Mohamad Zatari Trio - Istehlal [Zehra 007]

Released via the Berlin-based Zehra imprint on January 27th, 2k23 is "Istehlal", the very first full length longplay effort cooked up by the multi-national Mohamad Zatari Trio, comprised of musicians from Syria, Iran and India. Focused on the amalgamation of traditional Middle Eastern sound and contemporary - most likely, yet not obviously: Western - music the group caters a menu of eleven songs over the course of roughly 47 minutes total, opening with the well-fascinating Oriental Desert(Post)Rock vibe of "Desire" which evokes faint and distant memories of acts like C Cat Trance whereas pieces like "Black Tea" bring on a rural, ancient, innocent and even folksy feel, "Zarbi Mokhalef" deeply indulges in dramatic dynamics powered by muscular drums and strings and can be imagined to bring heat to specific dancefloors despite its relatively moderate tempo whilst "Quasi-Hora" and its complex, uplifting melodic oud arrangements and meandering once again aim at, this time pretty much late night, dancefloors and the twangy concluding "Longa Ferahfeza" comes full circle with what seems to be a Mediterranean x Middle Eastern Fusion Folk hybrid just to name a few. One for dedicated fans of instrumental orientalisms and other World Music, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!