Following two years of work and collaborative effort, The Invisible Hands, the new project of Alvarius B, aka Alan Bishop formerly of Sun City Girls, released their self-titled debut album (artwork above) earlier this week. Out on Abduction, have a listen to LP cut ‘Soma’ below:
‘Soma’s an apt taster for the folk rock coloured by psychedelic flourishes that makes up The Invisible Hands (the English translation of the band’s original Egyptian name El Ayadi El Khafeyya). Bishop moved to Cairo in the middle of the Egyptian revolution in 2011 and set out to create the album amidst the tumultuous backdrop. For the record, he sought out traditional Middle Eastern sounds and enlisted Cherif El Masri and Aya Hemeda, formerly of Egyptian band Eskenderella, and drummer Magued Nagati, with Sam Shalabi on oud and Mohaned Medhat on viola and violin enriching the sound.
The tracks have been recorded in both English and Arabic, and while the latter is currently only available in the Middle East, there are plans to package the two versions together as a limited edition double-vinyl.
In addition, the band will be releasing a limited edition 7" for Record Store Day on April 20, featuring material not found on the album, including an orchestrated version of two Alvarius B tracks, ‘Insect Dilemma’ and ‘Disallowed’, and ‘Lili Twil’, a 70s Moroccan folk song covered by Hemeda.
