PRELUDE FOR THE TRIUMPHANT MAN ⬩ TWO OR THE DRAGON
NAWA006 ⬩ 02 JUNE 2017 ⬩ Download
Two or The Dragon are the Lebanese electro-acoustic noise duo of Abed Kobeissy and Ali Hout.
Founded in 2014 under the premise of exploring Arabic music’s ability to express industrial city scapes and the violence that has plagued the Arab world, the duo’s unique sound of processed Buzuq (levantine long-necked lute) and various hand percussions takes the sonic and visual day-to-day that is Beirut and reflects it hyper-realistically.
The drilling and banging of post-war reconstruction and urban development, the incessant hum and vibration of electricity generators, private water pumps and gasoline motors, the cacophony of car horns in unpredictable traffic, all are represented alongside a wailing pseudo-political rallying cry in an unfathomable psuedo-Arabic tongue.
Without allowing nostalgia or frustration to take over their narrative, Two or The Dragon manage to creatively express both the ugliness and the beauty of this bitter reality in a manner not unlike the early recordings of Einsturzende Neubauten or the soundtrack to David Lynch’s Eraserhead.
Released to coincide with their first European outings, including an appearance at the UK’s Supersonic Festival, this 17-minute long three-part work serves as an introduction to the duo’s aesthetic and a taster of what’s to come next year.
ALBUM CREDITS
Abed Kobeissy: buzuq, vocals, effects
Ali Hout: daholla, kalimba, effects
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Khyam Allami at One Hertz studios, Beirut, November 2016
Cover image: MEA (detail) 2011 © Margot Becka
Artwork by Jana Traboulsi