It starts with the sound of distant voices at what could be an ancient North African ceremony. Then come repeated, chanting vocals from Sofiane Saidi, urged on by the pounding, insistent electro-percussion that dominates this intriguing blend of ancient and modern styles.
Ammar 808 is the name currently used by Sofyann Ben Youssef, the band’s Tunisian leader, producer and arranger, responsible for the electronics on the album, and it was inspired by his love of that vintage drum machine, the TR-808. Until now, Youssef has been best known for providing the bass rhythms for the rousing Tunisian folk-rock band Bargou 08, who matched electronica against traditional acoustic instruments. Now he has applied the same technique to music from right across the Maghreb, with even more impressive results.
He is joined by three powerful male singers, Cheb Hassen Tej from Tunisia, Saidi from Algeria, whose career has included a collaboration with Natacha Atlas, and Mehdi Nassouli from Morocco, who has worked with Fatoumata Diawara and Justin Adams. An exponent of Gnawa trance music, Nassouli plays their favoured instrument, the guembri lute, while other traditional instruments, the gasba flute and zukra bagpipes, are added by Lassad Boughalmi from Bargou 08.
All but one of the songs are traditional, and for the most part can be heard in their original form before the bass and percussion-heavy electronica, distortion and samples move it, often following the rhythms and textures of African drums. This is a full-tilt affair, with rumbling basslines matched against exuberant vocals from Nassouli and two Moroccan backing singers on the frantic Layli, and wailing bagpipes backed by relentless percussion on Tej’s Alech Taaadini. I look forward to hearing them live.
Other world music picks this month
From Argentina, there’s an engaging blend of beats, electronica and Andean folk styles on Chancha Vía Circuito’s Bienaventuranza, while from Cuba, there are charming, lilting instrumental duets on the debut collaboration between guitar heroes Eliades Ochoa & Alejandro Almenares on Dos Gigantes De La Música Cubana. From Canada, Trinidadian émigré Drew Gonsalves impressively updates the calypso tradition with his band Kobo Town on Where the Galleon Sank, adding dancehall and funk influences and thoughtful lyrics that include a bleak post-colonial view of London. Sadly no translations of the lyrics are provided for Mariza’s self-titled set, in which she eases between fado, Angolan songs and intimate pop balladry.
