Oum Shatt

After much anticipation, 2016’s eponymous debut cemented Oum Shatt’s distinctive sound: distilled rock’n’roll, discreetly interwoven Arabic harmonies, hypnotic rhythms from various, partially self-crafted, percussive elements and a foggy and lush baritone on top. An analog, geometric dance-construct; modern and transparent in arrangement, but evocative of a past that never existed. Besides Phrygian scales and references to 70s Turkish psych and surf, the processed choirs and odd samples from middle east shellac records add an electronic element to counterpoint the lyrical themes: sex, politics, crisis, or their intersections. A series of tours and international festival appearances (SXSW, Transmusicales, Electric Picnic, Fusion) have further secured their place as Berlin’s go-to purveyors of laconic shamanism.

 The band consists of founder and songwriter Jonas Poppe, Chris Imler, Rémi Letournelle and Richie Murphy.