Friday March 29th, 2024
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Ensehab by Telepoetic

Making waves with their latest EP, Ensehab, Telepoetic's hard work has certainly paid off, as Eihab Boraie discovers. Who's up for some Experimental Electro Post-Rock?

Staff Writer

Every once in a while, something you hear surprises you because it is coming out of Egypt. For a long time, I wondered where all the weird and eclectic bands that are content with challenging mainstream conventions were hiding.

In the case of Telepoetic, the answer to where are they hiding is Alexandria. This trio made up of Amir Rizk on drums, Mohamed Desouky on bass, and Ahmed Saleh on guitars and synth pack a powerful,l sonic punch. Their eclectic sound is reminiscent of a fusion of Trans Am, Mogwai, The Octopus Project, and Pink Floyd’s earlier, experimental days. If it has to be given a genre, I guess one could call it Experimental Electro Post-Rock, but then again it would just be easier to say it is different, good and worth a listen.

Their debut album, Ensehab, has been released by the ever growing Egyptian family at 100Copies record label. The album kicks off with El Tanya, whic signals the alarm in your head that the trip you are taking is going to be experimental and winding. Once the bass enters, it becomes clear that it will be the driving force navigating the jam that is spread throughout the album.

Most of the tracks on the album are over five minutes long, which is more than ample time to introduce different movements within each track. Personally, I feel these movements ran a bit too long at times but, with abrupt, in rhythm it was forgivable. With a bit of trimming, the same could have been accomplished without bridging on being monotonous, resulting in a more immediate and accessible album for ears uninitiated into the Post-Rock genre.

Album highlights include Unicorn, Ensehab, and the closing track JPEG, but the entire album is a solid instrumental effort that takes unexpected turns that make you happy you took the trip. I couldn't help but think that this album would probably sound a lot better live than recorded, as the musicians wielding the instruments sound clearly talented.

For a trio to provide this textured of a sound with only guitars, synth, and percussion deserves applause, but to find this in Egypt deserves an ovation. I am looking forward to catching their set live as it easier to appreciate what is happening when you find yourself in the middle of the jam. In the meantime, I will just have to be satisfied with listening to Telepoetic's Ensehab on repeat as I navigate the Da2ery.

Find out more about Telepoetic on their Facebook page here.