Sam Shalabi's name has popped up on various other records and projects, always with the note that he's of 'The Shalabi Effect.' The eponymous debut double-CD has finally been released through Alien8 in Montreal.
In addition to treated guitars, chimes and vinyl record clicks & pops, traditional middle-eastern drones, tablas and scraped metal add color to this aurally rich experience. For a two hour 11 minute journey, atmospheres are constructed, time melts, spaces is manipulated and moved. The production is remarkably clean and rich, and while much of this might have been pieced together from various takes and mix-downs, the sound is very much of a live semi-improvisational group playing off each other. In parts the music sounds like Orb-produced Indian restaurant music, while others sound like audio paintings of space images crossed with space transmissions. I can only think of two other examples of equally ambitious double-album debuts, both of which have become two of my fave albums of all time, so the Shalabi Effect is in good company.
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