AUDIO KULTUR AK10 FREE
02 WORD FOR THE HERD
F
ull disclosure: It’s January 1st, I’m in a particularly chilly Souf London, my football team has lost and I’ve just had a rather “eventful” night. That being said, Happy New Year. New Year’s Eve is a strange one. I reckon our circle (yes, that includes you) doesn’t really need any excuse for a tiny bender, yet we year after year take it upon ourselves to push our ever decreasing limits. The thing is, when you live a life of make-believe leisure, New Year’s Eve rarely tends to be any different than the night before or the night after. We make poor decisions, abuse intoxicants (shout out to the guys smoking and doing bumps of ket on the tube...not) and generally behave in what well-adjusted people would describe as a disorderly fashion. There is, however, a particular caveat that differentiates NYE from the time you got just as pissed and woke up in the car park of your building (oh wait, that was just me and also a NYE past). NYE is saturated with the downfall characteristic of our generation…entitlement. More disclosure: I am just as guilty of this (and by “just as” I really mean “much more”) as anyone else of a similar age and place in life. For some reason the dawn of the new year brings out the most wicked sense of entitlement in even the best of us. People chat shit about what the new year will bring them almost as if they’ve actually done something to earn it. They go on and on about how this year will be different and how this is the year that things are going to finally change. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this at all. I am a major supporter of false hope. But on NYE the chat is also less “I really hope this works out for me” and a bit more “yeah, this is totally going to fucking happen”. Now that is dangerous. If you walk around acting like women/men, your employer, people, whatever, owe you something, then I’d be willing to wager a tenner that you’re going to end up with jack shit. You fancy that chick/guy that really is too good for you? Fuck you, work for it. You want your own nice flat in the city because you’re really jealous that the posh twats that you went to school with got gifted one just for having a heart beat? Fuck you, work for it. Oh, you’re a super talented producer that makes way better music than that wasteman who’s getting booked across Europe? Fuck you, work for it. A grand don’t come for free and that shit doesn’t change just because you’ve drunk too much champagne vodka and can count backwards from 10. I hope you get my point, because I’m already over my word limit. Enjoy the issue and if you don’t, the magazine is really great for cleaning windows. Either way, I’m sure you’ll get your money’s worth. Cause it’s free...get it? -Tres
PUBLISHER
AK Publishing SAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tres Colacion
CHIEF SUB-EDITOR Livia Caruso
ART DIRECTOR Ali El Sayed
WRITERS
Jackson Allers Natalie Shooter Alex Talty
PHOTOGRAPHY
Valentina Lola Vera
ILLUSTRATOR
Noura Andréa Nassar
COMIC
Gab Ferneiné
CONTACT
Got something to say? Write us at Junkmail@audiokultur.com Life is a pitch, but at least we want to pay you for it. Send your pitches to Editor@audiokultur.com Want a fresh shipment of Audio Kultur every month to your fine establishment? TheGuy@AudioKultur.com All advertising inquiries go to SellOut@AudioKultur.com audiokultur.com facebook.com/audiokultur issuu.com/audiokultur
TABLE OF CONTENTS 03
04. FEATURED ARTIST:
HELLO PSYCHALEPPO
12. FEATURE:
06. FLASHBACKS
& REVELATIONS
THE LUTHERIE OF LEBANON
18. FEATURED ARTIST:
16. TUNEAGE
ETYEN
24. THE METROPOLIS(T)
20. FEATURE:
WITHOUT A PREFIX
26. FEATURE: 32. TECHNO-LOGIC
THE WAITING GAME
34. DAS KOMIC
04 FEATURED ARTIST
HELLO PSYCHALEPPO Music to Listen to (burning country optional)
FEATURED ARTIST 05
AK: You’ve had a busy few years and released a
2
5 year old Samer Saem Eldahr aka Zimo is the man behind the increasingly popular Hello Psychaleppo. Twisting bits of bass music, house and electro with Arabic grooves, Zimo has been making a serious name for himself over the last few years. Garnering both regional and international attention, we sat down with the multi-talented Eldahr to chat influences, the rap album he dropped at 14 and horrible Vice headlines.
AK: Let’s start with the basics. A/S/L? How’d you
end up in Beirut? Big spoon or little spoon? Favourite flavour of ice cream? Are you into coriander? Anything really… I’m a 25 year old male, located in Beirut. Two years ago, my plan was to visit Beirut just for a month to exhibit my paintings in an art gallery. There wasn’t as big of a market in Aleppo for selling art at the time and when things started getting worse I decided to stay in Beirut. I love coriander, I cook with it all the time, and my favorite ice cream flavor is mocha.
AK: Alright that was fun, now let’s get down to
business. Your sound is pretty wide reaching. There’s a lot of bass music influence, but also a bit of everything from electro to trance. What kind of records did you grow up on? How did you build such an extensive range of influences for a younger? I was 3 years old when my family visited the house of Sabah Fakhry, the Tarab legend. He played a tape of his recorded concert and my parents later told me that I didn’t stop dancing to his music for two hours! The impact of this music continued on into my older years when I started listening to other genres. My brother was seven years older than me and he used to listen to AC/DC, Metallica, Iron Maiden and Michael Jackson so I also grew up listening to this music. As we grew older, we got into Hip Hop such as Bone Thugs N Harmony, Dr. Dre, and Notorious B.I.G. At the age of twelve, I started studying music theory which allowed me to further explore music and sound.
load of material. Take us a bit through your creative process. Where do you find your samples? What kind of hardware/DAW are you working on? I always feel like I’m on an endless search for Arabic heritage music because the more I dig the more I realise that there’s more to dig. I have an extensive library with loads of songs that I brought with me from Aleppo. Whenever I listen to good music here in Beirut I get my hands on it. Plus, if there’s stuff that is really hard to find a hard copy of, I get it online. I use three softwares for multiple purposes: Reason, Ableton and Logic Pro. I have three machines, Novation SLMK II, Novation Launchpad S, Novation LaunchControl and an M-audio Midi Keyboard, and my little family is still growing.
AK: How do you approach your live shows? Do they alway have an audio-visual element and how do you connect with the crowd?
I have a visual show and I play the visuals and the music live because they’re both connected to my controllers. Each concert differs as each individual space differs, so I view the space almost as an installation and work with it to find the best solution to incorporate my visual elements. I feel that this helps to set the mood for the show. When I play my music I enter into my zone and I really enjoy playing since I feed on the energy from the crowd.
