Hot off his latest release ‘Rumble’ with Fred again.. & Flowdan, US dubstep pioneer Skrillex releases ‘Xena’, a fusion of dubstep, jungle, and Arabic music, featuring Palestinian artist Nai Barghouti. In this track, Skrillex delivers his iconic dubstep stylings that we’ve come to know and love, this time, recontextualizing his sound in an Arabic light.
Skrillex, along with Palestinian singer, composer and flautist, Nai Barghouti, make use of elements such as a darbouka and Arabic-inspired melodies to present the unusual mix of genres. In this work, we can notice similarities between the structure of Arabic pop and that of dubstep (and genres such as hyper pop for example), as both genres feature elements such as the continuous claps, a structure that is melodically focused, and hyperactive rhythmic soundscapes.
The track starts off with Barghouti’s fired-up vocal performance, coming in immediately with a Palestinian wedding-chant inspired verse. Transitioning with a traditional Zaghrouta, Skrillex comes in with his danceable production, featuring a racing Darbouka along with electronic drum samples.
In the drops, we are met with bass heavy arrangements that also highlight the Arabic elements, with the Zaghrouta and darbouka taking centre stage.
This collaboration comes as a refreshing example of incorporating Arabic sonics into a western production framework, as Barghouti’s contributions to the track add an air of authenticity to the release. The track’s minimal production style, glitchy edits, and interesting blend of genres also work to set it apart as an interesting take on experimenting with Arabic sonic elements, without sounding out of character on Skrillex's part.
Listen to the full track here:
