Mai Mai Mai - Karakoz Mai Mai Mai

Mai Mai Mai’s artistic path has never rested on laurels, it’s been a constant evolution, a profound and poetic research, a dark and dusty journey through awareness and collaborations where the heart of the process has always been about building connections and understanding people and their rituals. Mai Mai Mai’s new album ‘Karakoz’ was mostly recorded in Palestine (Ramallah and Bethlehem) in 2024 during an ongoing genocide and follows his acclaimed Southern Gothic double-album ‘Rimorso’. The album opens a new chapter for the Roma based artist, a deeply personal record where his traditional industrial miasma flows into a weeping vortex of spiritual hymns, Mediterranean hauntology and Middle Eastern chants of sorrow, carrying the despair of a battered population and matching the fighting hope with echoes of ambient bliss. Recorded during his artistic residency in collaboration with Radio Alhara and Wonder Cabinet, the album is the result of an immersive six-week residency between January and May 2024, in Bethlehem and Ramallah, where Mai Mai Mai delved deep into the traditional music of Palestine, meeting and collaborating with local musicians, exploring archives, and recording the resonances of the land. This deep engagement allowed him to unearth the intricate layers of Palestinian sonic heritage, weaving them into his own sonic language.

The record opens with ‘Grief’ sung by Maya Al Khaldi, whose haunting voice delivers a traditional grieving chant, weaving and layering in constant flux; Producer and electronic artist Julmud is featured on ‘Dawn Of The Cremisan Valley’, bringing his syncopated rhythms and unsettling textures. The album also incorporates recordings of the yarghul played by maestro Osama Abu Ali, percussions and bouzuq recorded in studio with Jihad Shouibi and Karam Fares in Ramallah. ‘Echoes of the Harvest’ features a special contribution by composer Alabaster DePlume, a beautiful Buchla & sax elegy, tear-shaking minimalism elevated by the haunting filtered voice of Hajja Badriya, a recording directly from the Ramallah Popular Art Center's Sound Archive.

The connection with the British musician and activist stems from Sound Of Places, a residency in the Cremisan Valley amongst the olive trees and monastery protecting the last strip of land in the area. Karakoz, the shadow theater typical of the Ottoman Empire (and thus also of Palestine), represents the physical side of the record, a time and place for gathering and community, while Jinn are left to roam and carry the spiritual force of the music. This unique collection blends ambient field recordings, studio sessions, and performances with local artists, alongside archival material from the Palestinian Sound Archive of the Popular Art Center in Ramallah. Through a meticulous intertwining of traditional chants, environmental soundscapes, and urban echoes, Mai Mai Mai crafts an immersive sonic journey that encapsulates the tensions, resilience, and profound beauty of the region. More than just a musical experience, this album serves as a cultural bridge, an evocative exploration of memory, identity, and sound.