When continents collide, they make a thunderous sound. Arabian fuzz, they term it, a vision that’s brazenly electric and deeply connected to its roots. Al-Qasar was started in Paris in 2016 by US-French producer Thomas Attar. The musicians came together, from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the US. The core touring lineup of the project includes Turkish psychedelic rock singer Sibel, Iraqi-French drummer Adrien Al-Aiedy and French bassist Guillaume Theoden.
The project’s second album, UNCOVERED (Ou November 29 via Wewantsounds), tackles songs from the Western pop to the Arab folk repertoires. Cultures collide, and the result of this fission is Depeche Mode sung in Turkish, Sean Paul in Arabic, Nubian legend Hamza El Din with fuzz guitars and iconic Lebanese composer Wadih El Safi through space echo. Produced between Tunis, Lisbon, Los Angeles, London, and Paris, UNCOVERED tells the story of a world in flux, its ancestors deep in the past but its eyes set on the zeitgeist. It’s retro-futurist Arab psychedelia with a foot in the Mojave and the other in the Sahara.
The cast is stunning, with innovators, breakthroughs and legends from nine nationalities. Sudanese-American vocalist Alsarah, Malian pillars Mamani Keita (Salif Keita) and the renowned “Black Buddah” Cheick Tidiane Seck (Gorillaz, Black Eyed Peas), oud genius Nada Mahmoud (of the National Tunisian Orchestra), Tunisian sufi singer Mariam Hamrouni, Algerian oud hero Mehdi Haddab (Damon Albarn, Rachid Taha), Nigerien drummer Souleymane Ibrahim (from Touareg sensations, Mdou Moctar), Moroccan singer Sami Galbi and Turkish breakthrough singer Sibel all joined forces with studio wizard and composer Thomas Attar, his vibrant, thick production style enhanced by Grammy-winner Matt Hyde’s mix (Slayer, Deftones) and by a mastering from Frank Merritt (Madlib, Aphex Twin).
Al-Qasar’s music never wavers, pulling from the hypnotic roots of North African trance and threading it into a fabric with the elaborate beauty of Arab scales and the shock and thrill of rock’n’roll. The collective just wrapped a World tour in support of their first full length, Who Are We (Glitterbeat Records), which reaped global praise. In the past two years, the band performed on 5 continents and at major festivals such as Pukkelpop, Lowlands, Sziget, Reeperbahn, and WOMADs and collaborated with rock’n’roll legends Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) and Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys). Al-Qasar is set to embark on a worldwide tour in 2025 in support of UNCOVERED.
“Al-Qasar whip up a globalized psych-rock storm on this gutsy debut (...) A potent racket with gusto, passion, and outlaw swagger.” Uncut Magazine
“That’s pretty bitchin” Iggy Pop on BBC6 Radio (Iggy Confidential)
“A very good album (...) Al-Qasar pull off the trick of making the most comfortable listener feel like they’re front and center in a moment of insurgency” The Wire
