Ask a marketer and they’ll tell you that changing the name of an established or familiar brand is risky business. The Levant-based Souq Records, however, have taken the plunge, changing their name to Alt Orient after a five year run that has seen it explore and champion alternative electronic music from the east to depths few have.
To mark both their fifth anniversary and their name-change, the label has dipped into its extensive back catalogue to bring together 8 remixes, one edit and one original collaboration, covering the work of artists from Jordan, Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Turkey, as well as Georgia, France, Greece, Serbia, Russia, France and Pakistan.
One particular highlight of the release is Jordanian producer, filmmaker and keyboardist of Jadal Bader Helalat’s edit of ‘Fein Ismaeen' by Moroccan singer-songwriter, Cheb. Known for his vocal hooks and strong African grooves, Cheb's track gets a rework based around heavy bass-lines, funk-filled synths and Oud lines.It’s the sixth and last single of an album that fittingly celebrates what Alt Orient has achieved under its previous moniker, but also the beginning of a new dawn for a label that has been a driving force for brands of music that otherwise go unnoticed and unheard.
