Music Matbakh

Robert Plant's guitarist Justin Adams, who produced the last Tinariwen album, has drawn together an extraordinary band of musicians from the Middle East and North Africa to create Music Matbakh - a title which evokes the sense of different ingredients coming together to create something delicious, with Matbakh meaning kitchen in Arabic.
Musicians from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia have been stirred into the Music Matbakh pot alongside British artists - and the talent is awesome. The lineup combines traditional and cutting-edge, bringing together ancient Arabic traditions, hip hop and electronica - musicians playing the oud and the ney meet MCs, electronica masters, and guitarists putting a new spin on metal, plus a range of remarkable singers.
As part of a three week UK residency, the project will be premiered in these four shows offering the very first opportunity to see this unique collaboration in action. The project will then go on to tour internationally.
Syria Issam Rafea - Oud Moslem Rahal - ney
Morocco Bigg - mc Hicham Bajjou - vocals
Lebanon RGB - mc Hiba Mansour – vocals Yacoub Said Abu Ghosh – bass guitar
Tunisia Skander Besbes - electronics Lotfi Soua, percussionist
Jordan Ruba Saqr - vocals
Egypt Ousso – guitar Mohamed Medhat - violin
Great Britain Justin Adams – musical director Andrew McCormack – keyboards Leo Taylor – drums (with Clive Deamer at The Sage Gateshead)
This project was conceived by the British Council and Serious