Acid Arab - Ras El Ain (3Phaz Remix)

  • Frantic drumming and wild keyboard lines abound on this track featuring Syrian musician Rizan Said.
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  • The original "Ras El Ain" was a scorched earth banger, slathering Rizan Said's keyboard melody in a thick layer of distortion, then adding crunchy kick drums and corrosive acid leads to the melee. Slow and lumbering, it was like a demonic version of the wedding music Omar Souleyman is best known for. In self-described post-chaabi Egyptian producer 3Phaz's hands—from a new and vibrant remix album—it becomes a rattling club anthem, the keyboard melody clipped and recycled into a frantic, whirling figure. The precocious percussion falls away for a breakdown that leads into a reinforced broken techno section, with unpredictable drums made to wreak havoc on a dance floor. It's a highlight from a remix LP that underlines the ahead-of-its-time fusion of the Acid Arab project, as cross-cultural influences feed back in on each other to create something truly unique.
RA