El Khat - Mute

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 1 / 2 / 2025

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Review

Arab Jews from Yemen who recently moved to Berlin from Jaffa, El Khat have called their album 'Mute' since each place they stayed silenced them (by force). El Khat's multi-instrumentalist ànd singer Eyal El Wahab is a self-taught cello player who manufactures his own instruments from scrap material, building the goods for a sound that today still does not have a descriptive name. Yefet Hasan plays the keyboards with a keen ear for cinematic beauty, and his snappy Sixties riffs that highlight the solid percussion by Lotan Yaish. At times you're led to believe you're listening to a little orchestra as El Khat's sound encompasses a wide range of acoustic and brass instruments. To some extent 'Mute' is Yemeni rock'n roll; ten tracks in forty minutes with a distinctive joyful and festive touch to them thar do not give away they were conceived and even recorded in imposed isolation. Most definitely music for a better world.

Track Listing:-

1 Tislami Tislami
2 La waLa
3 Tabl Yamani
4 Commodore Lothan
5 Almania
6 Zafa
7 Zafa : Talaatam
8 Ward
9 DJ Saadia
10 Intissar

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/elkhatmusic
https://www.instagram.com/elkhatmusic
https://elkhat-music.bandcamp.com

Play in YouTube:-

Have a Listen:-