Repress of the Lebanese trio's 2014 album, born from Raed Yassin and Charbel Haber's love for the music of quintessential Egyptian guitarist Omar Khorshid, disassembling and re-configuring the work and style of the iconic guitarist's innovative take on Arabic music.
The final result makes for an original and unique update of Khorshid & belly dancing inspired songs from the past. Over the course of 7 compositions, appropriately named after Khorshid and famous belly dancers from the Arabic diaspora, the three musicians' varied backgrounds and techniques collide and coalesce in an experimental yet magical fashion, not actually playing Khorshid's music, but inspiring themselves from the cult guitarist's genius to create something completely new, modern and unexpected. An unique LP featuring the combined talents by key players of the Lebanese avant-garde.
The Malayeen LP edition is released by Discrepant in collaboration with Lebanese exploratory label Annihaya effectively combining East and West musical strains of thought as well as conclusively deconstructing and displacing this particular form of "popular" music.
"Malayeen's selt-titled album de- and reconstructs the music of Egyptian guitarist Omar Khorshid, an icon of the Arab world, who in the 1960's formed Egyptian beat group Les Petit Chats. This album displaces popular and folk forms into more contemporar idioms, destabilizing mostly melodic, beat-driven pieces through sonic manipulations and appliqué textures.The seven compositions are named after Khorshid—the brief, plangent opening track—and belly dancers from the Arabic diaspora. The haunting, driving 17 minute 'Samia' is the highpoint, climaxing in a hall of mirrors standoff between Yassine's darbouka (goblet drum) and Yassin's recording of another darbouka. It's a sublime album that makes most previous efforts at bringing together East and West look crass"
Andy Hamilton, The Wire
Malayeen is the project of Lebanese musicians Raed Yassin (keyboards, turntables & electronics), Charbel Haber (electric guitar & electronics) and Khaled Yassine (darbouka, percussion), best known as a member of oud player Anouar Brahem's ensemble.
