Cairene artists ZULI & Rama unveil the second installment of their irsh series, did you mean: irish vol. 2, inviting a slew of new, young, up-and-coming producers and DJs from the electronic scene.
Once upon a time before the Covid-19 Pandemic, two DJs by the name of Rama, a resident of the independent Bristol-based Noods Radio who favors hip-hop, club music and ambient, and ZULI, a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and Egyptian electro avant-gardist, took upon themselves to start a video series, irsh, where they would invite fellow Cairene artists and those passing through the city to jam. It gave them the perfect excuse to meet and play together while also providing these musicians with the means to showcase their talents.
But the health crisis put their project on hold. Not deterred in the least, the two friends decided to collect the recordings they had so far with the artists that were able to participate in the irsh series before the start of health restrictions. They also called on their international circle of friends and affiliates, helped by the fact that ZULI has been curating his long-standing NTS show with artists from all over the world since 2016. Thus, their video series pivoted into something else: a compilation expressing their skills as expert tastemakers entitled did you mean: irish vol. 1 released in September 2020.
However, the story does not stop there. Pleased with the result of their first compilation, the duo decided to give it another go. They met with a new batch of fresh up-and-coming artists to produce did you mean irish: vol. 2. It features the pairing of Yaseen with Palestinian rapper Dakn along with ABADIR and 3Phaz present on the instrumental grime track “Kabbut” with ZULI. Also featured is trance, breaks, lo-fi beat science, and hard club tracks from KIK’s Ismael, Lebanese electronic music veteran Liliane Chlela, multidisciplinary artist Omar El Sadek under his QoW moniker, up-and-comer Postdrone, 0N4B (Onsy and ABADIR), as well as Egyptian artists ltfll, 1127 and El Kontessa who return to the series along with newcomers Ashrar, Assyouti, Islam Elnabawi and Seleem. A full slate of talent for a mega-project in North African and diaspora club music.
did you mean irish: vol. 2 out July 8th.
