Live Concert Review: Tripping out to Acid Arab and their Eastern beats.

by | indieBerlin

Ever heard something that sounds like a combination of acid house mixed with authentic Eastern musicians and sounds? In Club Gretchen on 20th April, indieBerlin had an opportunity to witness this crazy blend mix together live among the trio that makes Acid Arab.
Club Gretchen is well-known for holding the types of events we love, and last Friday we weren’t disappointed. The

infamous Parisian duo Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho lead the beats of Acid Arab, and their trusty keyboard master Kenzi Bourras laid out their sets opposing each other in a triangle, like a Scott Pilgrim music battle.

Like an acid-trip without the drugs, they got called up from the sheer applause at the end of the show for another short set to appease the crowd.

With the lights and laser-like beams ever-changing and flashing, they

played their set with such fluidity and were able to transition between each piece in an energetic and casual manner. The beats vibrated the whole room and was a proper acid house set but unlike any usual DJ set you’ve heard.

Their style is a mix of snake-charmer, Shaabi (Algerian-Egyptian-Arabic), Dabke (Syrian-Arabic), acid house, techno and Middle Eastern melodies with heavily produced Western dance.

Acid Arab has collaborated with many big names in Eastern music; Egyptian, Shaabi-style Omar Souleyman, Sadat, and Alaa50; Algerian Sofiane Saidi; Cam Yildiz from Turkey; A-MA, a Yemenite, 3-piece girl

band and Syria’s “king of the keyboard” Rizan Said.

Even though they these artists were unable to participate in Club

Gretchen’s festivities, Acid Arab remixed their original songs with loops of certain tracks like their infamous La Hafla, or “The Party” beat that got all their Berliner fans jumping, and other tracks like Hez Hez and Gul l’Abi without full vocals but with an added oomph to their layers of sound.

Like an acid-trip without the drugs, they got called up from the sheer applause at the end of the show for another short set to appease the crowd.

For more information on their upcoming gigs, songs and EP releases, follow them on Facebook and Soundcloud!

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