With its world premiere screening on the 11th June 2013 at the Ismailia Film Festival in Egypt, ‘Electro Chaabi’ directed by Hind Meddeb, documents the phenomena of auto tuned and 8bit North African pop-music with a revolutionary twist. When listening to the genre you may recognise how traditional Arabic instruments as mandole, tambourines and percussion form a specific base for synthesizer –tinted and snappy melodies that collect and spread rhythms and sounds as bubbly and untamed waves.
On top of each melodic flow, traditional vocals are pinched and twisted in high speed, while lyrics about revolution and Egyptian life dip into the pool in form of rap, auto tune and reggaeton-like announcements.
Electro Chaabi short teaser – feature documentary directed by Hind Meddeb, produced by IPS and STUDIO MASR
Chaabi refers to the word folk or popular and became very popular at community gatherings like weddings in the fifties, because of its danceable flow and rhythm. The popular notes in Chaabi (or mahragnat) are flavoured not only with digital needlework in the Electro version; they depict the Arabic youths’ uprising movement and a strong connection between political and cultural changes in the region becomes evident through Electro Chaabi. This is not a single protest song, but young people’s rhythmic movement.
القاهرة جبهة التحرير نار ايندهوفن
The sound of Electro Chaabi reminds us of Diplos Jamaican collaborative project Major Lazer with an undeniable Arabic taste to it. It unconventionally merges Arabic pop with hip hop, dubstep and moombathon into a fistful of dancing, uprising power that hits hard.
Among the artists, Cairo Liberation Front is a prominent name already embraced by news media, European electronic artists and music festivals. Soon we’ll probably see and hear the genre further burst the musical scenes around Europe as a clashing wave depicting the emerging of new lifestyles in the revolutionised regions of Middle East.
Cairo Liberation Front on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/cairoliberationfront
+ Visit Electro Chaabi on Facebook
ELECTRO CHAABI TRAILER
Starring: Ala 50, Sadat, Wiza, Oka & Ortega, Islam Chipsy, DJ Figo, Deisel
Directed by: Hind Meddeb
Produced by: IPS and Studio Masr (Karim Boutros Ghali & Karim Gamal Eldine)
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FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @CairoLiberation
