Acid Arab

French-Algerian collective Acid Arab fuse house and techno with numerous styles of dance music from throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa, including dabke, raï, and chaabi. The group are especially interested in combining the complex rhythmic structures of Eastern music with analog technology. They established their name with a series of parties and a 2013 EP series and compilation, then became an acclaimed international touring unit. They’ve since released three studio albums (2016′s Musique de France, 2019′s Jdid, and 2023′s Trois), which feature guests including Les Filles de Illighadad, Sofiane Saidi, and Rachid Taha.
DJs Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho formed Acid Arab in 2012, with Sex Schön’s Nicolas Borne and Pierre-Yves Casanova joining shortly afterward, followed by keyboardist Kenzi Bouras. Acid Arab quickly evolved from an idea to a party to a sound of its own, and a series of Acid Arab Collections EPs was released by Versatile Records in 2013, with contributors including Legowelt, Jorge Velez, I:Cube, Omar Souleyman, and many others. The CD Collections compiled many of the tracks from the series. After a final EP for Versatile, 2015′s Djazirat El Maghreb, Acid Arab signed to Belgium’s Crammed Discs and released their debut album, Musique de France, in 2016. Guests on the record included Algerian raï pioneer Rachid Taha, Yemenite-Israeli trio A-WA, and Turkish musician Cem Yıldız. Acid Arab remained a constant presence on international club and festival lineups, and their second album, Jdid, appeared in 2016. Les Filles de Illighadad, Ammar 808, and Amel Wahby all made appearances, along with returning guests like Rizan Said and Sofiane Saidi. Following the release of Remixed in 2022, Acid Arab’s third album, Trois, arrived in 2023, featuring Cheb Halim, Khnafer Lazhar, Fella Soltana, and a posthumous appearance from Taha, among other guests. ~ Paul Simpson