Ammar 808 – Maghreb United (Glitterbeat Records)
LP / CD / DL
15 June 2018
Review by Mikey.
Review by Mikey.
Sonic mastermind Ammar 808 releases his new
album.
This is North African music as you have never heard
it before. From the musical genius behind Bargou 08 comes a startling new
project. This is the musical future in all its mind melting, beat frenzied
glory. This, is Maghreb United.
The opening track, Degdega, begins to wind us down
a magical path, into the warm depths of North African musical history and into
a sparkling new experience. With the legendary Roland 808 and the voice of
Sofiane Saidi, we are well on our way. In a World where we are tumbling down
fizzing, tech-filled wormholes and destined to be thrown in the boot of
driverless cars, Ammar 808 skilfully bombard us with a lesson in how to take
music into the 37th Century. "The past is a collective heritage,"
says Ammar 808,"It's what we all call on, what we all share." Anyone
who might doubt a single word of that quote needs to listen up. Maghreb United
isn't just the future. It is a soaring bird of hope in a sometimes dull musical
World.
They have taken ancient songs and rhythms from the
Targ, Gnawa and Rai cultures, singers from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria and
orchestrated them into a sci-fi apocalypse, an album so hypnotic that you can
feel the Maghreb region oozing out of every note.
Ain Essouda is a glorious, pounding track that will
surely be astounding when witnessed live. Ammar 808 have unlocked something
that is, hopefully, deep within us. They share a musical heritage and they
weave the ancient, classic and futuristic together with a frightening ease.
"The music is brutal live.....we can change arrangements just by looking
at each other." We need to see this, we need to hear music like this.
Humans are missing out on so much through our crazed destruction of unknown
lands and cultures. If I don't see these guys play live at least once, my life
will seem so much poorer because of it.
This is an album that will knock you sideways, a
true celebration of the musical identity of North Africa yesterday, today, and
tomorrow. The energy flowing through every second is breathe taking and
intense. Check your pulse. If you are not up, looping, whirling and stomping by
track 4, then you need to make a call.
It is classic and futuristic. It is an album that
blows away nearly everything that most in the known World will ever have laid
their ears on. Anyone missing out on this album is simply missing out on the
chance of being musically enlightened.
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