Yemen Blues are a border questioning quartet with disparate roots and a unified vision to dispel tired ethnic stereotypes, confuse genre purists and get the party started.
I've just stumbled across their latest summer LP via the power of the deceptively named "MISS BALLAD", although perhaps I should have focussed more on the CAPS rather than the word ballad, but who really cares when you can just hit play and experience the far out fusion of desert roots music and a decidedly Western guitar riff that Led Zeppelin would have been proud of. It's enough to make the least curious listener wonder if all things, especially music, aren't interconnected by centuries of largely shameful history and perhaps even a universal consciousness.
But don't stop there, head right over to the album for more adventures in old meets new, East meets West fusion encompassing Yemeni wedding punk, thumping space rock, astral folk, urban Arabian attitude and hyper-speed Middle Eastern futurism. It's a trip.
Playlist Companion:
Find "MISS BALLAD" in fine lysergic company over at the Slow Psyche Playlist.
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