Arabian Panther – Erased Childhood [Soil Records]

It is difficult to differentiate when Soil Records is in a special stage, as it has been for its second anniversary, or simply maintaining its usual work routine, as both the volume of releases and the musical content, or also the very graphic designs it uses in each publication, continue to show a high performance and a consistent evolution, however, its record heritage is loyal to the style it has developed over the last two years, and that is something that it seems will not change much.

Precisely, one of the names that appeared in this commemorative edition of the second anniversary gives us an EP with his very particular sound. It’s about the French-Lebanese producer Arabian Panther, an artist who stages in his music the Arab culture materialised by the nomadic warriors who live and travel in the desert, and in areas where unfortunately we currently see so much desolation in cities that have enjoyed wealth until not so long ago.

Arabian Panther signs the next vinyl release from Soil Records with a stellar collaboration. The Way of the Penitent opens with The Penitent, a track with a first syncopated rhythmic part that stands out from the rest of the textures, until it is regularized with a quaternary beat where all the harmonic ingredients are already added. The second cut on this side is a version of The Penitent by the Australian Kris Baha, which unlike the original track gives more intensity and colour to the percussive part.

The Faceless Warrior opens the B side with more speed and intensity than the two previous tracks but with a structural pattern quite similar to The Penitent, although in this case the first part is a break that later changes to a direct rhythm like the 4×4 to return in its final part to its initial state. As for the musicality of this track, we can apply the same criterion to all his work, since the minor heptatonic tonality he uses represents the Arabian sonority he shows in all his tracks. Erased Childhood is a track with a rather slow tempo but with a more aggressive character thanks to the strength of its rhythmic elements and the melodic glissandos. Al-Mutanabi closes the EP with an oriental sound thanks to the textures recreated from bells and string instruments.

Release date: October 15th, 2020.