International psychedelic funk-rock band Jamila & The Other Heroes release their new album Sit El Kon (The Grandmother of the Universe). Their single, ‘Abu Dub‘ from the upcoming album has already appeared in the Apple Music Mostakella playlist for Arabic indie music and they have amassed over 56 000 plays and counting.
Based in Berlin but coming together from a variety of different backgrounds, Jamila & The Other Heroes bring influences from the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The message of the band is simple: “All of us can be Heroes! Let’s discover our superpowers and make the world a better place.” The frontwoman of the outfit embodies this with biblical beginnings. Born on the day the Berlin Wall came down, Jamila Al-Yousef went on to study Politics and History in London with a focus on the Middle East at SOAS while also exploring Contemporary Music at LCCM. More than just a love for music drives the band as they aim to set an example for emancipation and empowerment for women of colour in the music industry.
Jamila & The Other Heroes merge psychedelic rock with elements of funk and Arab folklore. To achieve their unusual sound, they take inspiration from a variety of musicians including Yasmine Hamdan, Altin Gün, Novos Bahianos, and Led Zeppelin. While totally unique, their resulting sound sits close their influences with Nai Palm, Hiatus Kaiyote, Fugees and Led Zeppelin themselves springing to mind.
The album was recorded analogue on an old Otari reel to reel tape recorder and features a mixture of English and Arabic tracks. It tells various stories including ‘Farashat’ with migrating families and feminist empowerment; the title track, ‘Sit El Kon’ with Jamila exploring a dream in which she meets her grandmother in the universe. They also focus on the more serious side with the already released ‘Abu Dub‘ in which letting go of loved ones who have passed on without saying goodbye is explored; ‘Inner Child‘ for journeys to heal the inner child; ‘Khalas! The Umbilical Chord‘ of proximity and distance dynamics in families; ‘Aliens in my Bed‘ of love in times of capitalism. To complete the circle, there is ‘Fight Club‘ with of the search for solidarity and a community, in which we no longer have to be alone with our feelings and where we support and inspire each other.
About Author
