Nomad SoundSystem
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Nomad SoundSystem

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"FAZ"

... Nomad SoundSystem from Berlin shows how the gap between Ethno, Pop and Electronic can be bridged ...
Those contemporary eclectics consequently work on a well-combined fusion of personal roots, traditional instruments and current technology. It’s especially those formations who will own the globalized future. - Norbert Krampf


"FAZ"

... Nomad SoundSystem from Berlin shows how the gap between Ethno, Pop and Electronic can be bridged ...
Those contemporary eclectics consequently work on a well-combined fusion of personal roots, traditional instruments and current technology. It’s especially those formations who will own the globalized future. - Norbert Krampf


"Blue Rhythm Magazine Germany"

blue rhythm. review
Jun- August 07

Nomad Sound System
Nomad Sound System
(Stock&Stein/Groove Attack)

Berlin truly has arrived as a European metropolitan music city, no doubt.
But for global music, London or Paris with their afro- and Asian communities has been much more recognized. Listen up!
Now, Nomad SoundSystem - a Berlin based band jumps unto the public eye, you had more expected this to happen in Paris or London. Cool oriental tunes aimed at the club-dance floor, but with potential also in the pop market is the trademark of the polycultural quintet fronted by Tunisian singer Karim Sfaxi.

Similar to hip British Asian Bhangra acts from Juggy D to Panjabi MC fusing traditions from India and Pakistan, Nomad SoundSystem express themselves thru twisted melodies and mysterious vibes originating in maghreb (north African) music. Those are expertly merged with urban soundscapes like Drum&Bass, HipHop or Garage. The members of the colourful crew from Kreuzberg benefit from experiences made as wedding singer, DJ, producer or session musicians since years.
No wonder their debut album is now represented as a round, well crafted
piece of art, well balanced between underground attitude and pop appeal, tradition and high tech.

- Tobias Maier


"Blue Rhythm Magazine Germany"

blue rhythm. review
Jun- August 07

Nomad Sound System
Nomad Sound System
(Stock&Stein/Groove Attack)

Berlin truly has arrived as a European metropolitan music city, no doubt.
But for global music, London or Paris with their afro- and Asian communities has been much more recognized. Listen up!
Now, Nomad SoundSystem - a Berlin based band jumps unto the public eye, you had more expected this to happen in Paris or London. Cool oriental tunes aimed at the club-dance floor, but with potential also in the pop market is the trademark of the polycultural quintet fronted by Tunisian singer Karim Sfaxi.

Similar to hip British Asian Bhangra acts from Juggy D to Panjabi MC fusing traditions from India and Pakistan, Nomad SoundSystem express themselves thru twisted melodies and mysterious vibes originating in maghreb (north African) music. Those are expertly merged with urban soundscapes like Drum&Bass, HipHop or Garage. The members of the colourful crew from Kreuzberg benefit from experiences made as wedding singer, DJ, producer or session musicians since years.
No wonder their debut album is now represented as a round, well crafted
piece of art, well balanced between underground attitude and pop appeal, tradition and high tech.

- Tobias Maier


"taz"

...Two o’clock at night in Heinepark at the award winner concert: the Tunisian proved not only having an excellent voice, but also the potential of being an very entertaining frontman. The five musicians from Berlin call their dance sound “Oriental Fusion Style”, you could name it as well Elektro-Rai.

This band is much more colourful than Berlin itself... - Christian Rath


"taz"

...Two o’clock at night in Heinepark at the award winner concert: the Tunisian proved not only having an excellent voice, but also the potential of being an very entertaining frontman. The five musicians from Berlin call their dance sound “Oriental Fusion Style”, you could name it as well Elektro-Rai.

This band is much more colourful than Berlin itself... - Christian Rath


"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"

... (The) hot-tempered concerts are a vital quality proof of what may happen to intercultural dialogues when musicians are listening to each other seriously while their individual roots remain intact ...” - N.K.


"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung"

... (The) hot-tempered concerts are a vital quality proof of what may happen to intercultural dialogues when musicians are listening to each other seriously while their individual roots remain intact ...” - N.K.


"Amsterdam Weekly"

ONE FOR FUSION,TWO
FOR THE SHOW

Is it world music? No. Is it drum & bass?
Nope. Is it rai? Nopers.
It’s a Nomad Soundsystem.

