The Heretic of Ether

Badawi

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 23, 1999)
• Original Release Date: February 23, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asphodel Records
• ASIN: B00000I140
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #297,309 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A crucial part of Manhattan's "illbient" scene, Raz Mesinai--a.k.a. Badawi the Bedouin--is known as one half of the duo Sub Dub, whose dark soundscapes, heavy beats, and turntable moves echo kindred souls and Asphodel label mates such as Byzar, We, and DJ Spooky. But the Israel-bred, New York-blossomed DJ responsible for 1997's incendiary dub-hop hybrid Bedouin Sound Clash has chops on more than just the wheels of steel. Adept at Middle Eastern hand drums such as the bendir, zarb, dumbek, and darbouka, he's a top-shelf percussionist who puts dub and beat science aside to focus on more traditional Arabic and Sufi sounds on The Heretic of Ether. A musical and metaphysical travelogue of a fictional gypsy whom Mesinai calls "Gaska Gavor," Ether is a sample-free collage of live cello, violin, percussion, keyboards, and voice, developed through long, often austere improvisations arranged into three suites, or "chapters," from the trancelike "Tired Soldiers" to the driving "Fatal Confrontation." Middle Eastern music only an illbient instigator could create. --James Rotondi

Product Description
SUB DUB member RAZ MESINAI's ongoing fusion of Middle Eastern sounds.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excruciatingly exquisite, April 10, 2004

By	schnoggi - See all my reviews

as often as not, just thinking of this record gives me waves of goosebumps. incredibly moving, timeless, well beyond mere sentiment...you know right away you're in the presence of something far from the familiar or expected. this record deserves to be heard by many people for a long time. As a DJ, I have what I call my "fish in a barrel" tracks, pieces that I know are going to invariably sweep across the room like a rapture, and near the top of the list is this record. I can't recommend it highly enough.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Close Your Eyes, February 23, 2002

By	Rob Lightner (Occupied Seattle) - See all my reviews

Mixing Western and Middle Eastern instrumentation and sensibilities, Badawi finds a dark intersection and explores every inch. There's a definite sense of evil, or at least danger, creeping through the notes; the underlying drones are as unsettling as the banjo boy from Deliverance. The percussion tends toward melody but never quite escapes its rhythms.

The album plays on several themes: struggle, defeat, and enlightenment. The listener observes a heroic journey, and is rewarded for deep listening.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A trip into the middle east, February 11, 2001

By	"sindreyworks" (bet sharim Israel) - See all my reviews

WOW,this is one hell of an album!if you are looking for asphodel label mates trickery,go elsewhere please-this is pure spirit... Basically a one man album,with asstiance from 2 string players, Raz mesinai plays all percussion(middle eastren stuff like darabuka and frame drums) and keyboards.The music itself is quiet minimal, and builds up from the begining of the cd till end. the are some very rhytmic cuts,but the over vibe is quite chilled out and relaxing( for me at least....).Hell - i go to sleep hearing this cd! my only Question is- who da hell is Raz mesinai? the cd has lots of hebrew and israeli names-what's da catch?