El Khat - Albat Alawi Op. 99 [Glitterbeat 121 Promo]

Put out on the circuit via Glitterbeat on March 25th, 2k22 is "Albat Alawi Op.99", the sophomore album by Tel Aviv-based four piece band El Khat led by Yemen-born singer / musical mastermind Eyal El Wahab. With the production halted, hindered and hold up for many a month due to the strict Israeli lockdown policy the album is partly a reflection of this time, once again realized on a plethora of self-built, self-invented instruments with a diy-ethos that turns other peoples scrap into something useful and creative with the result being a melange of traditional Arab rhythms and influences, slightly infused by Psychedelia as well as dark'ish Jazz with a Morricone'esque twist and 70s SingerSongwriter / Hippie Folk ("La Sama") whilst stripped down, yet captivating dance tunes like "Ala Al Ma" are able to set dancefloors on fire well beyond the Arab world whereas the concluding title cut "Albat Alawi Op. 99" provides an intense, experimental fusion of real life droning and muffled drum signature for a closing just to name few. Well intredasting and probably a contemporary starting point for those daring to dive deeper into the world of multinational Arab music.