Acid Arab on the Trail to Get High and in Trance

Acid Arab are a Paris-based duo who mix Oriental styles with techno, in order to create what they call "Oriental acid music." Though Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho are the main members of Acid Arab, through their career they have incorporated a large variety of collaborations from the region, both live and in the studio. Most consistently, they work with Algerian keyboardist, Kenzy Bourras, who was with them in Cairo.  

Their goal is to add something to the tapestry of Middle Eastern music, without touting the claim that they are creating Middle Eastern dance music. Their collaborations, with musicians from around the region, are numerous and impressive. Their last album, titled Musique de France in apparent conviction that Middle Eastern culture is also an undeniable piece of the French cultural fabric, boasts collaborations from Algerian Sofiane Sadi, Israeli-Yemenite sisters A-WA, Turkish composer Cem Yildiz, and Algerian raï giant, Rachid Taha, to name a few. 

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Ahead of their performance at la Fete de la Musique, we sat down with Acid Arab in a posh space inside the Al-Azhar park restaurant to chat about their journey with Middle Eastern music, their creative process, and their new record label on which their first signing happens to be an Egyptian artist.