Muskila, a Copenhagen-based music producer and DJ, is known for his peculiar production approach that focuses on blending various rhythmic elements and percussion from his Kurdish background. His latest music video, ‘Bateekh’, sees him embrace his heritage while incorporating multiple Middle Eastern ‘cultural’ items alongside his Eastern-percusive heavy production.
Bringing a visual element into this celebration of culture, the video boasts a number of regionally significant pieces such as the infamous ‘H2O flip flops’ that can be found in nearly every Arab household. You’ll also be able to spot the blue evil eye, which across Middle Eastern cultures is rumoured to repel feelings of envy from your household, as well as the iconic racer sunglasses, which are rumoured to repel women with good taste from your bedroom (we kid, we kid).
‘Bateekh’ follows a broken-beat techno drum-programming, but makes use of finger cymbals and darbuka instead of the usual kick and snare sounds. The track is compiled of various Eastern samples over Western production methods to come up with an original sound. Muskila makes the use of a chopped mizmar for the Arabian melodic feel, with violin chops embedded throughout the second half for a call-and-response effect.
