Belgrade: “I like the idea that there are not many opportunities.” Thorben Beacon, the German half of electronic music duo Shakun, admires the liveliness and spontaneity of the live show.
His colleague Amin Khair, who met Bacon in Hamburg in 2015 seeking asylum from the civil war in his home country of Syria, reflects this sentiment. “We’re not afraid to make mistakes on stage…it’s important to be real – that’s what makes things interesting, and our audience responds to it.”
In fact, this organic, synthesized formula forms the basis of the couple’s new live album “FIRAQ” (Arabic for “Taksim” or “The Division”) released via WTR/MDLBEAST Records on May 20.
Influenced by electronic percussion, dip house, dub, and hip-hop, Shakoun has established himself as one of the most exciting breakthroughs in the Arabic electronic scene that debuted in 2019. “Rima” was a sweet and bitter experience in combining an instrument in the style of Arabic music And western electro, featuring mixed “Oriental Slow-House” sounds, keys, chords, synchronization and rhythms.
In 2015, Emin Kouer met Bacon in Hamburg. (Submitted)
Among the internationally acclaimed and exciting tour around her first LP, Shakun follows the 15-track show “Rima”, which also includes the live broadcast of “Alaa Mouj El Bahr” and previously released popular songs. “letters.”
The new record, “FIRAQ”, also lifts the veil on eight brand-new tracks. Directed by a sad piano, hypnotic hearing and emotionally charged vocals, the lead single “Mulagia” is a reinterpretation of the classic “Folk Al-Nakal” by Iraqi legend Nassim Al-Qasali. “A03” is a remake of the Arabic folk song “Digi Diji Ya Rababa” and “QQQ” by Egyptian singer and composer Said Darwish “The Sweet Di”.
The journey of investigation the second year of their release came as a result of personal tragedy and Shakoun’s collective desire to seek artistic inspiration.
“A few days before the performance was taped, I lost a close member of my family,” Carey says. “I was in a completely different world, but I insisted on moving on.
“We weren’t doing shows at the time due to the COVID lockdowns, so it’s a way to get involved in live play and express all my environment and emotion,” he explains. “that means alot to me.”
The album salutes the cousin of the artwork Khair, whose drawings were adapted by artist and designer Hadeer Omar.
“Honestly, when we first recorded it, we didn’t know we were releasing it as an album,” Bacon admits. “We thought of the show as a story to tell in a direct context, and that’s where Shakun really shines.”
This is also where the two musicians express their thoughts. Bacon added: “There’s a lot of writing going on when we’re in a hurry, even when playing live. We like to take sketches and build on them; In fact, there is no formula for how to write.”
“Sometimes, when I hear certain tones or elements of a melody that remind me of an old song I grew up listening to, it triggers an idea,” Carey says. “I’m bringing him to Thorpe. We’ll start synthesizing it until it’s more — it’s very organic.”
Shakoon can’t always be said to be within their comfort zone. “We were contacted by the (Lebanese pop star) management, Raqib Alama,” Khair recalls. “They asked us to remix anything from his list.”
Settling into Alama’s “Ya Rat” is only the beginning of such a straightforward process.
“At first we didn’t know how to deal with the remix. All we had was a lead recording from the ’80s — nothing helped us isolate the individual tracks, so we had to get creative,” says Bacon. Because that’s not the sound people expect of us. “
“In the end, the response has been very positive,” Kher says. “Everyone, including us, was amazed at the result. It took nearly a year, but it paid off.
Shakoon’s next stage is to focus on where they feel most at home. As Khair waits for the end of a lengthy bureaucratic process related to his immigrant status in Germany, they will get the “teams” on a summer road full of direct duties.
“We do shows together as often as we can, but if there’s a place I can’t go because of my cards, Thorben will play alone,” Kaer explains.
Shakoun is optimistic about the future, but in the meantime he insists “we need to be flexible”.