Israeli Raz Mesinai has been a major player in the outernational music scene since the early 90s – blending traditional Middle Eastern influences with dub, bass-heavy electronica and distorted beats. From his early experiments under the influential Sub Dub project, to releases as Ladyman and Badawi, and latterly through his film scores, Mesinai has long established himself as a creator of innovative, politically charged beats and soundscapes.
His latest release, Unit Of Resistance, is the first time the combination of aliases Raz Mesinai and Badawi have come together on record; gathering together recordings made in 2004 and subsequently reworked by a team of producers over the intervening years. The original source material was recorded as a “conscious act of political protest”, laid down at a Madison Square Garden studio, directly adjacent to the Republican Party convention being held nearby.
Drawing from audio elements pushed back and forth over the web, the roll call of producers is impressive – DJ Spooky, DJ Olive, Kode 9, DJ/rupture, Filastine and more. Whilst Diplo and friends scour the planet for uptempo global club and party beats, it’s producers such as Mesinai that take the darker route; pulling the international colours of sound into a deep, black pool of sounds that disrupt, agitate and disarm – a perfect brew for an unholy voice of dissent.