AK: There’s a massive amount of hype around “Arab” sounds right now. Electro Chaabi has really started to take off in the last few years and a lot of artists are getting to play big stages abroad. However, at the same time, it all seems a bit disingenuous. Vice ran a story about last year with the headline: “Psychaleppo: Music to Listen to While Your Country Burns”. Do you think this new brand of Orientalism is ultimately going to be helpful for artists such as yourself? Do you find it insulting in a way? I don’t think I find it insulting, but I would never want the situation in Syria to promote my music or use it for my benefit. I want my music to speak for itself.
to playing live? If so what kind of music would/do you spin? I’ve never DJed before, but if I had to I’d play native Sha’abi, 90s Arabic music and Arabic Hip Hop.
AK: You’re also a painter and have recorded a rap
album, albeit at age 14. What other mediums are you into artistically? What kind of projects do you want to work on in the future? Who does your amazing cover art? The wide range of possibilities for creation between sounds and visuals is endless and it’s very fulfilling to create such links. Music wise, I’m looking forward to adding my vocals more into the music and to collaborate with other artists. Art wise, I would like to do an exhibition about the Syrian socio-political situation. Jumana Hokan did the artwork for the very first album and David Habchy for “Gool L’Ah”. I did the “HA!” album artwork. There was also a visual artist collaboration, “Musical Artwork Project”, for the posters of the “Gool L’Ah” album. The project was curated by Sedki al-Imam who was also one of the artists and the other artists were Mohammad Mousa, Kareem Goouda, Ali Almasri, Warsheh, Lutfi Zayed, Omar Shammah, Daniel Moreno Cordero, Nihad Alabsi, JF Andeel, Ahmad Mosaad and Faried Omarah.
AK: What new music are you listening too right now? Some old Arabic music I recently discovered such as Mohammad Ghazy and Abdou El Omari. The latest albums of international artists like Aphex Twin, The Black Keys, and The Tallest Man on Earth.
AK: Guilty pleasure record? Boyz II Men - Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya.
AK: Are you single? If someone was interested where would they have to take you for the best chance of sealing the deal? I’m married so I believe the deal is sealed.
AK: Being Syrian do you feel that people look for
something in your music. Do you feel that just because you’re from Aleppo your sound is inherently politicized for some? Yes, many people expect it to be related to politics. However, I hate putting myself into other people’s boxes. Ultimately they will see whatever they want to see in my music.
AK: Have you got any interest in DJing as opposed
CITY:
Beirut, Lebanon via Aleppo, Syria
WEBITE:
hellopsychaleppo.com soundcloud.com/ hellopsychaleppo facebook.com/ hellopsychaleppo
06 FLASHBACKS & REVELATIONS
FLASHBACKS & REVELATIONS A month of the hottest parties for your viewing pleasure
FLASHBACKS & REVELATIONS 07
27 PHOTOS BY: JIMMY FRANCHISE
08 FLASHBACKS & REVELATIONS
AK & JIM BEAM PHOTOS BY LOLA VERA & ADHAM TEMSAH
FLASHBACKS & REVELATIONS 09
CPHOTOSU NXT SAT BY CARL HALAL
10 FLASHBACKS & REVELATIONS
RUBIK PHOTOS BY: MAYA KHODR
FLASHBACKS & REVELATIONS 11
ÜBERHAUS PHOTOS BY LOLA VERA & ADHAM TEMSAH
12 FEATURE
LUTHERIE OF LEBANON Audio Kultur previews the work of a young Lebanese guitar maker set to reveal his instruments Lments for the first time in a make or break moment this March. By: Jackson Allers Photos By: Andrew Cagle - stills from the upcoming AK short documentary film
FEATURE 13
I
n this issue, Audio Kultur's Jackson Allers follows Nicolai Gerebtzoff, a 26 year old guitar maker who has returned to Lebanon to embrace his life's calling – building stringed instruments. We see it in the context of a short documentary directed by Allers, AK’s first commissioned documentary, which follows Gerebtzoff building guitars with prominent local and regional musicians trying the instruments out for the first time. It's a build up to what could very well be a make-or-break moment for the young luthier.
Before the advent of internet search engines, one thing all orchestra nerds in the 1980s knew was the name of the violin maker whose final creations were unheralded in the history of the instrument's modern form. As seen on all of his instruments, which also included cellos, violas, harps and guitars - some 1200
instruments in all during his remarkable 93-year life (1644 - 1737) - was a label with the Latin inscription "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faciebat Anno (*and the year of make)," or more familiarly, Antonio Stradivari, from the state of Cremona. It was through Stradivari and a contemporary instrument maker of near equal renown, Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu, that I was introduced to the word luthier - and in turn as a high school violinist came to know a few luthiers in my teenage years, one whose family had immigrated to Texas fleeing the Nazis during WWII. These men repaired my violin and sourced the bridges and strings for my instrument. Through their work I learned that they were artisans of clear vision and precision. I saw them in their workshops, surrounded by the strangest tools, communing with wood and shaping it into forms that were in essence the most exquisite sound resonation chambers you could imagine; stringed instruments[1] made up of maple, spruce, ebony, boxwood, willow and rosewood, producing sublime sounds whose notes have bridged divides across every socio-cultural and economic barrier ever devised by man. Enter Nicolai Gerebtzoff, a first generation luthier that sees himself carrying on the past traditions of great instrument makers – here in Lebanon - a country wrought with a litany of man made “barriers” - a country operating without a president for almost a year, rife with sectarian struggles, piss-poor
infrastructure, and a festering 4-year war in Syria which has led to an unprecedented refugee crisis that is straining the country’s resources to its edges. “It was a choice I made. I knew the difficulties coming into it. I knew that Lebanon was politically unstable – that there would always be a risk of something going horribly wrong here,” he explained, on a chilly December day in his 26 square meter workshop hollowed out of a furniture factory in the northern Beirut suburb of Biakout. “But in Lebanon, I have certain freedoms to do what I want that would be difficult in, say Canada or the United States, countries that have strict workplace laws for workshops. I mean I don't have anyone telling me I have to use a certain lacquer on my guitars, for example. In Lebanon, it's like get the shit done however you can!” Lebanon is also a land of scarcity for luthiers. With inferior bandsaws, a lack of precision tools, and improper building materials, the lament to a local hardware store clerk goes something like, “I don't want just any chisel, habibi. I'm not making a chair. I need that specific chisel!” “I've been delayed over and over again setting up this workshop, and getting my first instruments made,” Nicolai explains in an interview taken from a short film commissioned by Audio Kultur to document the lead-up to a big reveal event in March. “But I've hit upon something that reaches beyond the bullshit of living in this country. It's music, and everyone's trying to be heard in some kind of way here,” he continues.
