A savvy producer and dedicated digger into his region\u2019s vinyl history, Casablanca\u2019s Abdellah M. Hassak has been stirring up anticipation for his first release under the Guedra Guedra banner. At home in Casablanca, he\u2019s already an established figure, on the one hand for more sober sound project, in film, theatre, and dance, on the other for bumping club nights and notable collabs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His record hunting is in pursuit of much more than just that elusive perfect break, it\u2019s an act of semi-formal cultural research, assembling auditory puzzle pieces for a bigger, deeper picture of the Maghreb and Africa at large \u2013 soundtracks, pop oddities, field recordings, archival mementos, you name it. It\u2019s the raw material from which he\u2019s built his debut EP, six tracks of rattling percussion, antsy polyrhythms, cheerful chants and pop-song fragments, and a ritualistic disposition that ratchets up to the almost riotous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hassak isn\u2019t overly concerned with being at the very vanguard of electronic music on his debut. The airhorn on \u201cJuke Lockstep\u201d seems almost old-timey, for instance. He is, however, seeking to channel the exuberant spirit of the places he loves, past and present, and the vitality of the tracks that have resulted is undeniable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n