Smugglers Way has announced its newest signing, Guedra Guedra, the electronic music project of Moroccan producer Abdellah M. Hassak. The sound of Guedra Guedra is a dazzling compound of visionary electronics and musical traditions drawn from across the continent of Africa. Smugglers Way, an imprint of Domino, will release Guedra Guedra’s second album MUTANT (mixed by Marta Salogni, mastered by Heba Kadry) on August 29th.
On MUTANT, Abdellah blends analogue synths and drum machines with fiel...
Smugglers Way has announced its newest signing, Guedra Guedra, the electronic music project of Moroccan producer Abdellah M. Hassak. The sound of Guedra Guedra is a dazzling compound of visionary electronics and musical traditions drawn from across the continent of Africa. Smugglers Way, an imprint of Domino, will release Guedra Guedra’s second album MUTANT (mixed by Marta Salogni, mastered by Heba Kadry) on August 29th.
On MUTANT, Abdellah blends analogue synths and drum machines with field recordings from Morocco, Tanzania, Guinea, and more, gathered while traveling across the vast landmass. MUTANT explores themes of identity, Pan-Africanism, Afrofuturism, and decolonization, bridging the musical heritage of the continent with elements of techno, bass music, and dub. “I wanted to have a cultural sound that explored innovation with African and diasporic music alongside the vibes of rhythm and the vibes of bass,” says Abdellah.
Guedra Guedra has shared MUTANT’s hypnotic first single, “Drift of Drummer,” along with its accompanying music video, shot in Marrakech and directed by Romain Cherbonnier. Taking inspiration from the musical traditions of the town of Kouroussa in Guinea, “Drift of Drummer” foregrounds the djembé drum, a key instrument in West African music that was played in the fields to energize workers, with rhythms mirroring the sounds of labor. “African percussion is more than just music; it represents the heartbeat of life, from breathing and walking to the changing seasons and the pulse of the earth,” says Abdellah.
Read moreless