When continents collide, they make a thunderous sound. Al-Qasar create the soundtrack to that fission. Arabian fuzz, they term it, a vision that’s brazenly electric and deeply connected to its roots. An explosive mix of heavy Arabian grooves, global psychedelia, and North African trance music. The band was started in the Barbès neighborhood of Paris by producer Thomas Attar Bellier, who brought together musicians from France, Lebanon, the USA, Morocco, Algeria, Armenia and Egypt. Says Thomas, “I’ve lived in Los Angeles, Paris, New York, Lisbon. I wanted to start a project that was in tune with the daily life of people living in these international cities, something diverse, radically colorful, with a fresh, contemporary outlook on what societies really look like today”. Their latest release – Who Are We? – is a deep, exhilarating album. Its intensity never wavers, music that pulls from the hypnotic roots of North African trance, woven into a fabric with the elaborate beauty of Arabic scales and the shock and thrill of rock’n’roll. It is modern folklore, a reflection of the cross-cultural society we’ve become. The continents have collided, and the result is deep magic. Al-Qasar has been on the JTMF roster for the past two festivals, but visa issues kept them from appearing. So we are beyond thrilled for them to light up the stage here in May.
