Since 2009, upon the founding of his music label Shouka, Tunisian artist Amine Mettani has been leading the diffusion of an overarching electronic sound. In 2014, determined to actively deconstruct skewed preconceptions of Arab electronic music and to combat its widely-shared fetishisation, Mettani founded Arabstazy. Open to artists sharing its core philosophy, the multidisciplinary platform comprises Shinigami San, Dina Abdelwahed, Tropikal Camel, and visual artists Wafa Benromdan and Celine Meunier.Inaugurating the creation of Arabstazy, the collective finessed a two-volume compilation, Under Frustration, the first of which was focused on Tunisia, Egypt and Berlin, meanwhile the second - comprising mixes by artists Saint Abdullah, DJ Haram and Okydoky - was devoted to artists (some of whom are in exile) representing the heterogeneity of the Arab world - a fundamental mission for the platform. Both albums were released jointly on the Infine and Shouka record labels.Mettani's latest oeuvre, Divine, is part one of a conceptually-charged triptych, expected to include upcoming albums "Mothers" and "Sukun." The first of the series is a dogma-defying interrogation into the pagan-sacred dichotomy and an exploration of the mysticism that arises from within it. Throughout, the eight-track album possesses that cryptic, deep-bass electronica that any album with such a profoundly explorative intent requires. Starting with "Animislam", proceeding with "Polyatheist" along with the Roscius reworked "Exile", and culminating with "Nanti" (featuring Alberto Nemo), the LP is a trip-filled discovery of the various manifestations of the sacred - from animism and its rituals to transcendental formalities. Sonically, such a refined harmony is achieved that one's anticipation for chaos (deriving from the tracks' apparently juxtapositioned titles) is immediately subdued, highlighting how congruous and interwoven these notions are after all.Follow Arabstazy on Facebook, Instagram and Soundcloud.