Nomad Soundsystem
Roots Open Air, Oosterpark, 17 June, 17.00, free

A Tunisian singer. A German guitarist. A Japanese producer. An Algerian percussionist. And another German on the turntables. Berlin-based Nomad Soundsystem sound like the perfect multicultural idyll. Blending traditional Arabic raï music with breakbeat, dub loops, oriental sounds—and, basically, every other musical element that they happen to like—they’re globalisation gone good.

‘It all started sometime between late 2002 and early 2003,’ DJ Shazam says. ‘I had a regular club night in Berlin back then, where I introduced David, our guitarist, and Tomoki. They jammed for half an hour, and it clicked immediately.

David, in turn, hosted a cross-culture jam session at the time, where he met Karim. Originally, Karim, who had just moved over from Tunisia, applied as extra percussionist, because he had heard they needed someone to temporarily fill in for Miloud, who was their regular percuss-ionist. But then it turned out he could sing like a bird! He had also already worked as a singer before. They decided to keep him for the vocals. I joined the band myself a little later on. So that’s how it all came together.’

Nomad Soundsystem’s eponymous debut album was released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland a month ago. ‘We took our time with recording it,’ Shazam explains, ‘because we wanted our sound to grow naturally. I think that’s especially important if you’re working together in such a multicultural crew, where everyone’s got a different background. For example, you can’t just throw a breakbeat at an Arabian singer and tell him to sing over it. You’re gonna have to drag him through all the clubs first to make sure he knows what the whole thing’s about.

Same thing goes for the other way round, of course.’ With two members of the group coming from a raï background, that style is an important element in Nomad Soundsystem’s music. ‘Karim’s singing certainly gets a raï sound into our music. But we approach it in another way. Arrangement-wise, we’re very different from traditional raï. Tomoki, who’s responsible for our beats, had been DJing for decades, and he really brings in a fresh sound.’

Shazam, meanwhile, likes to throw drum & bass and dub styles into the Nomad mixture. Although this is his main project, he’s also active as a solo DJ, always trying to combine Western beats with sounds from all over the world. ‘I’ve always been fascinated with other cultures and their music. Maybe one reason for that is that in Germany, many people still have a sort of cultural identity problem. I grew up with that, you know. We don’t easily identify with our own culture—and that makes other cultures even more interesting, and maybe easier to assimilate, too.’ Because of their fusing together electronica with ethno influences, Nomad Soundsystem feel equally at home in both the club scene and world music festivals.

‘I have to admit, though, that so far there’s been more attention from the world music corner. But I believe that the club scene is becoming more and more attentive towards the kind of fusion music we do. In Berlin, there was that Russendisko hype, when Russian music took over the clubs, and it was a huge success. That is now continued with the whole Balkan beats craze that’s currently going on all over Europe. Then there’s been more mainstream stuff which used ethno elements, like Panjabi MC, for example. Or take ‘Galvanise’ by the Chemical Brothers. They had that fat oriental sample combined with bigbeat sounds dominating the charts for weeks.’

However, Nomad Soundsystem don’t plan to jump on whichever bandwagon any time soon. ‘Our aim has always been to create a unique sound, instead of just sitting down and copying something that’s already been done before. Too many people do that. I mean it’s all very nice to make the same kind of music that’s been made for decades and decades. It may still sound good. But I really wish there’d be more experimenting. You know—I’m one for fusion, really. - Sarah Gehrke


"Amsterdam Weekly"

ONE FOR FUSION,TWO
FOR THE SHOW

Is it world music? No. Is it drum & bass?
Nope. Is it rai? Nopers.
It’s a Nomad Soundsystem.

Nomad Soundsystem
Roots Open Air, Oosterpark, 17 June, 17.00, free

A Tunisian singer. A German guitarist. A Japanese producer. An Algerian percussionist. And another German on the turntables. Berlin-based Nomad Soundsystem sound like the perfect multicultural idyll. Blending traditional Arabic raï music with breakbeat, dub loops, oriental sounds—and, basically, every other musical element that they happen to like—they’re globalisation gone good.

‘It all started sometime between late 2002 and early 2003,’ DJ Shazam says. ‘I had a regular club night in Berlin back then, where I introduced David, our guitarist, and Tomoki. They jammed for half an hour, and it clicked immediately.

