Kalashnik Love

Lovers of the oud who worship the instrument as a delicate icon might just be horrified by what happens to it here. Electrified and amplified by powerful Marshall amplifiers, accompanied by a debauched rhythmic bass and clothed in an electronic fur, the Arab lute strides across the centuries that separated it from any futuristic perspectives. At the controls of his supersonic caravan, Mehdi Haddab elaborates a virtuoso rereading of today’s trends. Hand-crafted over the past three years, Kalashnik Love is nevertheless noteworthy for its vast coherency, its infallible ingenuity and its impressive sonic architecture. Throughout the entire saga, soaring bass player Pascal Teillet and David Husser, sculptor of extreme sounds, have remained unfailingly alongside the captain. Haddab provides flexibility and depth to the brilliance of the oud player. In order to grasp the idea behind the album, just take a look at the track “Galvanize”. Composed by the electro rock duo from England The Chemical Brothers, this piece was based on a sample of Berber singer Naajat Atabou with a featuring by rapper Q-Tip and the result shook the spectre of international relations. Grabbing the boomerang in flight, Mehdi gives the discourse an oriental touch, embracing the anger as his own and inviting Algerian rappers MBS, Spex MC from Asian Dub Foundation and activist Paul Kendall to lay their hectic flow over this spiced-up version that will make its mark in North-South relations. It’s the same idea with the cover of the classic Cure “Killing an Arab” sung by Wattie Delay with an invigorated Rachid Taha playing the role of the Arab on duty, the foreigner formerly described by Camus and the argument behind the song, skilfully rejuvenated on this album. Mehdi also pays homage to the traditional ranks, Arab or Bulgarian and to Armenian master oud players Udi Hrant Kenkulian and Charles Ganimian who strengthened him in his vocation. He has also dragged his Yemenite companion in the last DuOud, Abdulatif Yacoub, to sing his love of the psychotropic qat, and invited Rudolph Burger to partake in merciless duels. As hot as a meteorite on hitting the atmosphere, this sexy and flamboyant record will enchant lovers of ruthless fusions.

Translated by Marushka Vidovic