Frigya

Imed Alibi is a Tunisian percussionist with a curious mind. Not content to take the predictable path, his two previous albums have touched not only on Tunisian traditions, but also jazz, Brazilian and Indian rhythms. This latest project, with electronic music producer Khalil Hentati (aka Khalil EPI), is born out of an archival project for +SilO+, a French association promoting traditional Eastern music.

The archive work focused on Tunisia’s mezwed and Bedouin traditional sounds, in particular asymmetrical percussive rhythms. Mezwed is a traditional music based around the Amazigh musical scale and combining the darbuka (drum) with bagpipes (or synths mimicking their sound in modern party music). The focus of this project became the desire to explore and elevate Tunisia’s African heritage. The result is traditional North African percussion through a contemporary lens, thanks to the work of Hentati and producer Ammar 808 (his name references the TR-808 drum machine that collides with traditional percussion on this album). The mix of drums, synth blasts and rare vinyl vocal samples (and a cameo from violinist Zied Zouari, who appears on ‘Ghajar’ and has previously collaborated with Alibi) is an intense, satisfying and deeply groovy celebration of the mix of African and Arab that makes modern Tunisia.