Patience is a virtue: or so Egyptian producer ZULI would have you believe. The latest cut from his forthcoming debut full-length on UIQ, ‘Terminal’, fizzles, pops and hisses like a misfired roman candle for almost two minutes before the beat kicks in. The track’s all the better for it, though – the buzzed-out noisescape acts as a fitting prelude for the astounding avant-grime depth-charge that follows.
“Nari” reportedly features four MCs (Abyusif, Mado $am, Abanob, and R-Rhyme), but you wouldn’t guess it: ZULI’s sliced, warped and recombined their disembodied contributions into a wondrously abstract tapestry of manipulated vocalisation, draped around a devastating beat and resulting in something that sounds a bit like an ’04 grime banger heard through a busted shortwave radio.
Our premiere today is the opening track from ZULI’s upcoming album ‘Terminal‘. Speaking of the release, the producer has said that it “draws from an abstract narrative of increasingly frequent cycles of ego-death and rebirth… its effect on everything from self-image and worldview, to the creative process, its fruits and the various masks/identities assumed in the process.” If the remainder of the record is as deeply considered and expertly produced as ‘Nari’ – count us in.
On Thursday 18th October ZULI plays in London at The Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick alongside fellow UIQ producer RKSS and Low Company’s Kenny White. Terminal is scheduled for release 2nd November 2018 via UIQ. Order a copy from Boomkat.
TRACKLIST
1. Nari (ft. Abyusif, Mado $am, Abanob, R-Rhyme)
2. Archimedes (ft. Abyusif)
3. Bump
4. Wreck
5. He’s Hearing Voices
6. Stacks & Arrays
7. Kollu l-Joloud (ft. MSYLMA)
8. Akhtuboot (ft. Abyusif)
9. Mazen (ft. Abyusif)
10. Follow Your Breath
11. Ana Ghayeb (ft. Mado $am, Abanob, Abyusif)
12. In Your Head
13. Vulnerbody
14. Continue