German composer Burkhard Beins unites with Lebanon’s post-rock pioneer Tony Elieh and Egyptian musician Maurice Louca on an experimental jazz project titled ‘Marmalsana’.
Marking their first collaboration, ‘Marmalsana’ is divided into two extended parts, and sees the trio relying solely on acoustic instruments, employing extended techniques to produce drone-like sound textures and polyrhythms without restoring to amplification. It is a distinct experimental effort on classic jazz improvisation.
Iridescently moving between distinct placements of sound and moments beyond instrumental recognisability, the album is dominated by a classic synth melody fused with avant-garde jazz elements and Middle Eastern influences.
The guitar riffs on part one sound very much like classic oud arrangements, accompanied by a cacophony of sonic textures, from twinkling bells to clusters of seemingly industrial sounds and glitches with emotional violin brewing underneath the surface of its outro.
In part two, a cluster of scraping noises and metallic clinging trickle into your ears like a rather accelerated yet somehow muted sound of ants marching over the mush of your brain. While it can be unnerving once you hear it, the track’s dulcet and lilting sonic patterns are somewhat calming.
The project reflects the trio’s multicultural backgrounds, diverse styles and influences, forming some kind of a nomadic musical language between Cairo, Beirut and Berlin. Though it’s purely instrumental with no lyrics whatsoever, it is fresh, new, emotional and all too self-expressive.
