The Middle East’s access to current electro and hip-hop is inevitably influenced by leading groups such as 47Soul, a Jordanian-Palestinian collective expatriated to the United Kingdom, initiators of the shamstep style. Needless to say, the festive spirit and positive energy projected here by this excellent band can’t conceal the distress, anger, indignation, and militancy of Arab artists who grew up in the midst of great historical adversity. These common feelings characterize the fundamental approach of 47Soul, a group that’s simply explosive on stage. Very, very high-octane stuff! With Semitics, a title that sums up the angle of attack, the band has taken another step towards a transcultural approach by spiking its Arabic texts with English or even Spanish words, the lot sung, rapped, or spoken. This isn’t without preserving musical forms deeply rooted in the Levantine region; even though 47Soul is globalized, as are all the planet’s citizens of goodwill, it remains close to its ancestral popular forms and traditional rhythms. One thinks in particular of the use of the mijwiz, a wind instrument typical of the region which sets the tone for this electro update of the dabkeh, a folk dance known to all the inhabitants of the Levant. Add to this energized mix are contributions from rappers and musicians Lowke, Fedzilla, Shadia Mansour, The Synaptic, and Hasan Minawy. This is without a doubt one of the driving forces of the new Middle Eastern music, connecting with the West and Latin America.
Latest 360 Content
Album review Rock/expérimental / contemporain/Instrumental/métal progressif 2024
Hybreed Chaos – Subliminal Abyssal Carnage
By Laurent Bellemare
Album review Experimental / Contemporary/expérimental / contemporain 2024
Senyawa – Vajranala
By Laurent Bellemare
Interview Indigenous peoples
International First Peoples’ Festival 2024: let’s chat about the programming
By Frédéric Cardin
Concert review Africa/latino/Americana
PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 | Final Evening With a Congolese and Colombian Flavour
By Jacob Langlois-Pelletier
Concert review Africa/Caribbean/Reggae/Soul/R&B
PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique | A Look Back at Rutshelle Guillaume’s Closing Triumph
By Rédaction PAN M 360
Album review Jazz 2024
Domas Žeromskas – Meditations on Providence and Perseverance, Vol.1
By Frédéric Cardin
Album review expérimental / contemporain/Jazz/Spoken Word 2024
Catharine Cary – AIR CAKE and other summery occupations
By Frédéric Cardin
Interview Classical/classique/trad québécois
Festival de Lanaudière 2024 | Tribute to Mémoire et Racines against a backdrop of trad/classical reunion
By Frédéric Cardin
Concert review Africa
PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique – Les Aunties, from Ndjamena to Montreal
By Sandra Gasana
Concert review Africa/Hip Hop
PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique – Fredy Massamba Was Blessed with Some Rain
By Sandra Gasana
Concert review Classical/classique
Festival de Lanaudière 2024 | OSM/Levanon : game saved in the second half
By Frédéric Cardin
Concert review Africa/Indian Ocean/Maghrebi
PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 | Sofaz Grooves!
By Keithy Antoine
Concert review Africa/Caribbean
PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 | Birth of a Haitian star
By Keithy Antoine
Concert review Africa/Sacred Music/Hip Hop/Reggae
PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 | Joyce N’sana On The Rise
By Keithy Antoine
Concert review Africa/Caribbean