Kasbatek

‘Gnawa funk’, a blend of sounds from ‘the Orient, from the Maghreb, chaabi melodies and Gnawa rhythms’ is the proclamation of Kasbatek, the second album by Abdul & The Gang. It’s not a huge sonic departure from their previous release Chibani, which brings funk and hip-hop into pan-African rhythms and structures, whereas Kasbatek ventures more towards the realms of rock and pop.

It is a fun and energetic listen, with the sonic landscape shifting significantly throughout the duration of the record. The first two tracks, ‘Ya Walou (feat Pat Kalla)’ and ‘Weliti Atomic’, have the classic wailing synthesised sound common in much Arabic pop, and bouncy rhythms with a punchy kick drum alongside beldi rhythms in percussion, layered over the kit.

Other than the third song ‘Amalék’, lovers or people with a passing familiarity of what is traditionally known as Gnawa won’t find much they recognise in Kasbatek; qaraqab, ngonis or slow chanted open harmonies over rolling percussive triplets do not feature heavily. ‘Amalék’, part way through, then turns on a dime, dropping unexpectedly into a half-time heavy rock moment with distorted guitar riffs and extended drum fills.

Singing in both French and Arabic, as well as displaying some flare on synthesisers, Abou Ben Salem (aka Abdul) is joined by ‘The Gang’: drummer Alexandre Bayle, Vincent Tochet on bass, guitarist Kevin Braci and Kevin Roger on trumpet. They craft their aesthetic as conspirators, specifically musical ‘traffickers’ in Abdul’s words, with the goal being to take elements of traditional music and modern western genres, not adhering to any ingrained rules or hegemonic discipline – to become outlaws of a kind.

And there certainly is a broad mixture of sounds, thrown together in an appropriately rag-tag way. However, at times, it feels like certain musical aspects aren’t given enough time or space in the mix to make as big of an impact as they could. The balance of rhythms and melodies becomes muddied, leaving it difficult for the ear to know what to latch on to.

The songs in which they create the deserved breathing space really carry Kasbatek. For instance, the Gnawa sound is allowed to come through on songs like ‘Amalék’, or, on ‘Psychoulog’, there’s strong emphasis on Abdul’s rapping, and in ‘Gnawi Soul’, the group leans into the slow soul sound.

‘Deka Beldia’ is a thrilling example of what Kasbatek does best. From the first note a surging Afrobeat pulse launches you into a three-minute whirlwind, which somehow – probably through very tight drumming – manages to sew together segments of rapping, neat instrumental call-and-response and even an intriguing moment of chanted polyrhythms towards the end. Whilst ‘Deka Beldia’ is the band’s best performance, the final track, ‘Brr Brr’, is the standout for Abdul’s vocals. In between ornamental melodies in brass and a wonderful nasal flute, Abdul switches from rich spoken parts and well woven sung parts; it brings out all of the charisma of the front man – an apt end to the album.