Bleep

FLEE, a multi-disciplinary arts organisation, sets out to ‘look beyond a particular trend or genre and understand the socio-economical context in which it emerged’. First Kenyan Benga music, then the Italian ‘Tarantismo’, and now, on the third instalment of this immersive project Alan Marzo, Olivier Duport and Carl Åhnebrink turn their attention to the music of the pearl divers from the Arabic/Persian Gulf. Taking previously unheard archival recordings and reprocessing them though contemporary lenses, the project looks at history with a sideways glance. Hieroglyphic Being’s ‘Kuzaliwa Upya' epitomises this form, where a vocal sample peeks obscurely through electronic side chaining, seeking to be heard. Elsewhere tracks convey their archival material more explicitly — 'Dub Divers', ‘Sitt-il Muhanna' — or simply serve to propel the project’s sonic narrative, like on Ben Bertrand’s hopeful ambient classical piece ‘And The Ashes of Our Burning Souls Will Fly Away'. The direct archive works towards the end of the record serve to contextualise what’s just been heard, along with the accompanying text featuring articles by regional experts, regional photography and more. An ambitious, complex but rewarding collection.