Driven by odd, alienating field recordings, fleeting ambient textures, dismembered beats and a lack of fucks regarding any genre, HIZZ's Kombile 002 arrives as the second edition of the record label's disruptive compilation series. Comprised of 17 eclectic tracks by 17 equally radical producers, sound artists and musicians, Kombile 002 treads uncharted sonic territories, showcasing the region's alternative, futuristic voices that choose to not to abide by the musical status quo.Although thematically and musically different, all the tracks on Kombile 002 do share one common thread, and that is the intent to depict the contemporary human experience with detached subjectivity. From Egyptian J!N's 'Seawasp', a gripping experimental track that features the producer's signature ghost-like vocals trickling over shuffling IDM, to Kafr El-Duawar Records' Yunis and his lucid, lo fi, garage-y interpretation of shaa'bi on 'Balad ElMillion Ragel'. While the likes of experimental producer Youssef Abouzeid choose a path of distorted noise that seeks ambient refuge on 'GTR', industrial musical outfit Fuzzy Little Brain were more concise in their approach on the tantalizing, razor sharp grooves of 'Ear Play'. With ElMinya's ABOsahar exiting the compilation with his own PC music version of Shaa'bi on 'Kan Leya Sa7eb', Kombile 002 succeeded to capture the unequivocal diversity of experimental sound present in the Middle East.
Equally sterile yet emotional, brash yet subdued, this release effectively portrays the complex emotional contradictions we face as this generation, paired with the occasional dark strokes of realism.
