Just over a year ago I had the pleasure of catching some of the wild flailing delights of Omar Souleyman's frantic Syrian folk-ravepop in the dingey pit of London's Scala. Last week I had the opportunity to meet him at Glastonbury. After Omar being something of a legendary figure amongst my friends for some time before the Scala show, it was seriously a night to remember and I can't recall seeing a crowd going quite so mental for ages, never mind that it was to such a bizarre blend of Syrian folk melodies and heavy budget-synth beats, lorded over by an emotionless, sunglassed MC in the traditional Arabic keffiyeh and thawb. Omar cut a jarring figure in King's Cross I can tell you, and I still don't know if his popularity is just some strange sneering embrace of Orientalist irony in the indie-electronic music community that's adopted him (for the moment?), or if there is a genuine overlap of aesthetic ideals between his music and some current trends in Western music scenes. I suppose time will tell.
Either way: it's fucking brilliant.
And if you want to see me and some friends raving out throughout this video (from Glastonbury last week) then check it out (first glimpse is at 0:12, yellow t-shirt and panama hat - big look):
Check out the album Dabke 2020 here.
Also - just to keep you updated - work is already underway on Omar Souleyman's first collaboration with a Western artist: a co-written album with fucking BJÖRK! AMAZEBALLS.
love this album. so addicting
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