Lille-based Casablanca-born Omar EK has just released Reflets, his first electro-acoustic EP. Between two festivals, he recalls his summers in Morocco to offer us this selection as warm as it is personal.
Following a more than seductive live performance, PAM met with Omar EK at the end of 2021, to talk about the genesis of his solo project. From concerts to festivals, the multi-talented artist consolidated his style on stage while preparing his first EP, which finally saw the light of day last spring. The 5 tracks on Reflets are the result of an organic fusion, in which Omar samples guembri, karkabou and guitar riffs, rubbing them in with synths and machines that make the formula all the more contemporary. A self-taught musician, the Moroccan broke his will with punk, metal, acid-jazz and reggae bands before enriching his technical and cultural background through contact with musicians from Guinea, Cameroon and Brazil. Firmly attached to his roots, he draws on gnawa culture and his interest in 80s new wave to honor his country’s musical heritage with an electronic sound as reminiscent of Acid Arab as Daft Punk. In anticipation of his forthcoming EPs, paying tribute to other regions of Africa, Omar El Khaldi invites us to delve into his vacation memories…
“In the absence of fine weather in Lille, I had to make do with sunbeams gleaned from my summer memories. So I’ve put together a summer selection for the PAM Club: a condensed selection of tracks referring to my summers in Casablanca. These fragments of memory remind me of my first guitar chords, my first loves and my first Mahia benders -ماحيا. In this playlist, not necessarily made for dancing the night away (though…), I’ve also been able to select tracks by my North African idols as well as a few new discoveries of the moment. The whole thing is sprinkled with tracks from “Reflets”, my just-released debut EP. Happy listening!”
Tracklist:
Khaled – Mektoubi
Gnawa Diffusion – H’mar Dem
Issam Kamal & Mazagan – Atay
Omar EK – Houria
El Mizan – Zaman Thani
Karim Ziad – Aït Oumrar
Khaled – E’dir E’sseba
Maalem Mahmoud Guinia & Floating Points – Marhaba
Darga – Salam Alaykoum
Vinyl Mode – Shoft Alhala
Hajja Hamdaouia – Dabayji
Omar EK – Reflets
Pekodjinn – Chokri
Guedra Guedra – 40’ Feet
Ammar 808 & Mehdi Nassouli – Sidi Kommi
Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa – Ana Hayou
Karim Ziad – Amaliya
Mokhtar Samba & Habib Faye – Teria
Darga – Africa
