Land of Kush, Against the Day (Constellation Records)

[David Morris]

http://www.last.fm/music/Land+Of+Kush

Land Of Kush is a large orchestra assembled and directed by Montreal
composer and musician Sam Shalabi, one of the city's most unique and
prolific players over the past decade. Shalabi performs constantly on
electric guitar and oud, with regular appearances in numerous jazz and
free improv ensembles, membership in a kaleidoscope of avant rock
bands, and at the compositional helm of various musical assemblages
large and small. Shalabi has seen a dozen full-length album recordings
released in the last eight years, under his own name and with Shalabi
Effect (on Alien8Recordings) and as a member of Molasses, Detention,
Po, 'Gypt Gore and Nutsack. His eponymous albums often include
genre-defying compositions for larger ensembles and Shalabi has also
mounted many live performances and commissioned compositions for
hybrid orchestras that have gone largely undocumented. Land Of Kush is
among the most ambitious and impressive of these: the group involves
over 30 musicians and two dozen different instruments, including a
cluster of strings, horns and woodwinds, multiple percussionists,
bassists and guitarists, four vocalists, electronics, snyths, darbouka
and oud.

Land Of Kush has performed a handful of times in Montreal over the
past couple of years. Most recently, the group premiered new works at
the Suoni Per Il Popolo festival in June 2008 and at Pop Montreal in
October 2008. The Suoni piece, in five movements, was recorded in
studio at the invitation of Constellation in late summer 2008 and
released as the Against The Day album in spring 2009.