Ousoul

Born in Alexandria and based in France, oud-player and composer Tarek Abdallah is a scholar of traditional Arabic music. Much like his 2015 album with Adel Shams El Din, Wasla, this new effort draws creative inspiration from musical styles performed in the Middle East in the first half of the 20th century, a time of Arabic cultural renaissance called the Nahda era. It sees him again accompanied by master riqq (percussive tambourine) player Adel Shams El Din on a set of original compositions. Sparse and plaintively beautiful, the pair’s music follows a system of melodic modes (maqam) while retaining space for modal improvisation (taqsim). Opener ‘Agib (Étonnant)’ features elegant violins while vocals accompany the final track ‘Ya Qalbahu’. But it’s the austere yet beguiling sound of the pair’s intertwining instruments that makes the music here so memorable and evocative. Often utilising previously abandoned traditional rhythmic cycles, they offer a window into a near-vanished musical world.