A gifted musician at the vanguard of Egypt’s flourishing experimental arts scene, Maurice Louca is involved in numerous collaborations, most notably his trio The Dwarfs of East Agouza, multicultural collective Alif and bands like Bikya, Lekhfa and Karkhana. Louca has also contributed his North African percussion loops and scintillation keys to other projects, composing for theatre, film and contemporary art.

February 1st will see the release of his new full-length album, Elephantine, recorded in Stockholm and featuring a 12-piece ensemble. The record “serves as both the pinnacle of his wide-ranging experience and a bold next step in his development as a composer, arranger and bandleader”, describes the press release. “The music — from its pensive lulls through its stretches of hard-grooving hypnosis and moments of avant-jazz catharsis — testifies to that rapport.”

The entrancing and transcending ‘The Leper’ serves as the first taste from the record and we can’t stop playing it.

Elephantine is out on February 1st through Sub Rosa and Northern Spy.