14 FEATURE
“So making instruments to put into the hands of these artists – I want them to be heard, and while people won't be able to tell by looking at the guitar that it's mine - the musician knows.” I met Nicolai 2 years before the full buildout of his workshop, when he was earning money as a bartender on Mar Mikhael's main drag. Even then, in the fall of 2012, he was vocal about his plans to build a workshop to make his guitars. Having repatriated from East Asia with fresh ideas, he made an artistic home as part of the Haven arts collective, and was virtuosic in a variety of ad hoc groups – playing blues-tinged and classical guitar arrangements with custom guitars he had built as an apprentice between 2010 and 2011 under the tutelage of a master luthier from Malaysia, Jeffrey Yong. (Yong notably won perhaps the most prestigious award in lutherie – the Blind Listening Test at the Guild of American Luthier's convention in 2006 for his Monkeypod OM Guitar – Monkeypod being a local Malaysian wood.) As I drifted away from Mar Mikhael's increasing trendiness in the beginning of 2013, Nicolai and I lost touch. Talk, of course, is cheap, almost bottombasement cheap in Beirut, and I wondered what, if anything, had come of his plans. In November of 2014, I was reintroduced to Nicolai – or Nick as his friends called him - having heard of the progress he had made with his workshop through
a friend who had enlisted him to be a part of a newly formed talent agency. When we met up, it was Nick's conviction that he could turn disadvantage into advantage in Lebanon, and his clear desire at age 26 to make a career from building things with his hands that ultimately convinced me that there was a film to be made – that and his obsession with the wood. “Wood changes with weather, humidity, altitude – everything,” he explained with infectious reverence, “and each piece of wood is different, so you have to be able to tap into their natural properties. Mahogany responds differently than a piece of spruce or to a back of myrtle or rosewood. Their sound properties also tell you about their structural properties, and give you clues as to how the instrument might respond later on depending on how you manipulate what you're building." It sounds as alchemical as it appears when watching him manipulate wood on film, and in the two months I brought cameras into his world, it's been hard not to feel like I've entered into a sacred pact with a timeless craft – with secrets that will be revealed much later on. Yet, there's also a sense of anguish that has set in because of the countless setbacks that Nick has experienced trying to advance his work. During the months preceding our November meet-up, Nick had only managed to produce raw versions of two guitar prototypes from his workshop - electric guitars whose
shapes were inspired by the PRS (Paul Reed Smith) and Joe Satriani Ibanez guitar bodies. These, along with prototypes for another acoustic guitar and fretless bass, were the first instruments Nick had begun making since leaving Yong's tutelage in May 2011. Nick's future rests on his ability to create finished instruments bearing the hallmarks of his mentor's influence – letting the wood grains shine and allowing the tonal properties of the wood to sing. These are characteristics in Jeffrey Yong's JJ (Jeffery Jumbo), OM (Steel String), and his Tioman I & II (Nylon String) guitars. When we began filming, I seriously questioned Nick's ability to get the instruments built on time, and by the end of December, he had run into yet another series of problems, with the most pressing being an inability to find the right kind of (purple) paint to use on his signature guitar – the PRS body type which he dubbed the “Z1.” These instruments will also need to resonate with Lebanese (and regionally-based) musicians if he is to make his mark as a guitar builder – and in a more rudimentary sense – earn enough money from the sale of his instruments to survive, and invest in more equipment. At print time, both his signature electric guitars were unfinished instruments - still only theories of instruments. Indeed, as January approached, Nick had fallen well behind a self-imposed deadline
FEATURE 15
for completing what he ultimately wanted to be 6 completed instruments for an originally schedule reveal expo in February.
when compared to a more traditional oud. “I'm trying to build an instrument that oud players will appreciate for a new set of tonal qualities.”
He's now scaled that down to four instruments for a March reveal that would see local musicians putting his instruments to the test for the first time, with a wish list of artists to include Charbel Haber – frontman to the post-punk group Scrambled Eggs and pioneer in the improvisational music scene, Nader Mansour, one-half of the breakout blues-rock revival group The Wanton Bishops, and Iraqi oud virtuoso and founder of the regional indie label Nawwa records, Khyam Alami.
It's a bold statement that will certainly put him in the crosshairs of Lebanese oud makers the likes of Nazih Ghadban, Fadi Matta, Albert Mansur, and George Bitar. But Nick is adamant that he's not trying to build a traditional instrument, “I'm hoping to be able to push the envelope in everything that I do.”
I admit that my own excitement about his future as a luthier revolves around the build out of his first oud, something he also acknowledges when he pulled out a geometric diagram in his workshop in December that was based on a ratio of the Golden Mean – a pattern he plans to overlay on the back of the instrument to be. “The icing on the cake is the oud. That's the market here, and it's an instrument that appeals to a much larger clientele base than guitars here and in the region,” he explained. Nick is quick to throw his opinion in about what he sees as the inferior build quality and sound quality of ouds on the market in Lebanon. “I'm not an oud builder. I'm not a guitar builder either. I'm a builder. And I'm not brought up in a tradition – so there's not a school of thought that I'm following,” he said, adding that he wants to design his oud with a new (inner) brace support system that would open up the sound
– something he'd never tried before - a new technique he was applying to his guitar building process. Whatever happens, it's not a fair-weather decision he's made. Nicolai Gerebtzoff is in it for the long-haul.
As a filmmaker, I appreciated Nick's belief that he could “finish what he started,” but the barriers to working in Lebanon, in an atmosphere of scarcity, presented a big question mark in the filmmaking process. More importantly, it did put Nick in the awkward position of asking himself what would happen if he failed to complete what he set out to do? Having sunk his life's savings into building out his workshop, and given he has no other job prospects, I realized I could be filming a 'non-event.' Did Nick manage to absorb 30 years of lutherie knowledge from Jeffrey Wong during a year-long apprenticeship? I mean, even working 6 days a week during that period with no breaks – was that enough time? I honestly don't know, but I do know there's a confidence in how Nick works that belies his lack of experience - often doing things on camera that he later reveals almost offhandedly was a “first attempt” at something – not the first time without Yong's tutelage
[1] Think the fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass, ukulele, cello, banjo, harp, and in the Middle East, North Africa and Mediterranean rim - the bazouki, oud, kanoun, rebab, and the Amazigh (Berber) lutes branched off of the guimbri - all but a small sampling of instruments that have helped to fill dance halls, accompany weddings, funerals, births, etc. for more than a millennium.
16 TUNEAGE
SHAUN J. WRIGHT & ALINKA
NOWHERE TO HIDE TWIRL 2 FEBRUARY 3/5
Fledgling label Twirl kicks off 2015 with a release from label bosses Shan J Wright & Alinka with their latest single Nowhere to Hide, along with remixes from Lil Mark and No Dial Tone. The Chicago based label was launched in just 2014 and has thus far already released tracks that’ve been supported by the likes of Heidi, Kenny Glasgow and Groove Armada. The original is quite an interesting specimen. A house song by nature, but with a full on pop-vocal experience, Nowhere To Hide has that cross-over kind of feel. This is by no means a bad thing, nor does it imply the track itself is poppy...it is not. Infused with acid synth lines and a stad driven bass hook, Wright’s vocals round off the entire package. However, that’s where the goodness stops. Kolour Recordings’ Lil Mark does everything to miss the mark and Norwegian Dial Tone’s stripped back dub-tinged number falls apart after a only a few minutes. All about the original mix but skip both of these remixes.