David, in turn, hosted a cross-culture jam session at the time, where he met Karim. Originally, Karim, who had just moved over from Tunisia, applied as extra percussionist, because he had heard they needed someone to temporarily fill in for Miloud, who was their regular percuss-ionist. But then it turned out he could sing like a bird! He had also already worked as a singer before. They decided to keep him for the vocals. I joined the band myself a little later on. So that’s how it all came together.’

Nomad Soundsystem’s eponymous debut album was released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland a month ago. ‘We took our time with recording it,’ Shazam explains, ‘because we wanted our sound to grow naturally. I think that’s especially important if you’re working together in such a multicultural crew, where everyone’s got a different background. For example, you can’t just throw a breakbeat at an Arabian singer and tell him to sing over it. You’re gonna have to drag him through all the clubs first to make sure he knows what the whole thing’s about.

Same thing goes for the other way round, of course.’ With two members of the group coming from a raï background, that style is an important element in Nomad Soundsystem’s music. ‘Karim’s singing certainly gets a raï sound into our music. But we approach it in another way. Arrangement-wise, we’re very different from traditional raï. Tomoki, who’s responsible for our beats, had been DJing for decades, and he really brings in a fresh sound.’

Shazam, meanwhile, likes to throw drum & bass and dub styles into the Nomad mixture. Although this is his main project, he’s also active as a solo DJ, always trying to combine Western beats with sounds from all over the world. ‘I’ve always been fascinated with other cultures and their music. Maybe one reason for that is that in Germany, many people still have a sort of cultural identity problem. I grew up with that, you know. We don’t easily identify with our own culture—and that makes other cultures even more interesting, and maybe easier to assimilate, too.’ Because of their fusing together electronica with ethno influences, Nomad Soundsystem feel equally at home in both the club scene and world music festivals.

‘I have to admit, though, that so far there’s been more attention from the world music corner. But I believe that the club scene is becoming more and more attentive towards the kind of fusion music we do. In Berlin, there was that Russendisko hype, when Russian music took over the clubs, and it was a huge success. That is now continued with the whole Balkan beats craze that’s currently going on all over Europe. Then there’s been more mainstream stuff which used ethno elements, like Panjabi MC, for example. Or take ‘Galvanise’ by the Chemical Brothers. They had that fat oriental sample combined with bigbeat sounds dominating the charts for weeks.’

However, Nomad Soundsystem don’t plan to jump on whichever bandwagon any time soon. ‘Our aim has always been to create a unique sound, instead of just sitting down and copying something that’s already been done before. Too many people do that. I mean it’s all very nice to make the same kind of music that’s been made for decades and decades. It may still sound good. But I really wish there’d be more experimenting. You know—I’m one for fusion, really. - Sarah Gehrke


Discography

Summer 2006 single:
„Sidi Khouya“ featuring P.R. Kantate
Label: Stock & Stein / Distribution Groove Attack

May 2007 Release of the album:
“Nomad SoundSystem”
Label: Stock & Stein / Distribution Groove Attack

Compilations:
Oriental Garden Vol. 5 (Lolas World, Release february 2007)
DJ Click Flavor (No Fridge , France 2007)
India Club 3 (High Note Records, Taiwan 2007)
Berlin Calling (Piranha, Germany 2007)

Photos

Bio

Nomad SoundSystem chooses different styles for its musical repertoire, as varied as the cultural background of it’s members:
Rai, oriental-electronics, Drum & Bass, Rock, Dub and Gnawa -Trance are merging effortlessly to a highly original urban mixture hard to compare.
Hard hitting western Dance grooves and soulful eastern melodies.

Or was it the other way around?
The handful of SoundNomads first gathered in a practise room in late 2002 and have been on their unusual musical trip ever since, making them a big exception in the European music scene.
Call it ethnic or eclectic, their full on dance performances are definetely electric.The group feels at home on festivals and on clubstages alike,
not getting tired of touring for an ever growing cheerful, dancing audience.

Nomad SoundSystem were presented the newcomer RUTH awards at TFF Rudolstadt in 2005, won the award CREOLE Berlin/Brandenburg 2006 and played support gigs for Rachid Taha, Nitin Sawhney or Transglobal Underground. Their innovative performances, the joy of playing live and a highly unique sound show they are a force to be reckoned with.

ARTE TV feature:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt167Ou9hdw

VIDEO CLIP:
Sidi Khouya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u94sEDrx9Rg

LIVE VIDEO:
Bedouin Sistas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfbGXwLHrC8

LIVE VIDEO:
Ground
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7CKP5t5jDY