- The Maghreban's music has undergone some changes. When I spoke to Ayman Rostom earlier this year, he described it as a "blunt instrument." Appropriately, Wonder Woman, his second EP for Versatile, is as hard-hitting as anything he's made, but lately he seems more disciplined, his swing more exacting. That's not to say it's any less weird. Rostom's samples are taken from all sorts of places: on "Frénétique," you can hear snippets from cartoons and sex tapes, and "Kung Fu"'s title comes from its Wu-Tang-inspired use of film dialogue.
"Wonder Woman" illustrates something else that Rostom has added to his locker. A Casio synth, introduced halfway through, does a pretty good impression of a saxophone; on "Afric," a 2014 single, those same keys were used as a disruptive force rather than a soothing one. However much The Maghreban's music has evolved, though, it still has bags of charisma. "Frénétique"'s elastic bassline and palm-smack snare collide to create an irresistible beat, and the clattering drums and queasy synths on "Kung Fu" are a reminder that Rostom can still deliver a primal, hairy-fisted blow.
TracklistA1 Wonder Woman
B1 Frénétique
B2 Kung Fu