A1 BASSLINE
WITHOUT TIME EP FINA RECORDS
DIPLO
The Brightonian’s hybrid house sound has popped up on labels as diverse as Pets Recordings, DirtyBird and Man Make Music over the last couple of years. And it’s as a direct result of that hard work that he’s been given the honour of having the first release on FINA Records’ new sub-imprint FINA White. The press release that accompanied the release boldly states that the record is a “strikingly clear indication of the distinctive direction the FINA Records’ offshoot label is intent on taking.” That’s quite a bit of hype, a bit too much for this reviewer’s taste. The lead track, Bad Timing, is decent, but that’s really all it is. It’s a pretty standard techno track with some melodic low end. Cool, skip. Without Time is instantly more interesting. The jungle influenced banger is a nod to old school bass music and we can get behind that. With touches of acid and choppy vocals, we hope this is more of a “clear indication” of things to come. Nail steps up on remix duties for the title track and takes more of a straight forward, classic 4/4 approach. The result is a jacking, percussion driven number. We like.
Yes, it is obviously quite a strange inclusion, but let’s try to look past the girl twerking in the corner for a second. Big Dadda released Diplo’s debut album ‘Florida’ ten years ago and never has the adage that an artist's first major work is their most personal, or pure. It is no doubt that the fans of the Mad Decent boss’s more recent forays will be thoroughly confused by the “new” Diplo LP. And that’s mostly because it was a great record. It’s all too easy to forget that the Grammy nominated producer, whose associated track sales hang at around 13 million, used to be quite the hot prospect. Before Beyonce, Lil Wayne and ex boo MIA, Wesley Pentz had a sound that really could be described as futuristic (all doubters refer directly to exhibit a: “Epistemology Suite 1: Don’t Fall”). The reissue features 5 unreleased tracks, 3 LPs and a hilarious collection of emails from Diplo and Big Dadda from way back when. Definitely one for the collectors.
19 JANUARY 3/5
F10RIDA BIG DADDA 1 DECEMBER 4/5
TUNEAGE 17
BRODANSE
TRAIN OF PROJECTIONS THOUGHT EP NINJA TUNE DANSE CLUB 23 FEBRUARY
LAST NIGHT IN PARIS
ROMARE
4/5
5/5
5 JANUARY 3.5/5
British producer Romare knows a thing or two about dance music. By that I mean he actually studied it academically and it certainly shows on his forthcoming LP for Ninja Tunes. This is a dance music album that is equal parts intelligent and accessible, equal parts homage and fresh ears. Inspired by African American music and the gay scene of the 1970s, ‘Projections’ spans 11 tracks with absolutely no filler. Quite the accomplishment these days. The album is much too big to get into specifics, but it’s guaranteed to touch chords in proponents of a plethora of modern music genres. That is because ‘Projections’ seeks its inspiration from the source of modern dance music. Whether that is gay disco as in Rainbow or jazz swing or African American spiritual as in Motherless Child, the result is all the same: a sound that truly traverses a generation. An early shout for one of the best albums of the year, this is a real gem. Preorder it, you’re going to want to hear it as soon as possible.
Another month, another Danse Club release in Tuneage. This time it’s label bosses Brodanse back with their latest on the London based imprint. The A-side, Train of Thought is an up-tempo house record with a nice amount of swagger. Deep and driving, it’s a groove driven number with some rattle-like percussion. Vocalist Ellii (who has previously worked with the likes of Dub Taylor and Geddes) is sprinkled throughout to give a light, human element. The B-side is a deep dub cut and will probably garner a few more chartings. Wooden percussion smash above super crisp hi hats and a rumbling bass gets things moving. A metronome-like kick drum balances well with a supple groove and spacey synths make for a quintessential slow burner.
PURE EP 22 DECEMBER
While it might be all too easy to simply write the London based collective off as the “British Odd Future”, Last Night in Paris represent something a bit different. The first British “cloud-collective” to garner a significant amount of hype (read: The Guardian, Dazed & Confused), the loose collective of young singers, rappers, producers and creatives have already begun to turn out some pretty serious products. The promotional video for Pure, by Swiss director Karim Huu Do, is as much of a testament to that as anything they have ever done. More short film than video clip, the ten minute piece features flashes of the EP while following the future R&B collective from a home into the forest and back again. The productions are right up there with some of the best and the rhymes are an interestingly British take on an American dominated sound. Pure might not be as wave making as something like FKA Twigs’ LP2 or Young Father’s Dead, but there’s something that draws you in and promises that this is only the beginning of something much bigger to come.
18 FEATURED ARTIST
HYPED UP ETYEN gets hyper as we talk about everything from meat sweats to his upcoming EP Photos by: Cynthia Merhej
FEATURED ARTIST 19
B
eirut native, ETYEN, has had quite a breakthrough year. Releasing his first EP, playing big gigs for CUNXTSAT, opening up for the likes of Matthias Tanzmann, and scoring shows as far as London, the left-field producer has finally started to make a name for himself. With influences spanning from Celine Dion to grime and jerk chicken, ETYEN certainly stands out amongst his peers. AK caught up with the hyperactive bass head after he graced the stage at our AK x überhaus take over back in December.
AK: Let’s start with the basics. A/S/L? Favourite 90s boy band? Feelings on coriander? Anything really…
I'm 25 years old, based in Beirut. To be honest, I was into a lot of boy bands haha so I can't really pick a favourite but maybe A1 - they covered A-ha’s Take On Me and I love(ed) that song so I’m gonna go with them. I'm a sensitive person but I don't have any particular thoughts or feelings on coriander. But while we're sorta on the topic, I am a huge fan of bacon, and I once ate a whole plate of nothing but bacon in Cyprus (best bacon ever - seriously, Tres, I know you'll back me up on this one) and my heart is still recovering...as well as my weight.
AK: You’re an engineer by trade. How did you end up
contemplating clouds on a daily basis can help you achieve. Anyway, the city is so multi-faceted, and I took advantage of that and got to know the many scenes. I connected with the rave culture, attending many warehouse events. I really got into the British Caribbean culture (food and music), got into Grime, Drum ‘n Bass, and I incorporated a lot of that influence into my music as well. The gig was, in one word, awesome. It was especially great to see old friends reconnect with people I worked with, give them a good show and show them my progress. With some we had spent long days and nights just tinkering on our laptops, making silly music, getting excited over an 8 bar loop, haha. We’d all just been starting out then. Anyway, it was my first international performance and it was great. So, yeah I'm pretty happy about it.
