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MH-272 Andre Afram Asmar - Harmonic Emergency  Shortly after Andre Afram Asmar began working on Harmonic Emergency, the follow up to his acclaimed 2003 Mush debut Racetothebottom, he suffered an aneurism that left him with only half of his faculties intact. The completion of the album became the most therapeutic practice Asmar would undertake, and he sought out musicians to help him realize the vision that he feared he might have lost. With an international list of collaborators, including legendary reggae bass player Fully Fullwood, drummers from all over Latin America and the Middle East, and vocalists from Syria and Israel, Asmar collected hours of original source material for Harmonic Emergency. Combining epic arrangements, flowing production, and a master’s touch on the board learned at the feet of some of dub’s greatest mixers, Asmar breathes true urgency into Harmonic Emergency; frequencies clash to uneasy resolutions, genres pile atop each other with astounding effectiveness and live percussion is suddenly overwhelmed by adrenalized electronics. As the third world struggles to make itself heard from outside the halls of power, Harmonic Emergency seeks to project the intensity of that very voice from within. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| Dub reggae messes with sounds through addition, subtraction, distortion, and sudden shifts - iTunes / Harmonic Emergency was primarily a dub-rooted project with sound fragments looped and echoed into oblivion - Prefix / AAA may well be on a road leading through dance clubs - Rap Talk / Far to much to savor with just one dose - Aiding & Abetting / This is an album that is made from love of life and all it has to offer - Scratched Vinyl |
| Reviews | |
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| Harmonic Emergency is more than just an album title by Andre Afram Asmar, it is a call for action. If people think that the state of the world feels like everything will collapse, perhaps it is in dire need of harmony, and thus Asmar has put together an album that is that calling for some sense of harmony and togetherness. Most of the music was recorded and mixed in the early 00′s, so this sense of Harmonic Emergency has been planned out for some time. What you’ll hear on the album is a mixture of samples, real instrumentation and some of those recordings chopped up and twisted into a journey I think all of us should take in our lifetime, one that involves exploring new places, music, people and their cultures. Asfar sounds like he’s just opening cultural doors and adding a bit of modern technology to it, so you’ll hear reggae, Middle Eastern and Asian sounds playing in a sonic playground that can only be done in our minds or in secret. Harmonic Emergency are the secrets revealed and witnessed, and oh what a sight and sound it is. I hate the term “world fusion” as it often leads to music,producers and arrangers trying to make their music a Disney-fied version of It’s A Small World. The world as we view it may not be nice but that comes through misunderstanding. Entering Asmar’s music world is coming in to understand, and passing the plate. If everyone is good, I’ll take seconds. - This Is Books Music |
