters. We are with them. Damien agrees. That’s it, this time we let it go.

Here is the result

One last thing, a piece of advice even: if you are told that you won’t be able to get paid (much) but that you will gain visibility, at least demand to have carte blanche. That way, you can show exactly what your aesthetic is and/or put a crypto-gay message in it when the « client » is more of an old-fashioned masculinity performer 😉

Cheers.
– m

If you want to know, there’s a private joke where for a couple of years I’ve been saying « yeah I’m releasing my first NAAR SUYU mix pretty soon »… Hey, everything happens eventually. 

The name of the mixtape means pomegranate juice (nar suyu) but with 2 A’s, in homage to the project NAAR that I find incredible, I’ll tell you more about it later, because the desire in substance is the same at my very small level: create bridges. 

I’ll try not to write a whole book about it though, because I’m not a specialist, but on the other hand, it’s like when the music starts, I’m quickly carried away. It’s impossible to explain to you why it moves me so much and puts me in a trance from the first notes. The tones maybe, the instruments (big heart on the oud!) … And then the language. Besides, I started to learn Arabic to try to understand what it’s about and to limit as much as possible the yogurt when singing along, even if only my cat can hear it. 

I’m under the impression that 10-15 years ago, if you didn’t have a real interest in Arab music, what you heard was not necessarily the best raï and then some classics like Fairuz or a bit more recently Rachid Taha, some Dalida songs too. But it’s so much wider than that! Especially what’s being done at the moment, it’s madness. Maybe it’s because not everyone gets a visa to come and play in Europe (even though I’ve seen some great concerts). 

Besides, it’s probably through traveling that it started to get in my ear. I spent a lot of time in Cairo, in the Agadir region and especially in Tunis. I lived with local friends, we went out to clubs and concert cafés, and above all, we spent hours and hours in the car. Here, when you decide to go to the sea, it’s an expedition, you plan it days in advance even though it’s not that far. In Tunisia you get up in the morning, you say you’d like to go for a swim and you drive for three hours to get to the beach, stay there for a good hour and then drive back the other way. In short, there’s plenty of time to listen to music.  

There were also movies like Jim Jarmusch’s « Only Lovers Left Alive » which has an incredible soundtrack. You can see Yasmine Hamdan giving a concert where she sings the track Hal [track 9]. Even though I may have a more active search, I think a lot of it reached me haphazardly. Like during my Soundcloud wanderings… listening again to Rayess Bek and La Mirza’s Love & Revenge project [track 16] – he remixes Arab music classics while she VJs with film clips from the golden age of Egyptian cinema, crazy!  – After going to see them live on the good advice of a friend, I go from reco to reco and that’s how I came across Hello Psychaleppo [track 7]. Boom, brain explosion. In short, at some point the different algorithms do their job. 

But it’s also the case IRL, when I go to Balades Sonores (my local vinyl dealer), they have a bin called « from Tangier to Beirut », often I let myself be guided by the design of the cover and then I have nice surprises like with Alif [track 22] and the album « Aynama-Rtama ». And of course, there are artists like Acid Arab [track 21] who clearly played a role, or even here in Brussels, Gan Gah who does some crazy stuff. I remember binge listening to a mix he did four [six now] years ago for LowUp Radio. 

And one day I came across the track « Money Call » [track 20] which announced the project NAAR… The sound gave me a big slap in the face and it’s Ilyes Griyeb who directed the wonderful clip that accompanies it.  A year ago, he had co-written an article that caught my attention, entitled « Et si on laissait enfin les artistes arabes raconter leur(s) eux-mêmes? » (« What if we finally let Arab artists tell their own story(s)? ») in which he denounced plagiarism and the use of Arab aesthetics by Western artists of all kinds never promoting the creative talents of these countries. This forum gave birth to an idea, which became a collective and then a platform to finally end up on one of the albums listen to the most in 2019: Safar (Travel). An ultra-ambitious project that brings together 11 Moroccan artists and 19 European and North American ones while maintaining its coherence from the first to the sixteenth track. A concentrated materialization of the talent and know-how of the Maghrebian scene to finally conquer the whole world. (Making of the album) 

I’ve gone on a bit about it but it’s well worthy. Frankly, it’s neat! The trap is international, the darija (Moroccan dialect) is local and it’s kicking. To see how ready the guys are – no kidding, for years they’ve been looking for the best ways to make the words sound, to fine-tune their flow, the technique… – and how much they want it, I advise you to watch the documentary « Wa Drari » which retraces the journey of Shayfeen (duo active in the NAAR collective)

I will conclude with two more recommendations for documentaries related to Arab music: 

During the lockdown I finally watched « El Gusto » by Safinez Bousbia. It’s about chaâbi music, a popular music invented in the middle of the 1920s in the heart of the Casbah of Algiers and which « makes you forget misery, hunger, thirst » while bringing Jews and Muslims together for years in the same orchestra until the war and its upheavals. I’m not spoiling anything but it brought me to tears.

From Algiers, we go to Cairo and move from Chaâbi to electro Chaâbi with the documentary of the same name directed by Hind Meddeb. Victim of corruption and social segregation, the youth of the working class neighborhoods exorcise it all by partying. The idea: to merge sounds and styles in a chaotic way. One watchword: make a mess! So, of course, I like it.

Well, I’ll stop here but as I said at the beginning, I’m far from knowing everything and we’re never done going round it all so if you have any suggestions, make it rain in the comments. Good listening.

– m.

Full tracklist: 

1. Rim Banna – my songs will sound from the squares (ft. Checkpoint 303 & Bugge Wesseltoft)
2. Band فئران تجارب – ملفات
3. Carl Gari & Abdullah Miniawy – Darraje
4. Mauvais oeil – Afrita
5. Majed Alesa – Lehe
6. Deena Abdelwahed – Tawa
7. Hello Psychaleppo – Tarab Dub
8. Ammar 808 – Ain Essouda (ft. cheb Hassen Tej)
9. Yasmine Hamdan – Hal
10. Bachar Mar-Khalife – El Hilwatu (Sama’ Remix)
11. Ibrahim Maalouf – Elephant’s Tooth
12. Yussef Kamaal – Strings of Light
13. Jerusalem in my Heart – A Granular Buzuk
14. Oiseaux-Tempête – Bab Sharqi
15. The Gaslamp Killer – Nissim (ft. Amir Yaghmai)
16. Love & Revenge – Batwaness Bik
17. A-Wa – Habib Galbi
18. El 3ou – Koullech
19. Felix Snow & El Rass – Ali
20. NAAR (Shobee, Laylow & Madd) – Money Call
21. Acid Arab – La Hafla (ft. Sofiane Saidi)
22. Alif – Dars min Kama Sutra
23. Mashrou’Leila – Maghawir
24. Taxi Kebab – Lmchi w Rjou3
25. SoapKill – Tango
26. EMEL – Kaddesh (Ash Koosha Rework)
27. Sevdaliza – Gole Bi Goldoom