Merhaba by Electric Jalaba

Electric Jalaba return with 'Merhaba', the hotly anticipated follow up to 2012's 'Introducing'

In the summer of 2011, eclectic groove adventurers, Soundspecies met UK -based, Moroccan gnawa master musician Simo Lagnawi at a festival.

After a handful of jam sessions and without ever having performed together in public, they booked two days in a studio to document their space-age-gnawa experimentations. From the music created that weekend - available on CD and download, entitled ‘Introducing Electric Jalaba’ - it was clear that they were on to something special, not just a one-off collaboration. It formed the basis of an electrifying live set that over the course of a year propelled Electric Jalaba to become one of London’s in demand live acts. They have played a string of UK and European festival dates including Bestival, Latitude, Wilderness, Boomtown, Secret Garden Party and trips to Cyprus, Italy, Denmark, Czech Republic and Latvia, while their self-made videos have gathered over 40,000 youtube hits. They have developed and matured their writing process and deepened their explorations into gnawa music and beyond. A new album, 'Merhaba', released in April 2015 represents many possibilities of Gnawa fusion - with everything from the more traditional sounding ‘Moulana’ and 'Subai' to the hyper funk of ‘Merhaba’, the Afro-beat infused ‘Fatima’ and the chugging, Zeppelin-esque rock of ‘Ngsha’ - all the while sounding like a cohesive, groove-driven collection. They continue to tour and gather fans.

Tracklist

1.	Moulana	6:16

2.	Elbania	4:36

3.	Merhaba	4:31

4.	Interlude	1:19

5.	Ngsha	6:20

6.	Cubaili	4:02

7.	Jalaba	6:36

8.	Subai	6:29

9.	Fatima	6:13

10.	Hausa	4:02

Credits

released April 28, 2015

Simo Lagnawi - gimbri, lead vocals, krakabs and percussion
Dave De Rose - drum kit and percussion
Barnaby Keen - guitar, backing vocals, krakabs and percussion
Nathaniel Keen - lead guitar, backing vocals, pianet, organ and percussion
Oliver Keen - bass guitar, fx and percussion
Henry Keen - synthesizers, rhodes, space echo and percussion

Backing vocals on Moulana and Cubaili - Bila Bila and Ihsan
Backing vocals on Elbania - Emine Pirhasan
Ney on Jalaba - Alkis Agathocleous
Ululations - Jan Blake

Recorded at MIDI Music Centre, Deptford by Ahmad Dayes
except Subai, recorded at Boxbred studios by Dave De Rose
Tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 9 mixed by Nils Johnson for Brave & Bold Industries
Tracks 7, 8 and 10 mixed by Oliver Keen
Mastered by Dan Baldwin at Metropolis
Cover by Henry Keen

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