Elephantine Maurice Louca SKU: SRV474 Barcode: 5411867334743 19.00 £19.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Sub Rosa Released Date: 8th February 2019 Buying Format: 1LP Out of stock Back Order Add to your Wishlist Description Product Info On Elephantine, his new Northern Spy album, Cairo-based Maurice Louca guides a 12-piece ensemble through a 38-minute masterwork that might best be described as panoramic. Elements of free improvisation, Sun Ra’s cosmic jazz, gorgeous Arabic melody, trancelike African and Yemeni music and minimalism meet in his wholly unique compositional vision. Louca also makes vital contributions on guitar and piano, and inspires stirring performances from a global lineup. Simply put, Elephantine—which Louca calls “by far my most ambitious work”—would stand as a grand achievement for any musician, of any background. But for an artist hailing from Egypt, where the history of expression has been equally brilliant and daunting, the album is astounding. In recent years, Louca has become something of an ambassador for his nation’s thriving experimental music scene, via two previous solo records and an evolving lineup of genre-defying collaborations. The Wire called his 2014 sophomore effort, Salute the Parrot, “remarkable music—dense, driven and splashed with colour.” In 2017, the self-titled debut by Lekhfa, the trio of Louca and vocalists Maryam Saleh and Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, was praised as an “edgy triumph” in The Guardian. This past July, Louca appeared again in The Wire, in a cover story on “Cairo’s new wave” that featured his solo work as well as the Dwarfs of East Agouza, his mesmeric unit with Sam Shalabi and Sun City Girls’ Alan Bishop. Louca’s narrative begins with music we all know, albeit in circumstances that most of us can’t imagine. Born in Cairo in 1982, he started on guitar at age 12, and became immersed in the music of the MTV era, as well as such 60s psychedelic mainstays as Pink Floyd, Hendrix, and the Doors. These were pre-Internet years in a country with state-run media, so access was scarce; tapes were dubbed and traded at school, along with bits and pieces of information. By the mid-to-late-’90s, spurred on by a media panic that connected metal fans to Satanic ritual, the state had essentially outlawed live rock music. Louca, just in his early teens, was able to rehearse with his bands and explore his burgeoning interest in songwriting. But booking gigs was almost impossible, and he witnessed older generations playing rock and metal become targets of the authorities. “It was a very, very depressing time to be a musician,” he reflects. As the ’90s became the aughts, the reins were loosened on live music, and Louca’s tastes eventually expanded into classical and contemporary Arabic music, especially the street-level pop called shaabi, as well as the avant-garde and electronic music. Accordingly, his toolbox grew to include the synthesizer, laptop, sampler and drum machine. Following the Arab Spring protests of 2011, a galvanized DIY scene developed in Cairo, building upon the passion and elbow grease of the music and arts community that’d been gathering steam in Egypt throughout the prior decade. Artists, promoters and fans could suddenly operate without police oversight, and the results were remarkable, with shows attracting large numbers of concertgoers. Sadly, as new leadership has taken hold in Egypt, and as those leaders have been alarmed by the sight of tens of thousands of spirited young people joining together, performance opportunities have regressed. A system of dedicated promoters and artists has been replaced by what preceded it, namely embassies and institutions with the funds to throw events in an economically distressed nation. A mind-boggling 14 governmental permits are required to throw the average gig, in addition to other requisite bribes and payoffs. Not surprisingly, the lack of operational spaces is dismaying. “When you have millions of people and around 10 venues,” Louca says, “there’s something wrong.” Despite these challenges, Egypt continues to provide fertile ground for Louca and his peers, like the celebrated Egyptian visual artist Maha Maamoun, who contributes the album’s cover art. Today, the Egyptian scene is a familiar feature of contemporary art and experimental music festivals across Europe. Certain components of Elephantine, especially Louca’s use of avant-jazz-style improv, a developing fascination, required the composer to go outside Egypt’s rich talent pool and tap players from Italy, Iraq, Sweden, Turkey and Denmark. The sessions, however, held in 2017 in Stockholm, made these efforts worthwhile. “There was a blessed thing about the process of making this record,” he says. “The dynamic between us musically but also as people … it was a very exciting time.” Artist Maurice Louca Genre Jazz Label Sub Rosa Buying Options 1LP Format 1LP Condition New Country United Kingdom Share this On Facebook On Twitter Via Email More from Jazz View Product Quick View Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers Meet You At The Jazz Corner Of The World Volume 1 Jazz | Blue Note | 180g, 1LP Released 15th November 2019 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers Meet You At The Jazz Corner Of The World Volume 1 £20.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Blue Note SKU: 807386 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 15th November 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Jackie McLean Jackie’s Bag Jazz | Analogue Productions | 180g, 2LP, 45rpm Released 20th September 2008 £49.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Jackie McLean Jackie’s Bag £49.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Analogue Productions SKU: AP84051 Formats: 180g, 2LP, 45rpm Released Date: 20th September 2008 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Seth MacFarlane Blue Skies Jazz | Blue Note | 1LP Released 20th May 2022 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Seth MacFarlane Blue Skies £20.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Blue Note SKU: 4519615 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 20th May 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Yusef Lateef The Blue Yusef Lateef Jazz | Music On Vinyl | 180g, 1LP Released 4th August 2014 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Yusef Lateef The Blue Yusef Lateef £20.