Watch Son Lux’s video for ‘You Don’t Know Me’

30 June 2015

Son Lux - You Dont Know Me

Hot on the heels of the release of their new album, Bones, Son Lux are now offering a video for the mighty ‘You Don’t Know Me’. The effort was directed by Nathan Johnson and created by The Made Shop and it features Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) and Noah Segan (Looper).

Here’s what director Nathan Johnson said of the video:

“When Ryan first sent the album over to The Made Shop, this was the song that I kept coming back to. It touches a pretty raw nerve, and we wanted to explore the song in terms of the empty rituals we often see in relationships and, to a larger degree, religion.

We wrote the video specifically for Tatiana and designed everything around her performance. She’s such a phenomenal actor, and she brings something so compelling to the role – this powerful figure who is stuck in the vacancy of routines that have lost their meaning.”

Here’s the video.

Bones is out now via Glassnote.

Alif share first single off upcoming debut album Aynama-Rtama

21 June 2015

Alif - Aynama-Rtama

We weren’t familiar with multicultural collective Alif but their music caught our ears on first listen. Made up of Khyam Allami (Oud), Tamer Abu Ghazaleh (Vocals/Buzuq), Bashar Farran (Bass), Maurice Louca (Keys/Electronics) and Khaled Yassine (Drums/Percussion), their absolutely thrilling music takes roots in Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon.
Alif, named after the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, have announced the release of their debut album, Aynama-Rtama, which translates to Wherever It Falls. The effort, due out on Friday 4th via Nawa Recordings, was self-produced and recorded between Beirut in Cairo last year. The album’s incredible and vibrant instrumentation is paired with contemporary Arabic poetry from renowned poets such as Iraqi poet Sargon Boulos and Palestian poet Mahmoud Darwish, and it comes with English translations by Nariman Youssef.
According to the press release, the album “traces a complex labyrinth of genres, sounds and emotions, rendered as a unique postcard of the tumultuous rollercoaster-ride of its time.”

To whet our appetite, Alif have unveiled the first single off Aynama-Rtama, ‘Holako (Hulagu)’. I’ve been listening to it again and again. Here it is.