AK: Obviously we’re really into you as we selected you
to be our first guest for our first ever live show back in December, but for those not in the know, how would you sell ETYEN to the people? Haven't you heard? That ETYEN is the word. Haha. (Family guy reference in case no one got it.) ETYEN is a music producer, making music from the heart and hoping to touch yours. And if his music does touch your heart, then he'll be touched… Did I mention I suck at selling myself?! But no, for real, I’m a music producer/musician. I make Electronic music, mostly melodic and kinda indie, downtempo, sorta glitchy, trap, breakbeatsy electronic music that will make you feel something. And I also sing sometimes.
getting into music and when did you decide that you were really going to pursue it?
AK: Speaking of the show, how did it go? How do you
I've been involved with music since a young age. I come from a musical family; my dad was a drummer, guitarist and singer in his younger days, and of course my parents enrolled me in the Lebanese Conservatory as a child where I learned to play the piano for about 7 years. I received my first guitar when I was 13 years old and that's when I realised music was my true passion. I played with lots of bands and performed in college events and bars as a singer-songwriter etc., but I only started contemplating the potential of doing this for a living when I started producing my own music. I managed to take a music production and sound engineering course in London for a short period where I started doing professional work, ghost producing for other artists and composing music for videos. Eventually, I began getting more exposure as an artist (both locally and internationally) and was able to ditch my day job and focus on my music.
It was great! Thank you guys for having me. It was really awesome to perform at the bus station and share the stage with the other great acts.
approach live shows in general?
Approaching live shows in general, it really depends on the gig. If it's a club thing where people are gonna want to dance, then I ditch some of my more downtempo tracks whereas if it's a chilled out concert-y performance it'll be the other way round and I'd perform more of my chilled out tracks with vocals.
really started appreciating the fusion of electronic and indie music done by bands such as Animal Collective (also a favourite). But yeah, then it was everything. My sound is definitely sometimes ADHD-ish haha. I guess I just jump through a lot of ideas quickly and that’s obvious in my music sometimes. But I guess what influences my sound is of course anything I've ever listened to as well as just my life experiences, like going on an amazing trip, standing on top of a mountain, a sad movie I watched, being with someone, anything really… When I'm making music and I'm thinking about things I'll draw on those experiences and it really affects what type of song I make. If I'm thinking about that mountain top it'll probably be a super chilled out song, probably like my song Back Home. If I'm feeling down it'll sound like Not Alone and if I’m super energetic it'll maybe sound like Jesus Lives (you should go check all these out on my SoundCloud ;)).
AK: How much does where you come from influence the music you make?
A lot. Beirut is super chaotic and I've inherited my ADHD from it. That comes through in my music for sure. And of course Arab culture in general. I'm actually working on a new EP of Arab-electronic music that'll be coming out later this year.
AK: What’s next for ETYEN? This is basically your
chance to sound really cool and important, don’t fuck it up. Well, I'm looking at a few international festival gigs lined up for the summer. I'm also looking forward to my album launch party which will be around March. I'm going back to my roots and releasing an Arab-electronic EP, which I'm super excited about. I'm working on several projects with really interesting artists locally and internationally, including remix projects and co-productions. It's going to be an interesting year for sure.
AK: What are your favourite and least favourite things about living in Beirut?
Least favourite: Traffic, pollution, noise. Favourite: Everything is close (though not always reachable). 24/7 delivery grocery stores. The food, the weather, the women. And not in that order.
AK: We’ve got Hello Psychallepo in a few pages. What
AK: What kind of music did you grow up listening to?
do you think about him? Have you ever had beef with him? Who do you think would win in a fight?
AK: You lived in London briefly and recently played a
I listened to all kinds of stuff. My parents introduced me to a lot of music: the oldies, french oldies, classic rock, Celine Dion, haha. For real though I really liked her music when I was like 7. I think she has a great voice.
I would totally kick his ass. Haha. No, I'm joking of course. I think in a fight we would immediately recognise each other and join forces to make sweet music together. I actually met him briefly a while back, he's a cool guy and I really like what he does. He's on my collaboration bucket list haha. We're also both named Samer so it can only be fate.
Living in London really helped me grow professionally but also as a person. It was my first experience living abroad and it greatly enhanced my view of myself and my goals in life. I was inspired in every aspect of my life, especially musically. It's amazing what sitting in a park and
Anyway I went through a lot of phases where I obsessed over bands such as blink-182, Nirvana, Metallica, Dream Theater... I appreciated lots of different styles, I was into punk but also into singer-songwriter stuff. Eventually I discovered Sigur Rós and they became my all time favourite band. I also got into indie rock music with bands like Arcade Fire and indie electronic music. At some point I
show there. Tell us a little about your connection to the city and how the gig went.
What kind of other mediums influence your sound? How much of it is your wicked case of ADHD?
CITY:
Beirut, Lebanon
WEBSITE:
soundcloud.com/etyenmusic facebook.com/etyenmusic
20 FEATURE
WITHOUT A PREFIX Lebanese guitar ensemble Omarchestra revive Egyptian legend Omar Khorshid’s magic guitar By: Natalie Shooter Photos by: Tony Elieh
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T
hough he’s not that widely known internationally, most music heads consider Omar Khorshid to be the most important guitarist to emerge out of the Arab world in the 20th century. The Egyptian guitarist, who formed the beat group Le Petit Chats in 1966, was propelled into overnight fame when Abdel Halim Hafez, one of the biggest voices of contemporary Arabic music, asked him to join his orchestra in the mid ‘60s. He later played with the queen of the Arab music world herself, Egyptian diva Oum Kulthoum, continuing to add his distinctive guitar sound to the melodies of Oriental orchestras.
Khorshid’s solo works are notably progressive for his time; his fluid, versatile guitar playing was rooted in psychedelic rock in the ‘60s and later his magic guitar defined the belly dance melodies on numerous albums in the ‘70s. While everyone’s heads were pointing West for guitar icons, back in the Arab world Khorshid was on his own track, creating a kind of mystical Oriental surf-rock sound that formed its own identity. His work was cut short in 1981 when he died prematurely at the age of 36, leaving a question mark hanging over the potential his music could have had. Lately there’s been a revival of interest in his music internationally, helped in part by US label Sublime Frequencies’ 2010 compilation “Guitar El Chark” which introduced Khorshid’s songs to a wider audience. For guitarist Charbel Haber, cofounder of Lebanese punk band Scrambled Eggs, Khorshid has always had a presence. With both of his parents being big fans of the Egyptian guitarist, Haber’s childhood was distinctly marked by his melodies. Though he acknowledges Khorshid’s influence has always been somewhere in the background, it’s only over the last few years that it’s resurfaced in the form of two new projects in homage to Khorshid, Malayeen and Omarchestra.