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Music On Vinyl SKU: MOVLP1139 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 4th August 2014 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Nguyên Lê Quartet Streams Jazz | ACT | 1LP Released 22nd February 2019 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Nguyên Lê Quartet Streams £20.00 Genre: Jazz Label: ACT SKU: ACT98761 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 22nd February 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Hank Mobley Curtain Call Jazz | Blue Note Tone Poet | 180g, 1LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released 22nd April 2022 £33.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Hank Mobley Curtain Call £33.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Blue Note Tone Poet SKU: 3551980 Formats: 180g, 1LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released Date: 22nd April 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Cassandra Wilson Blue Light Til’ Dawn (Classic Vinyl Series) Jazz | Blue Note | 180g, 2LP Released 15th April 2022 £30.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Cassandra Wilson Blue Light Til’ Dawn (Classic Vinyl Series) £30.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Blue Note SKU: 3876190 Formats: 180g, 2LP Released Date: 15th April 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Freddie Hubbard Hub Tones Jazz | Analogue Productions | 180g, 2LP, 45rpm Released 1st March 2013 £55.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Freddie Hubbard Hub Tones £55.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Analogue Productions SKU: ABNJ84115 Formats: 180g, 2LP, 45rpm Released Date: 1st March 2013 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Mildlife Live from South Channel Island Jazz | Heavenly | 2LP Released 29th April 2022 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Mildlife Live from South Channel Island £22.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Heavenly SKU: HVNLP199 Formats: 2LP Released Date: 29th April 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Charlie Haden Nocturne Jazz | Universal Play 33 1/3 Series | 180g, 2LP Release Date TBC £TBC Pre Order View Pre/Back Orders Charlie Haden Nocturne £TBC Genre: Jazz Label: Universal Play 33 1/3 Series SKU: DZ3109 Formats: 180g, 2LP Released Date: Read More Pre Order View Pre/Back Orders See more in Jazz Start again
View Product Quick View Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers Meet You At The Jazz Corner Of The World Volume 1 Jazz | Blue Note | 180g, 1LP Released 15th November 2019 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers Meet You At The Jazz Corner Of The World Volume 1 £20.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Blue Note SKU: 807386 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 15th November 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Jackie McLean Jackie’s Bag Jazz | Analogue Productions | 180g, 2LP, 45rpm Released 20th September 2008 £49.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Jackie McLean Jackie’s Bag £49.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Analogue Productions SKU: AP84051 Formats: 180g, 2LP, 45rpm Released Date: 20th September 2008 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Seth MacFarlane Blue Skies Jazz | Blue Note | 1LP Released 20th May 2022 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Seth MacFarlane Blue Skies £20.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Blue Note SKU: 4519615 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 20th May 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Yusef Lateef The Blue Yusef Lateef Jazz | Music On Vinyl | 180g, 1LP Released 4th August 2014 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Yusef Lateef The Blue Yusef Lateef £20.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Music On Vinyl SKU: MOVLP1139 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 4th August 2014 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Nguyên Lê Quartet Streams Jazz | ACT | 1LP Released 22nd February 2019 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Nguyên Lê Quartet Streams £20.00 Genre: Jazz Label: ACT SKU: ACT98761 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 22nd February 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Hank Mobley Curtain Call Jazz | Blue Note Tone Poet | 180g, 1LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released 22nd April 2022 £33.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Hank Mobley Curtain Call £33.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Blue Note Tone Poet SKU: 3551980 Formats: 180g, 1LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released Date: 22nd April 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Cassandra Wilson Blue Light Til’ Dawn (Classic Vinyl Series) Jazz | Blue Note | 180g, 2LP Released 15th April 2022 £30.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Cassandra Wilson Blue Light Til’ Dawn (Classic Vinyl Series) £30.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Blue Note SKU: 3876190 Formats: 180g, 2LP Released Date: 15th April 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Freddie Hubbard Hub Tones Jazz | Analogue Productions | 180g, 2LP, 45rpm Released 1st March 2013 £55.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Freddie Hubbard Hub Tones £55.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Analogue Productions SKU: ABNJ84115 Formats: 180g, 2LP, 45rpm Released Date: 1st March 2013 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Mildlife Live from South Channel Island Jazz | Heavenly | 2LP Released 29th April 2022 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Mildlife Live from South Channel Island £22.00 Genre: Jazz Label: Heavenly SKU: HVNLP199 Formats: 2LP Released Date: 29th April 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders
View Product Quick View Charlie Haden Nocturne Jazz | Universal Play 33 1/3 Series | 180g, 2LP Release Date TBC £TBC Pre Order View Pre/Back Orders Charlie Haden Nocturne £TBC Genre: Jazz Label: Universal Play 33 1/3 Series SKU: DZ3109 Formats: 180g, 2LP Released Date: Read More Pre Order View Pre/Back Orders