Se formaron en 2012 cuando Maurice Louca (Alif, Bikya), Sam Shalabi (Land of Kush, Shalabi Effect) y Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls, The Invisible Hands, Alvarius B.), vivían en el mismo edificio de apartamentos, en el distrito de Agouza en El Cairo. El trío tiene siete discos editados en los que han colaborado con artistas renombrados del underground como Chris Corsano y Bill Orcutt.

En este disco Alan Bishop toca el bajo acústico, vocales y saxo alto; Maurice Louca, teclados y batería programable y Sam Shalabi, guitarra eléctrica.

“High Tide In The Lowlands” se basa en sesiones de improvisación en las que se desarrollan sublimes riffs de guitarra combinados con un rico uso de polirritmos árabes y africanas.

“Baka of the Future” que abre el disco comienza con un solo de guitarra, donde Shalabi realiza algunos punteos y rasgueos mostrando su destreza como guitarrista. Luego se da paso a una suave percusión que flota sobre una vacilante guitarra que se arremolina y teje frases que se desarrollan improvisadamente, mientras las pulsaciones de bajo trepidan animadamente. Hacia el final de este track, las clavijas de la guitarra coexisten con otros efectos de pedales ondulantes. En el segundo tema “The Sprouting of the 7th Entertainment” - una actuación en vivo - que cierra el álbum, Bishop expele una gritos burlones agregando una suerte de spoken-word teatral, cuando irrumpe un saxo que despliega un balbuceo de sonidos retorcidos y los poliritmos conducen a un trance inducido.

The Dwarfs of East Agouza muestra una combinación de avant-garde, psicodelia, free-jazz, junto a los ritmos africanos y del Oriente Medio y desde luego músicos con vocación a experimentar. 

https://subrosalabel.bandcamp.com/album/high-tide-in-the-lowlands

https://thedwarfsofeastagouza.bandcamp.com/album/bes

Guillermo Escudero

Mayo 2023

They formed in 2012 when Maurice Louca (Alif, Bikya), Sam Shalabi (Land of Kush, Shalabi Effect) and Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls, The Invisible Hands, Alvarius B.), lived in the same apartment building, in the Agouza district in Cairo. The trio has released seven albums on which they have collaborated with renowned underground artists such as Chris Corsano and Bill Orcutt.

On this album Alan Bishop plays acoustic bass, vocals and alto sax; Maurice Louca, keyboards and drum machine and, Sam Shalabi, electric guitar.

“High Tide In The Lowlands” improvisation predominates and draws the listener into sublime guitar riffs combined with a rich use of Arabic and African polyrhythms.

The opener “Baka of the Future” begins with a guitar solo, where Shalabi performs some picking and strumming showing off his skills as a guitarist. This is followed by soft percussion that hover over a hesitant guitar that swirls and weaves phrases that develop improvised, while the bass pulses vibrate animatedly. Towards the end of this track, the guitar pegs coexist with other undulating pedal effects. On the second track “The Sprouting of the 7th Entertainment” that closes the album, Bishop lets out a mocking scream adding a sort of theatrical spoken-word, as a sax bursts in, unleashing a babble of twisted sounds and polyrhythms leading into a trance induced. 

The Dwarfs of East Agouza showcase a combination of avant-garde, psychedelia, free-jazz, along with African and Middle Eastern rhythms and, for sure, musicians with a vocation to experiment.

https://subrosalabel.bandcamp.com/album/high-tide-in-the-lowlands

https://thedwarfsofeastagouza.bandcamp.com/album/bes

Guillermo Escudero

May 2023