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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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| Every recording has some sort of narrative behind it. There might have been no troubles in the lead up to the release of a record, but that seems pretty rare. Instead, the production process is generally laden with logistical problems stemming from any number of distinct and isolated issues. Sometimes it’s all an equipment hassle or simply that someone hasn’t done what’s been promised. In the case of Mush Records’ Andre Afram Asmar (AAA) an aneurysm got in the way. Pesky brain. But that was back around the release of the producers last long player issued in 2004. A long recovery was obviously needed. But the down time was apparently an auspicious time. And despite the fact that the bedrock of the tracks comprising Harmonic Emergency was begun almost a decade back, the whole thing resounds as something kinda new. Somewhat detached from his work with Circus, the Palestinian musician here has worked to craft a kind of unique middle ground between JA’s conception of dub and remixes with an American understanding of electronic music run through New York hip hop and a left coast cool. AAA opens Harmonic Emergency with a “We Want U 2 Know” and counts JA percussionist RAS Michael as its vocalist. Beginning with a track so tied to a specific country’s music might make listeners think that what’s set to follow is more of the same. But after the space intro which turns into a space aged dub, there’s simply adventure as opposed to stasis in its wake. Some expletives spoken by a Middle Easterner grant listeners entrance into “Xactly.” And while the track retains some of JA music’s rhythm, the samples AAA includes in addition to the endless layers of production noise serve to make the track something completely separate from that one island’s musical legacy. By the time listeners make it through to the final few cuts, there doesn’t seem to be any combination of non-US based material AAA can’t figure out how to include. His Palestinian lineage isn’t subservient to anything represented over the course of Harmonic Emergency, but with every individual music tarted up to properly jive with what it sits next to, listening for sources becomes a futile endeavor. With that lengthily hiatus behind him and the release of this album, AAA may well be on a road leading through dance clubs. Let’s hope that’s the case. And if it is, grab a ticket right quick. - Rap Talk |
