Fuze Mel M'rabet & Victor Nesrallah
Gig Seeker Pro

Fuze Mel M'rabet & Victor Nesrallah

| SELF | AFM

| SELF | AFM
Band World Acoustic

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Mel M'rabet Reviews"

Mel M'rabet's World Fusion Music
Reviews
X-press magazine
“Whereas most Andalusian instrumentalists are content to imitate human voice techniques, M'rabet has set out to explore new ways of playing world music. Yet he does not fall into the trap of letting virtuosity become an end in itself: his desire to excel always takes second place to his innovative impulse and thirst to explore uncharted musical terrain. His new fingernail technique will soon draw interest and perhaps criticism among traditionalists of the oud/guitar.”

Toronto Star
“Granada Oud/Guitar player, Mel M'rabet, has demonstrated a great dexterity never seen before, at the Brigantine room, part of the World Music Festival at Harbourfront Centre. M'rabet bases his fusion on his roots and intertwines them with western instruments. So many artists use eastern instruments as decoration, he on the other hand does the contrary.”

The Evening Standard
"I think we were lucky to be in that enchanted loft. We were seeing the beginning of something that is going to make waves."

Mojo
"It's music that tethers Third world beats to First World technology, a thin cross-cultural membrane connecting the ancient with the modern, the sacred with the profane."

Time Out
"...the Andalusian-Canadian vocalist and oud/guitar/saz virtuoso juxtaposes modal styles with Jazz...”

Bravo! Channel
“Oud, Guitar Andalusian Mel M'rabet, who now works out of Montreal-Toronto-Ottawa & Spain, effectively combined ancient and modern. He brought a four-piece band with him to the Brigantine Room from the nation's capital and offered up what he terms Andalusian Fusion, which incorporates elements of Mideast, flamenco, funk, Latin-jazz and more. He sang and gave his oud/guitar an exciting, dexterous workout, and for once the Western backup music and technology didn't sanitize or ravage the authenticity of the songs in the way that many traveling bands with their barrage of electronic gadgetry do.”

Lula Lounge review
“Mel M'rabet & Kalima create pure fire with international all-star band bridging the new sounds of Latin-Flamenco Rumba-Arabic, Asian fusion North-African-Flamenco and world music on a new album entitled Andalusian Legacy. M'rabet, master of the oud and saz, as well as guitar, this exquisite singer has broken much new ground in his career. With his new band, Kalima, he takes his greatest leap to date, and the results are celebrated on the Andalusian Legacy release.”
- Different media and music critics


"Mel M'rabet"

Morocco/Spain/Ontario
It is a fact of nature that the deeper and wider the roots, the stronger the tree, and the longer it will thrive. I think the same holds true with music and artists. An artist with deep roots in a tradition, who understands how it connects to and is influenced by others, can create new work that is a natural, seamless extension of all that has gone before.

I think this can be said of Mel M'rabet. A child of musicians, he grew up Granada, Andalusia, where he began studying the oud as a child. Later, he added percussion and voice to his lessons. Living where he did, it's not surprising that he was immersed in Andalusian music or that he was drawn to the traditions of its constituent elements: the music played by the Turks, Kurds and Armenians, as well as music of the Roma, especially flamenco. Mel started tracing these roots back while continuing his studies on the oud and this played an important role in his evolution as a musician and a composer.

His professional career began when he was 18, and soon after, he was touring in Andalusia, followed by tours in France and Germany, before he moved to Canada and made his home in Ottawa. Over the years, Mel has returned several times to study in both Spain and France. His trips have also included performances with artists such as Salif Keita, Omar Sosa and Cheb Mami, as well as Chano Dominguez and other prominent Spanish flamenco artists.

Mel has become a virtuoso on the oud and a highly respected singer and composer, but he is not a preservationist. Mastery of the traditions and powerful technique have resulted in a very distinctive style of playing that reflects both his travels and his desire to extend the possibilities for the instrument. To that end, he has even begun to build ouds, to enhance the sound and range. Mel M'rabet, with his roots deep in Andalusia, has become an artist who personifies a proud living tradition.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All material copyright Vancouver Folk Music Festival

- Vancouver Folk Festival


"Mel M'rabet"

Mel M'rabet's World Fusion Music
Reviews
X-press magazine
“Whereas most Andalusian instrumentalists are content to imitate human voice techniques, M'rabet has set out to explore new ways of playing world music. Yet he does not fall into the trap of letting virtuosity become an end in itself: his desire to excel always takes second place to his innovative impulse and thirst to explore uncharted musical terrain. His new fingernail technique will soon draw interest and perhaps criticism among traditionalists of the oud/guitar.”

