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Various Artists Arabian Travels 2 Six Degrees, 2003
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Arabian Travels 2: A Step in the Right Direction

The blending of world music with modern electronic dance music can hardly be considered a new idea. We have been hearing it through the work of such big-name acts as the Thievery Corporation, the Trüby Trio, and Vikter Duplaix for years now. Yet there is something that restricts such Western artists to a classification of their own. A certain outside perspective is missing in the fusion of these two worlds--a perspective outside of the Western approach to studio production and years of creative innovation in the field of electronics. In adapting music from around the world, often times, the creative instincts of Western musicians/DJs/producers get in the way of their opening up to different interpretations of music from foreign cultures.

Arabian Travels 2 from the Six Degrees Travel Series presents a unique perspective on the influence of world music on the West. The compilation consists of a select group of musicians/producers/DJs who manage to keep one foot in the East and the other in the West. Spanning the globe, contributing artists include German DJ Stefan Müller, Japanese DJ/producer Makyo, French producer Christophe Goze, Irish DJ/producer Felix Rex, and accredited eastern musician Azadeh Abi of the United States. All featured artists have either Arabic roots or directly collaborate with musicians from the Middle East. All play a part in today's scene of world-music/electronic-dance fusion. The central concept behind this particular compilation, is the approach of the fusion of dance music from the East and the West from a western perspective of electronic dance music production yet from a musical perspective of the Middle East. Breaking with current trends to "sample" or cut and paste textures of the East onto four/four trends of western dance culture, Arabian Travels 2, presents a more musical approach to fusing the cultures of the Arabic world with the musical trends of the West. The compilation offers music of the Middle East influenced by Western dance music and not the other way around.

Opening up with "Sanäti" by Toires (a.k.a. Florian Sérlot), the trip begins with a soulful track influenced by the region of the Mahgreb. Sérlot is French by nationality yet spends much of his time traveling throughout the Mahgreb in his mission to mix the culture of the Western world with that of the Arabic world. Maverick songstress, Natacha Atlas of Egyptian descent is featured on vocals for this track. Opening up with a four/four, hip-hop beat, "Sanäti" most appropriately sets the album in motion as it gradually eases the western listener into a Middle Eastern experience with familiar rhythms and a dub-bass line. Offering deep, heavy tones alongside urban beats, these familiar elements give the piece a "bob your head", swaying quality--so familiar to western ears. Further into the piece, Arabic percussion is used in a vibrant way, bridging the gap between Western rhythms and microtonal melodies of the East.

The second track, "Nar I Ney", by Mercan Dede gradually moves further east, exploring a Turkish influence as Dede is a Turkish-born, Montreal-based musician/DJ/producer. Influenced by the spiritual traditions of Sufi music, Dede features such eastern instruments as the ney (reed flute) and the bendir. The most powerful aspect of this track is the subtle crescendo of swaying Middle Eastern percussion. Various Eastern drums and percussion create a sea of rhythm in the background of hypnotic melodies, dazzling the listener. Keeping with a four/four, yet hypnotic swaying rhythm, the track registers easily with the western perspective as a subtly different and distinctively Eastern song structure moves in a constant forward motion.

Skipping over to the fourth track, "Shalale", a unique track written in the five/four time signature by Makyo, a Tokyo-based producer and DJ who is dedicated to blending Asian and Middle Eastern ambient genres. The track was inspired by an old Jajouka tune from Morocco and features Middle Eastern percussion. Morrocan jajouka, along with trance music from India is found predominantly in the five/four or five/eight time signature creating mesmerizing rhythm and melodies. The Middle and Far East's interpretation of trance pushes the human mind and forces it to rationalize the likes of awkward and strange time signatures. This type of music becomes a type of spiritual expression, creating a much more enlightened version of trance music.

Generally speaking, world-music influenced dance music of the West (including hip hop) has for the most part merely sampled sonic textures of Arabic and Indian music, cutting and looping intervals of time to fit evenly within the context of four/four rhythm. This monotonously repetitive rhythm fades easily into the background of a club in Western culture and has unconsciously become an instinctive way for the West to dance. Western trance music, for example has tended to stick to a four/four hypnotic rhythm that exhausts the mind of the listener into a trance while the East takes the concept of mixing spirituality and music a step further. There needs to exist more of a musical discourse between the East and West in bridging the gap of genres (among other things). Luckily compilations like Arabian Travels 2 exist and this is a step in the right direction.

-Reviewed by Patrick Rolandelli
Contributed by Patrick Rolandelli