Acid Arab are rather late to their Baker’s Dozen appointment, largely it seems thanks to the Paris launch of their second album Jdid. Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho apparently ushering it in with a wild release party only fitting for a record full of internationally-influenced bangers. "It was crazy," says Guido, laughing.
Jdid is a richer sounding and more collaborative record than their debut, Musique de France, from 2016, featuring guest musicians and singers on every track. "I think the main difference is the use of the Arabic content," says Minisky. "On the first one it was more us trying to emulate this music. This one is really a lot of guests who brought their instruments, the voices, the chords, the beats. All our input is based on techno and house and the occidental part of this music."
Acid Arab started out as a DJ outfit in the early part of this decade after a trip to Tunisia provided them with a musical epiphany. The Parisian duo have been playing Arabic music mixed with techno since 2012. In that time period, a band has gradually evolved, playing Raï, the rebel folk music of Algeria, psychedelic Turkish folk and Syrian dabke. They recently became a five piece after the full time recruitment of keyboard player Kenzi Bourras, and a new set is about to be unleashed upon the world in support of the new record. DJ sets meanwhile remain spontaneous and unpredictable, dependent on "the crowd, the club, the hour," says Guido. "Sometimes we’re at a festival at four in the afternoon, sometimes it’s a club at night, so we’re always trying to adapt what we do because we never know what’s going to happen."
Click on the image below to begin exploring Acid Arab’s Baker’s Dozen selection
