SPEED CARAVAN
Album KALASHNIK LOVE
RELEASE FRANCE 16 JUNE 2008 (Newbled Records / Anticraft)
AND SOON IN OTHER TERRITORIES
Produced by DAVID HUSSER
Featuring RACHID TAHA, RODOLPHE BURGER, SPEX MC and ROCKY SINGH (ex members of ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION), MBS
Those who are familiar with Mehdi Haddab's eclectic track record to date will not bat an eyelid at the mention of his new project, Speed Caravan - although fans of the oud (the pear-shaped, stringed instrument used in Middle Eastern music and considered by many to be the predecessor of the western lute) may be a little more bemused. Mehdi Haddab, a musician renowned on the French music scene for his pioneering work with a number of fusion projects, has now ventured out in a new direction, forming a "contemporary musical caravan" with bassist Pascal Teillet and electro musician Hermione Frank. The three create a magic triangle of sound, infused with rock energy and electro trance, and Mehdi's virtuoso acrobatics on the electric oud take the instrument way beyond its classical image.
Speed Caravan started out as a pact between two innovative nightbird musicians, Mehdi Haddab and Pascal Teillet (better known to family and friends as Pasco) who decided to hook up together and work on their own original compositions as well as an interesting selection of cover versions ranging from Udi Hrant to the Chemical Brothers and The Cure. The pair both come from very different musical backgrounds, although they are united by a passion for striking off in unexpected directions without a musical compass.
After mastering the classical oud, Algerian-born Mehdi had formed the pioneering fusion trio Ekova and also teamed up with another oud-player, Smadj, to work as DuOud (an oud double act which melded the sound of the oud with happening electro beats). Mehdi had also made a name for himself accompanying everyone from Rodolphe Burger and Erik Marchand to the Algerian-born fusion star Rachid Taha. Meanwhile, bass virtuoso Pasco had forged his reputation working with the likes of King Mensah, Ganoub and jazz star Archie Shepp. Hermione Frank, the third member of Speed Caravan, is a journalist, electro musician and "old partner in crime" from Mehdi's Ekova days.
Before going into the studio together to record their debut album, Speed Caravan put in a solid couple of years on the live circuit, honing their sound in front of an audience. Like a contemporary Tuareg caravan speeding rather than wending their way across the desert, the trio soaked up different musical inspiration along the way, although their predominant influence is undoubtedly rock.
Eglantine Chabasseur / RFI
Translation : Julie Street