Sometimes a name says it all: New York’s Bedouin consists of two of electronic music’s perpetual nomads. Masters of mood, the rising duo crafts a unique blend of house and tech beats that’s inspired by their Middle Eastern heritage.
Through both their work in the studio and their live performances, be it in Brooklyn or Black Rock City, Rami Abousabe and Tamer Malki have built a vehicle for connection — a motor that powers an awesome musical bond, with followers from all four corners of the earth.
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After years of solo trials, Bedouin was born by the fostering of Abousabe and Malki’s harmonious personal relationship. “Bedouin is a partnership,” explains Malki. “It started without much planning.”
The pair launched their collaboration with an early appearance on Audiofly’s Supernature label, then works on imprints such as Sprinkler Records quickly followed. Delivering deep cuts with an instrumental, eastern twist, they joined an innovative vanguard of world-styled house and techno.
In the past two years, the duo has emerged as one of the most impressive new outfits in the underground. Playing for the ardent followers of Robot Heart at Burning Man 2013, the twosome saw their stock rise in tandem with the popularity of what Abousabe describes as “the ultimate human experiment.” The desert festival represents a multinational gathering of open-minded, experience-seeking souls that, more often than not, find what they’re looking for.
“Anything that connects with people on a deeper level will eventually spread. People love to share a good thing,” says Malki. “In this case, it’s music,” he continues, “or a story of a one of a kind experience that happened in the middle of the desert with 70,000 humans from all around the globe.”
The demand for their return stems from their ability to set an ideal tone, be it along the sandy desert stretches as the sunrises or under the disco-ball before the arrival of Guy Gerber at Montreal’s Stereo. “As producers, it’s not easy for us to find records that we really love so we tend to be super picky until something connects with us,” says Abousabe. “To me, it’s only important that an artist truly and honestly express themselves, rather than trying to define themselves by a specific style.”
Courtesy of Bedouin’s Facebook
Even far from the desert, it’s clear that their in-depth, thoughtful approach is bearing fruit. The duo’s appearance at the first edition of AIM Festival this past Summer didn’t go unnoticed, which created considerable buzz for their debut at iconic afterhours venue Stereo this month.
Bedouin’s Montreal connection is forming quickly. Akin to the Burning Man following, a plentiful band of Montrealers have proved themselves incredibly receptive to the intricate beats and positive vibes that Bedouin are pushing out into the world. A sizeable troop made the trip earlier this month to catch the doors opening as Malki and Abousabe set the early tempo before the arrival of Mr. Gerber. Their return shortly after 8:00 am for an impromptu B2B DJ set with Guy was simply the icing on the cake.
With a slew of impressive dates under their arm and new music released on All Day I Dream (the label of Lee Burridge and Matthew Dekay) and Crosstown Rebels’ sub-label Rebellion, the boys are starting to reap the rewards found on the path less travelled. 2015 still holds in-store a forthcoming release on New York-based imprint City Fox, a compilation album on Kindisch and the release of their much-lauded set from Burning Man 2015. Even with a growing contingent of producers following in their stylistic footsteps, the focus has never faltered. Bedouin’s own outlook dictates the world that surrounds them.
Bedouin is on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter
Dermot O’Sullivan is on Twitter.
