We’re over the moon to know that endlessly talented and adventurous composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Maurice Louca is back with a new album, Barĩy (Fera) برٌِي, set for release on May 30th through Simsara Records. The album’s title originates from the Latin root for “feral”, encapsulating the untamed essence that permeates the compositions. The album features hypnotic polyrhythms at its core, which serve as the foundation for a sound rich in acoustic tonality and vibrant energy. Louca’s use of custom-made microtonal guitars allows for nuanced phrasings that weave through violin, synthesizer, and other instruments to create moments of striking beauty.​ As always, his work is a blend of careful composition and spontaneous collaboration, and this album is no different.

The inception of Fera traces back to a solo performance Louca developed back in 2019. Over a four-year period, the compositions evolved, culminating in recording sessions at a Cairo studio in 2024. Louca reunited with longtime collaborators and invited guest artists, including violinist Ayman Asfour, percussionist and drummer Khaled Yassine, double bassist Rosa Brunello, and co-producer Adham Zidan. Multi-instrumentalist Nancy Mounir and oud virtuoso Hazem Shaheen also contribute to a couple of tracks.

The first taste of Fera comes in the form of the single ‘El Taalab الثعلب’, which features performances by Asfour, Yassine, Mounir, and Brunello. Louca composed, arranged, and produced the piece, with co-production and mixing by Adham Zidan. Utterly gorgeous, radiant and engrossing, ‘El Taalab الثعلب’ leaves us eagerly awaiting the release of Fera.

Right in time for the incoming festivities, Maurice Louca has gifted us with a buoyant banger. The immeasurably talented and adventurous composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer unleashed yesterday a brand new single called ‘El Gawhara’. Uplifting, ebullient and kaleidoscopic, ‘El Gawhara’ features Tarek Elshbah on drums, Ayman Asfour on violin, Rosa Brunello on bass and Louca himself on microtonal guitar. An end of year treat, behold!

Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

Maurice Louca had previously shared the transcending lead single ‘Bidayat (Holocene)‘ from his upcoming album Saet El Hazz (The Luck Hour). Now the incredible composer and producer is enticing us again with a magical new track called ‘Higamah (Hirudinea)’. Wrap your ears around it.

Saet El Hazz (The Luck Hour) is out on September 24th through Sub Rosa and Northern Spy

There’s wonderful news from gifted and adventurous musician Maurice Louca, who has enthralled us long ago with his solo works and many other projects, including his trio The Dwarfs of East Agouza, multicultural collective Alif and bands like Bikya, Lekhfa and Karkhana. Following his magnificent Elephantine, which was one of our Album Picks of 2019, the composer and producer has announced the release of a new album entitled Saet El-Hazz (The Luck Hour). Louca explains the significance of the album title:

“‘The Luck Hour’ is a loose translation of ‘Saet El Hazz’ which is a coded saying we have in Egypt to refer to a good time, which usually includes a good deal of debauchery. When you mention that you have had a Saet Hazz, there are no questions asked; it is what it is and there is something about linking luck to decadence that resonates very much within me regarding the music of this record, and even if I can’t fully articulate it in words, the emotional register and drive behind this record and how it came to be, and the energy between us at the studio rehearsing and recording this record, is in a lot of ways to me a Saet Hazz (A Luck Hour).”

Consisting of six movements, Saet El-Hazz (The Luck Hour) draws on Arabic music, psychedelic folk, and free improv. The seed for the album sprouted from Louca’s wish to collaborate with Lebanese improvisational group “A” Trio. “They create a sonic cosmos of their own, and I had the idea and started composing music”, he explains, “the songs that I wanted to exist in this sonic world–at times harmoniously, other times clashing, and all the emotional and sonic ranges in between.”

Also crucial to the album was a commission from Mophradat Art Organization for Louca to compose and perform a music piece using instruments modified to play microtonally in the Arabic Maqam modes (scales), which led him to Istanbul to custom-make a guitar and to Indonesia. “I also ended up in Indonesia with a Gamelan maker, tuning a Serang (they caIl it the Indonesian Xylophone, a part of the family of Gamelan tuned percussion Instruments),” he comments “Since the Arabic Maqams use a lot of notes from the chromatic scale alongside the quarter tones, I ended up tuning it to a full chromatic scale plus certain quarter tones.”

We’ll have to wait until September 24th for the album to be out through Sub Rosa and Northern Spy but we can already hear the transcending lead single ‘Bidayat (Holocene). Take a listen now.