Photo: Gregory Dargent

Back in March, wonderful news emerged of a new album from Oberland, Dargent, Elieh, Halal, the new quartet of Frédéric D. Oberland (Oiseaux-Tempête), Grégory Dargent (H), Tony Elieh (Karkhana) and Wassim Halal (Polyphème). Sihr is their debut album as a quartet and is set for release on May 24th through Sub Rosa. Following their inaugural and tantalizing first single, ‘Oui​-​Ja’aa‘, they have shared another track from the album called ‘OhmShlag (Quake Tango)’. The single is offered with a Super8 film directed by Oberland & Dargent and you can watch it below.

Following duo improvised performances and screenings in Cairo and Beirut, and other showcases for Rencontres d’Arles, the Lille photography center, and Halogénure magazine, Frédéric D. Oberland (Oiseaux-Tempête) and Grégory Dargent (H) joined forces with Tony Elieh (Karkhana) and Wassim Halal (Polyphème). As a quartet, Oberland, Dargent, Elieh, Halal set out on a sonic quest, “that of a neo-folklore for troubled times”, as the press release describes, “a music seeping with many kinds of atavism and experimenting in all directions”. The result is Sihr, an album birthed in a bunker studio between Paris and Berlin, weaving through “trance and contemplation, jazz and electronica, acoustics and electricity”. Slated for a May 24th release through Sub Rosa, Sihr is a ” hallucinated and generous testimony”, resonating with the echoes of our contemporary chaos.

“Oui​-​Ja’aa” is their inaugural and tantalizing single, offering an exhilarating glimpse into the forthcoming Sihr. Listen to it below.