Name: Saet El Haz (The Luck Hour)
Brand: Maurice Louca

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

SR 519LP

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Colour

White

Colour details

Marbled Vinyl

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Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2022-02-11

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Forced Exposure

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

5411867335191

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / white

Artist

Maurice Louca

Genre US

Jazz

Label US

Northern Spy Records

Maurice Louca is an Egyptian composer and performer of experimental music. His unique sound blends traditional Arabic music with electronic elements, creating a captivating and innovative musical experience.

With influences ranging from jazz to psychedelic rock, Louca's compositions are known for their intricate melodies and hypnotic rhythms. He has collaborated with renowned artists such as Ben LaMar Gay, The Dwarfs of East Agouza, and Hello Psychaleppo, pushing the boundaries of genre and defying expectations.

Louca's performances are a mesmerizing fusion of live instrumentation and electronic manipulation. His mastery of both acoustic and digital instruments allows him to create rich sonic landscapes that transport audiences to new realms.

Maurice Louca is one of the most gifted musicians and composers on Egypt's thriving underground music scene. This full-length album draws voraciously on Arabic music, psychedelic folk. The title Saet El-Hazzis a coded saying in Egypt to refer to a good time and usually implies a great deal of debauchery. "When you mention to someone that you've had a saet hazz, there are no questions asked. It is what it is." The initial spark for Saet El-Hazz (The Luck Hour) was Louca's desire to collaborate with "A" Trio, the Lebanese improvisational group featuring Mazen Kerbaj on prepared trumpet, Sharif Sehnaoui on prepared guitar, and Raed Yassin on prepared double bass. "When the three of them come together they create a sonic cosmos entirely their own. I started by composing music that I wanted to have exist within this sonic world- at times in harmony, or clashing with it, and all the emotional ranges in between." Just as "A" Trio served as the spark, a commission from Mophradat, an arts organization based out of Brussels, was the tinder. The commission was for a new composition to be performed using instruments that Louca would modify to play microtonally. This led him to Turkey and Indonesia. In Istanbul, he worked with a luthier to custom-make a guitar. In Surakarta, he ended up with an instrument maker tuning a Serang-referred to as the Indonesian xylophone, part of the family of Gamelan tuned percussion instruments. These new modified instruments opened up the composition to new tonal possibilities which drove Louca to expand his line up to include Khaled Yassine, a longtime collaborator and versatile percussionist and drummer, Christine Kazaryan, a dynamic harpist whom he met via Praed Orchestra, and Anthea Caddy, a cellist who came highly recommended from the Berlin free improv scene. Saet El-Hazz (The Luck Hour) is a long form composition of six movements, recorded over the course of a week in August 2019 at A/B studios in Brussels. RIYL: Sun City Girls, Tortoise, Nadah El Shazly, Amirtha Kidambi, Don Cherry, Jaubi, Pharoah Sanders, Sunil Ganguly.

Saet El Haz (The Luck Hour)

Music US