Toronto Star
“Granada Oud/Guitar player, Mel M'rabet, has demonstrated a great dexterity never seen before, at the Brigantine room, part of the World Music Festival at Harbourfront Centre. M'rabet bases his fusion on his roots and intertwines them with western instruments. So many artists use eastern instruments as decoration, he on the other hand does the contrary.”

The Evening Standard
"I think we were lucky to be in that enchanted loft. We were seeing the beginning of something that is going to make waves."

Mojo
"It's music that tethers Third world beats to First World technology, a thin cross-cultural membrane connecting the ancient with the modern, the sacred with the profane."

Time Out
"...the Andalusian-Canadian vocalist and oud/guitar/saz virtuoso juxtaposes modal styles with Jazz...”

Bravo! Channel
“Oud, Guitar Andalusian Mel M'rabet, who now works out of Montreal-Toronto-Ottawa & Spain, effectively combined ancient and modern. He brought a four-piece band with him to the Brigantine Room from the nation's capital and offered up what he terms Andalusian Fusion, which incorporates elements of Mideast, flamenco, funk, Latin-jazz and more. He sang and gave his oud/guitar an exciting, dexterous workout, and for once the Western backup music and technology didn't sanitize or ravage the authenticity of the songs in the way that many traveling bands with their barrage of electronic gadgetry do.”

Lula Lounge review
“Mel M'rabet & Kalima create pure fire with international all-star band bridging the new sounds of Latin-Flamenco Rumba-Arabic, Asian fusion North-African-Flamenco and world music on a new album entitled Andalusian Legacy. M'rabet, master of the oud and saz, as well as guitar, this exquisite singer has broken much new ground in his career. With his new band, Kalima, he takes his greatest leap to date, and the results are celebrated on the Andalusian Legacy release.”
- Toronto Star, Jojo


Discography

Parallel Views Part I, Andalusian Legacy, Blood, from the Stone, Solo Soul, Fuse D'Afuse, Always Dreaming, Based In Blues

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Mel M’rabet ( Oud/Vocals/Percussions)
It is a fact of nature that the deeper and wider the roots, the stronger the tree, and the longer it will thrive. I think the same holds true with music and artists. An artist with deep roots in a tradition, who understands how it connects to and is influenced by others, can create new work that is a natural, seamless extension of all that has gone before.
I think this can be said of Mel M'rabet. A child of musicians, he grew up Granada, Andalusia, where he began studying the oud as a child. Living where he did, it's not surprising that he was immersed in Andalusian music or that he was drawn to the traditions of its constituent elements: the music played by the East Indians, Turks, Kurds and Armenians, as well as music of the Roma, especially flamenco..
M’rabet has performed with caliber musicians such as StevePotts, Omar Sosa and Cheb Mami, as well as Chano Dominguez and other prominent Spanish flamenco artists.
Mel has become a virtuoso on the oud and a highly respected singer and composer, but he is not a preservationist. Mastery of the traditions and powerful technique have resulted in a very distinctive style of playing that reflects both his travels and his desire to extend the possibilities for the instrument. To that end, he has even begun to build ouds, to enhance the sound and range. Mel M'rabet, with his roots deep in Andalusia, has become an artist who personifies a proud living tradition.

Victor Nesrallah ( Resonator/Guitar/Drums)

Victor Nesrallah’s musical portfolio has always been influenced by the blues, indirectly or otherwise. Having released a number of independent recordings rooted in the traditions of folk and world based cultures. Victor also studied classical music of the Arab world while earning his degree in jazz performance from Carleton University.
No stranger to the idea of musical fusion, Victor’s heritage can be traced to his grandparent’s Syrian ancestry and while growing up in Ottawa during the 1960’s, Victor was also influenced by folk roots and popular music styles of the day. An award winning composer and songwriter, Victor’s compositions have earned regular exposure with public and commercial broadcasters alike. The release of Blood From The Stone(1999) showcased his compositional foray into world fusion, incorporating western song forms juxtaposed against Middle Eastern orchestrations. Contributing to this release was Mel M’rabet (oud, saz), whom Victor had met in the early 1990’s while producing a number of world music artists at his Ottawa based studio Freeflying Sound. Their musical paths would converge in the decade that followed culminating with the release of Parallel Views Part 1,a collection of original compositions by Fuze, the duo of Mel M’Rabet (oud, vocals) and Victor Nesrallah (guitar, resonator) performing modal improvisations intertwined with blues forms.