Haber sits outside Mar Mikhael’s café-bar Internazionale wearing his characteristic aviators as the last rays of winter sun touch the street. Sat among a group of musicians, familiar faces from Beirut’s underground music scene, the table is lined with half finished espressos and over-spilling ashtrays as they finish discussions on a future music project. Haber soon jumps into what’s clearly an obsessive kind of love for Khorshid, speaking enthusiastically about the impact he could have had in shaping the future direction of Arabic music if only his life hadn’t been cut short. It was, in fact, the subject of an article he wrote on the guitarist in Beirut-based magazine Kalamon’s first issue in 2010. “He was a big ass hole most probably. There are lots of stories,” he laughs, rolling into conspiracy theories over his death in a car collision – perhaps the result of his concert at the White House celebrating the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty in 1979, or on the order of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, over a rumored affair with his daughter. “I was born in a house that adored Khorshid. One of the movies I remember from a really young age is ‘Guitar El Hob,’ a Lebanese-Egyptian production with Khorshid in the main role that he also did the
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soundtrack for. There is this mythical scene where Khorshid is playing guitar and Nadia Gamel [Egyptian bellydancer] is dancing around him. It’s the apogee of Arab Liberalism,” he says. "I remember a tape recording of my mum asking me what I want to do when I grow up; ‘do you want to be a lawyer, an engineer?’ typical things. I go ‘no, no, no. I want to play the guitar.’" In his teen years Haber got into Western music, propelled off the back of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” So when he picked up the guitar at the age of 15 it was punk that came out, until the Khorshid influences started re-emerging years later. “Slowly with time and through the evolution of my playing I got closer and closer to post rock and psychedelic rock. I started playing these melodies that were totally familiar to me but I didn’t know [at the time] where they were coming from.” Now in Haber’s solos, Khorshid’s influence is more and more visible, describing it as that “California sunset” sound. “If I want to describe it in
terms of scenery it would be the palm tree with the sunset, the beach, the Corniche. The kind of things you find in cities like Beirut and California,” he says. “I always feel like that surfy, buzuky guitar sound started here in the Middle East, travelled to North Africa, went to the States, got electrified and came back.” Playing Arabic music was something that Haber always approached with caution, not wanting to make Arabic music from an exotic perspective. “After doing a lot of rock, psychedelic and ambient music, everyone asks ‘why don’t you do some Arabic music?’ I didn’t want to get into the worst situation ever, which is an Arab musician, making Arabic music from a neo-Orientalist Western point of view,” he says. “So I decided not to do it, not to go into the gimmicky stuff, a rock track with a bit of dabke in the back. I really didn’t want to go there and I didn’t have another thing to propose.” As Haber’s guitar sound became more psychedelic, he
decided it was time to do a project celebrating the work of Khorshid and so the trio Malayeen came together naturally. He teamed up with longtime collaborator Raed Yassin and musician Khaled Yassine and received a grant from Al Mawred Al Thaqafy (Culture Resource) to produce an album that included pieces adapted and rearranged from Khorshid’s original compositions. They recorded in 2011 and released the self-titled album at the end of 2012, available on CD on Beirut’s Annihaya Records and on vinyl on Londonbased record label Discrepant. “The main focus was [Khorshid’s] disco belly dance sound, but you always go into different directions. We wanted it to be dancey, but at the same time to not ignore the psychedelic side of it because this is what we do.” The record received glowing reviews and as Haber relistened to it he realized there was potential for another project. He proposed to Sharif Sehnaoui, a Lebanese guitarist from the free improvisation scene, to form a
FEATURE 23
guitar ensemble focusing on Khorshid’s psychedelic rock sound. “Omarchestra is like a childhood dream of getting all these guitars and taking all these snippets that appear in Arabic songs and just making full pieces out of them,” Haber says. Umut Ağlar, a guitarist from the Istanbul improvisation and free jazz scene, Egyptian-Canadian guitarist Sam Shalabi and Egyptian musician Maurice Louca came on board, alongside Lebanese guitarists Osman Arabi and Fadi Tabbal and bassist Tony Elieh. They gathered in Beirut, spending three days recording in the dining room of Sehnaoui’s house. “We had seven guitars and a bass so that’s a lot of sounds. It flows in every direction, we wanted to let it expand,” Haber says. “I think it was one of the most magical music sessions I’ve ever done in my life. We had eight people with very contained egos working for the baby of a piece; the mentality of an orchestra, where you’re an element of something bigger.” The project which is due for vinyl-only release on Italian label Sagittarius A-Star in January 2015
bridges the gap between the work of Khorshid and Glenn Branca, the American avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his symphonies for orchestras of electric guitars and percussion. The result is a spacey symphony of psychedelic guitar melodies looping over each other into rich layers of sound. Long drawn out solos snake into empty space, screeching with reverb, as a wall of rhythmic hypnotizing strumming slowly builds to a climax. It’s the perfect homage to Khorshid and one that magnifies in on that sound that defined the Arabic electric guitar and creates something new out of it. “We tried to take the elements we like [from each guitarist]. The thing is, there’s no fusion. It’s not that we’re fusing the work of Khorshid with the work of Branca. It’s the same sound, just different ways of approaching it,” he says. Haber seems to have grown into the sound he feels could define the rest of his career, turning full circle
back to his earliest influence. And it’s one that he believes might have a lasting impact. “I think time will tell. We’re not there yet but with Malayeen and Omarchestra… I don’t want to sound pretentious when I say it, but it’s gonna happen anyway… maybe, maybe it’s the founding stone for a new Arabic music movement; Arabic music without a prefix, without anything like an extra identity. Just Arabic music with a lot of electric guitars.”
24 METROPOLIS(T)
THE METROPOLIS(T)
I
t is a fact that nothing makes you both better looking and more intelligent than an extensive knowledge of arthouse cinema. Nothing. So with the collective sex lives of our entire readership in mind, we’ve partnered up with the good people at Metropolis to help increase your right swipe rate on Tinder. Each month you will find a selection of films that you can watch on the big screen and then casually drop into conversation to make people think you are really, really cultured. You’re welcome.
VIVEMENT TRUFFAUT! To pay tribute to the 13th anniversary of luminary French filmmaker François Truffaut, the French Cinematheque, the French Institute of Lebanon and the Metropolis Association have come together to put on Vivement Truffaut! The homage will feature screenings of fifteen of the French New Wave pioneers’ cult classics. Running from 25 January to 6 February, Truffaut’s birthday, you will have the chance to catch some of film's greatest works on the big screen at Metropolis Empire Sofil. We’ve picked three of our favourites in order to give you something about which to talk to that fit Frenchie at Charlies you’ve had your eye on….
THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN (1977) WITH CHARLES DENNER, BRIGITTE FOSSEY, NELLY BORGEAUD, GENEVIÈVE FONTANEL
This is the original joint. 100% guaranteed to be Burt Reynolds free or your money back. Told in a flash back (love that shit), the film opens at the funeral of Bertand Morane in Montpellier. It’s a pretty run of the mill burial except for the fact that there are only women in attendance. The film essentially follows Moraine's autobiography. Entitled “Le Cavaleur” (don’t really think you need that translated), the book follows Morane on his exploits with the plethora of women he’s, um, been involved with.
METROPOLIS(T) 25
JULES AND JIM (1962)
WITH JEANNE MOREAU, OSKAR WERNER, HENRI SERRE It’s Paris just before the onset of the Second World War. Two friends, Jules and (yes, you guessed it) Jim, fall in love with the same bird, Catherine, who is apparently the doppelganger of some statute that they both really fancy. Weird. Catherine eventually decides that Jules is her man and the couple move to Austria, where he’s from, to get married. Then the war breaks out and the BFFs are made to serve on opposite sides of the war for their respective countries. Fast forward a bit, the war is over, and Jim sets out to find his old mate and Catherine, who of course he’s still in love with. Triple time ensues, and we all know that never has a happy ending…
THE FULL PROGRAM
THE 400 BLOWS (1959)
WITH JEAN-PIERRE LEAUD, ALBERT REMY, CLAIRE MAURIER
(yea, we know it’s in French. Consider it educational)
DIMANCHE 25 - 20H30
SAMEDI 31 - 22H00
LUNDI 26 - 20H30
DIMANCHE 1ER - 20H00
L'Homme qui aimait les femmes 1977
Younger Antoine Doinel is your average thirteen yearold school boy. He likes to rock turtlenecks, has messy hair and can’t seem to stay out of trouble in school. His parents try their best to keep in like, but don’t really seem to get their child’s angst streak. Antoine isn’t really that keen on going to class and eventually gets caught for bunking off. His parents come down on him pretty hard, so the kid decides to skip town and spend a night out on the streets. He eventually reconciles with the ‘rents which goes alright until he gets caught trying to nick a typewriter (certainly a pretty tough feat). It’s straight to the klink after that. Not one to be held down, Antoine makes a break for freedom only to then realize what it’s really like to be alone. Straight raw stuff.
Jules et Jim 1962
MARDI 27 - 20H30 La Peau douce 1964
MERCREDI 28 - 20H30 Fahrenheit 451 1966
JEUDI 29 - 20H30
La Mariée était en noir 1968
VENDREDI 30 - 20H00 Deux de la vague 2010
VENDREDI 30 - 22H00 La Sirène du Mississipi 1969
SAMEDI 31 - 20H00
Les Quatre Cents Coups 1958
Baisers volés 1968
Domicile conjugal 1970
DIMANCHE 1ER - 22H00 L'Amour en fuite 1979
LUNDI 2 - 20H30
La Nuit américaine 1973
MARDI 3 - 20H30 Le Dernier Métro 1980
MERCREDI 4 - 20H30 La Femme d'à côté 1981
JEUDI 5 - 20H30
Vivement dimanche! 1983
26 FEATURE
THE WAITING GAME AK talks to Turkish photographer Kıvılcım Güngörün about everything from coriander to why analogue is still the bees knees
FEATURE 27
photography department and others who were hoping to get accepted. I spent that month at my sister’s empty apartment hanging out with a bunch of people. Then came the exam week. I not only got accepted into the school, but I even almost topped the list. Everyone was in shock; myself, my parents, my friends, my sister. So my sister and I ended up at the same school by chance. Now that I think about it, we were really lucky to be able to study together at university.
AK: You shoot exclusively on analogue. Why is that? Was it an active decision against shooting digitally?
AK: Tell us a little about yourself to start things off.
A/S/L? Are you naturally blonde? What are your feelings about coriander (kişniş)? All that good stuff… I’m 22 years old, I was born in Manisa, Turkey. I’ve been living in İzmir for 4 years and I’m currently studying photography at İzmir’s DEU’s Fine Arts Faculty. I have two more terms left until I graduate. I visit İstanbul as much as I can. I’m not actually blonde but my hair’s been this color since I was in middle school so it sort of became a habit. And sadly, I have nothing nice whatsoever to say about coriander, it really sucks... I’m sorry...
AK: How did you originally get into photography? I began photographing by taking funny shots with my phone. After a while, my parents got me a small digital camera but I didn’t actually take that many shots with it. Something always pushed me away from it - it felt too easy. After that, since I wasn’t doing too well in high school, my older sister, who was studying at the time at DEU’s Dramatic Writing Department, suggested I try to get into DEU’s Photography Department. At first I thought I would just take a look at the exam, learn some stuff, study for a year and then try the exam seriously the next time. I really didn’t think I would get accepted since I didn’t know much about the subject and the exam was only a month away. So I didn’t bother putting in a huge effort to study. Meanwhile, my dad’s friend sent me my first analogue camera. I shot 3 or 4 films and really enjoyed it. I like not being able to see the results instantly - it’s exciting. In the process, I met people who were already studying in the
These days, it’s more about songs than genres for me. There are 150-200 songs that I listen to at a time, and I usually go back to them. Another interest of mine is going to psychedelic trance festivals. My sister and I go to these festivals in our trailer. These trips have allowed me to visit many countries and meet a lot of different, interesting types of people while all listening to the same music. I’ve experienced moments that were sometimes enjoyable and sometimes tough. But music, good or bad, was always there for us. Sometimes on our dysfunctional trailer radio, sometimes on high quality party amplifiers, and sometimes simply on my mind.
‘Process’ and ‘waiting’ are concepts that are very familiar to me. They help me understand the worth of what is present now. With an analogue camera, the feelings and conditions you experience while shooting through the films are tangibly trapped beneath a surface. It’s amazing to wait and wonder throughout the developing process while those feelings transform into visuals. One of the most valuable aspects of shooting on analogue is that after a while you learn to think more deeply about the shot rather than simply shooting a lot before getting the right frame. Your film might be running out, or you might not have enough money to buy a new one, so you need to think more to make sure each photograph turns out just the way you want it to. There is no delete button. From the moment you take a shot, it exists. Whether you shred the film, burn it, it still exists. And it’s real. I’m not against digital per se, but when you take all these factors into consideration, when a photograph is this real and concrete, the idea of a photograph without a surface just doesn’t appeal to me. Imagine if every electronic device, all the power and technology in the world were to disappear for an instant… my photographs, however, would still remain with me. Because they truly exist, they are in my hand and I can hold them, no matter if they are good or bad.
AK: A decent amount of your work is shot outside
AK: What kind of music are you into at the moment? Do you find musical inspiration for your work?
living in İzmir. How have the places you lived in influenced your work?
