Red Hot Chili Peppers
By The Way

Claudio TALLINOCalamo (Soundtrack)Sonor Music Editions Italy

ELECTRIC JALABAEl Hal The FeelingStrutElectric Jalaba comprises six accomplished musicians with an empathy that feels telepathic and a groove that immerses. In Arabic, the mother tongue of Moroccan-born singer and guimbri player Simo Lagnawi, a leading practitioner of Gnawa music in Britain, they call this indefinable quality, “El Hal” – “The feeling”. “It’s the feeling that comes when we’re playing and totally forgetting where we are,” says producer and bassist Olly Keen. “The feeling of being grabbed by the music and lost in the groove.”El Hal is the new third album from Electric Jalaba and their first release in five years. It’s a multi-faceted work that finds the band tighter than ever, deploying a vast cache of influences across nine tracks improvised and developed in their south London studio then deftly produced by Keen. Some tracks pay homage to the origins of Gnawa music, whose repertoire of Arabic-language praise songs contains remnants of West African dialects – Bambara from Mali, Fulani and Hausa from the Sahel region – that point to a centuries-old migration.

Comme le dit mon bon vieux dicton, chaque année vaut son lot de révélation venu d’Outre-Manche. L’année 2019 sera certainement celle de Fontaines D.C. qui est un quintet irlandais ayant également son mot à dire sur le Brexit. Avec leur esprit punk qui n’a pas leur pareil, préparez-vous à une tempête dévastatrice en leur compagnie avec leur premier album nommé Dolgres.

B-sides and rarities spanning Beirut's entire recording career are compiled on this elegant-looking and musically exceptional double outing. Artifacts was initially conceived as a vehicle for pushing out some early work in a formal release, but quickly grew to what you see before you know - 26 songs, 17 of which have never seen been available before now. When you consider what all that means a purchase becomes essential. Zach Cordon began trying to realise his sonic dreams at the tender age of 14, under the Beirut moniker, and has slowly developed from solo project to full blown band. What's here helps tell that tale, and the impact is profound - a spectacular journey from indie to world to folk to electronica and baroque pop by the heads who pioneered that beguiling combination.

John Fitch, AssociatesTITLE:Romantic Attitude / Stoned Out Of ItLABEL:JFR728 | Beacon Sound