I believe music is one of the most inspirational concepts that exists. It’s creepy to think of a world without music. At every moment and every stage of my life, music has been an inspiration to me for everything. I listened mostly to two genres throughout my school years: shoegaze and psychedelic rock. I was into shoegaze because I was a little depressive and, if I remember correctly, the boy I liked listened to it a lot. Psychedelic rock was always familiar to my ears because of my family. I grew up with the likes of Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, The Velvet Underground. It was great. Other than that, I used to listen to many genres of music in lots of different languages while home alone. I wouldn’t limit my taste in music by choosing one genre over another. I like every genre.
Manisa doesn’t have any interesting activities for young people. I only had a few friends there. My other friends all lived in İzmir but my [young] age and financial situation meant I couldn’t go there frequently. On weekdays, I would save my allowance and try to get permission [from my parents] to go on the weekend. Of course, when I was 15 or 16 I couldn’t get my parents’ permission to go to other cities every time I wanted to. But with Izmir I guess I was lucky because both my aunts and sister lived there. When I wasn’t able to go to İzmir, however, I’d spend time alone at home. Generally, I’d research and download music, try to understand the lyrics, and transfer those feelings into writing, while checking out visuals online. Considering that I only decided to study photography
of Turkey. How long have you been traveling and shooting? Where are some of your favourite places to shoot and why? I travel to other countries as much as my money and time allow. It’s my philosophy that the more new places you see and the more new people you meet, you will learn more and more - both good and bad. Every new place translates into a new me. I mostly travel alone but I visit people I already know or stay with new people I meet. Being alone is at times amazing and at others hard and sad. But my goal is to learn more by experiencing hard times rather than joyful ones. Nice, happy things are forgotten easily and pass by without being properly examined; you don’t understand how time passes when you’re happy. But when you’re not at ease, time passes by slowly and you therefore have more time to think and to wrap your head around things. And it’s during those moments that a person is least likely to forget. That’s why I can’t choose which city or country was better or nicer to shoot in. Every place has its own unique effect on me, produces a new me and creates a particular feeling, and that’s why I consider each one my favorite for different reasons.
AK: You’re originally from Manisa, but are now
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during my last month of high school, those sessions of inspiration from music and visuals clearly had a powerful effect on my later work. I noticed that I’d been subconsciously preparing myself to work in a visuallyrelated field.
AK: Do you have any one image you’ve shot that stands out amongst the rest? If so why?
I can’t judge my photographs in that way. They each have their unique value to me because they all represent a different stage or situation of my life.
AK: You have a pretty interesting style of “drawing”
over some of your photographs. Can you tell us a little bit about the process and why you started doing this? I only began painting a year ago. My works are not really nice but I paint as and when I feel like it and it relaxes me. The series in which I draw over my photographs using the paint program uses shots I took
on the street. I carry postcard size copies and leave them in places I find important or give them to people I meet. It’s a simple process - I either circle things to emphasize their importance to me or I scribble over things that I react negatively towards. There are a lot of postcards that I’ve hidden in churches, streets, restrooms, bookstores, or left with people I meet. And the really fun part is trying to execute it like a secret mission without people noticing. It creates funny moments.
AK: What kind of impact do you want your work to have? Do you have a certain end goal?
I don’t have an end goal right now. All I’m concerned with is continuously collecting the frames that occur in my life or around me, somewhat like a diary. And I want to keep doing it. I find myself so lucky to have ‘met’ photography. So, rather than thinking forward, I’m saving the ‘now’ in order to carry onwards. It’s great.
AK: Tell us about the last dream you had that you remember.
I dream a lot and all my dreams are movie-like. But most recently I had one where I developed a new way of taking pictures which involves taking photos of past moments. I went into a dark room, fully concentrated, and tried to remember the most intense feelings I’d had that day. I transferred the energy that came out of me onto a piece of paper using a chemical that I also invented in the dream. So it was like photographing through feelings and emotions, creating a day’s visual with the help of the emotional impact it had on you. It was very interesting and mystical.
FEATURE 29
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FEATURE 31
32 TECHNO-LOGIC
TECHNOLOGIC DESKTOP RECORD CUTTER (DRC) KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN - $1.60 Vinyl sales might only be a small fraction of the overall revenue in the music industry, but they’ve been steadily increasing globally since 2006, hitting $195 million in 2012. And this Kickstarter campaign is hoping to capitalize on vinyl’s rising popularity by making it possible for audio geeks to cut their own vinyl at home. To date they have raised more than three times their goal, so here is to hoping that in 2015 they will finally release a turn-key stereo cutting system. Although this is not the first attempt to create a personal vinyl cutter, enthusiasts are hopeful that this one will finally be a success, especially since the creators are being very open about their progress. Which all begs the question, how much will this retail for? Machine.Pro estimates around $6,500, although the team says the more it is able to raise through its Kickstarter campaign the more likely it is that the final product will sell at a low price.
W
e love technology so much that we have a whole section devoted to our favourite gadgets. In a print magazine. In a country where ordering things online is not the easiest and technology is only as fast as the low-speed, oh-shit-I-hope-it-isn’t-rainingwhen-I-need to-email-my-boss internet. Because we are just that cool.
LIVESCRIBE NOTEBOOK BY MOLESKIN $29.95
WITH LIVESCRIBE 3 SMARTPEN $149.95 This notebook combines the best of analog and digital. Copy down notes in the traditional Moleskin and everything will be automatically backed up thanks to the Livescribe Smartpen. Notes are then accessible via the app, so they can be referred to later, reorganized or accessed on-the-go.
TECHNO-LOGIC 33
SONY’S A6000 CAMERA $449.99 They say the best camera is the one on you, which is why Sony’s A6000 model is top-notch. Half the size and weight of the conventional DSLR, this mirrorless camera nonetheless offers nearly the same quality of photos. With a nice selection of interchangeable lenses, this shooter also boasts the world’s fastest focusing system, making snapping pictures a breeze. It can also share photos instantly with a smartphone, via WiFi. Just, you know, be careful what you put up there in the clouds.
Borrowing the design from Thomas Edison’s original phonograph, this speaker horn amplifies sound without any electricity, which is a massive plus in Lebanon. Just dock your iPhone and play your tunes up to 3 to 4 times louder. Think of all the parties you can have during electricity cuts.
SHARP WIRELESS HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO PLAYER $5,000
GRAMOPHONE FOR IPHONE $200
For the audiophiles out there, this is the deluxe speaker system of your dreams. It plays uncompressed audiofiles in high fidelity, giving the full range of sound that those tracks which took you 6 hours to download deserve. This player takes 24-bit/96kHz FLACs, WAVs, DSDs, Blu-rays, and SACDs and wirelessly transmits pristine sound to WiSA-compliant speakers on the 5.2-5.8 GHz band. The lack of cables makes it easy to install, seamlessly integrating into an existing audio system.
34 DAS KOMIC
DAS KOMIC 35