El Khat – Mute (Glitterbeat, 2024)
,Despite its title, El Khat’s third album, Mute bursts with energy. The nomadic band led Eyal el Wahab presents a unique mix of beguiling Yemeni melodies, engaging drums, powerful brass, crude organ riffs, and inventive DIY (do it yourself) percussion and string instruments. Formed by Eyal el Wahab in Jaffa and now based in Berlin, the band’s sound is a bold statement against complacency and division, and exemplifies constant exploration.
Mute was created in an isolated village shelter by El Wahab, percussionist Lotan Yaish, and organist Yefet Hasan. Its themes revolve around migration, communication, and the experience of leaving behind people and places. In fact, El Wahab’s nomadic lifestyle, shaped by his family’s forced migration from Yemen, deeply influences the record’s mood.
Notably, Mute features the handmade instruments El Wahab is known for, such as the blue gallon (a jug) and the kubana (named after a type of Yemeni bread). The album’s sound is crafted from discarded materials, emphasizing El Wahab’s commitment to recycling and reinvention. Despite his lack of formal training, he learned to play cello by ear and became a member of the Andalusian Orchestra.
El Wahab describes the meaning of the album: “These songs are about emigrating, leaving someone or somewhere. I don’t think I’ve stayed in any one place for more than a year. For us Arab Jews whose families were forced to leave Yemen, it really began with that big move and our families’ arrival in Israel, a land with a constant muting of the ‘other’.”
Essential tracks include “Tislami Tislami,” which reflects on finding clarity after disasters. El Wahab explains the theme of the song: “After disasters, you can see clearly. From the bottom, you can appreciate things again. You died once, now you really live.“
Meanwhile, “Zafa,” is a reinterpretation of a traditional wedding march. About “Zafa” el Wahab says: “The song is an interpretation of a classic wedding march: the farewell from the young bride, the words of wisdom from the Grandmother as the bride heads off upon her independent journey; her endless trance.”
The focus track, “La waLa,” carries a message of peaceful resistance through camaraderie and reflection.
To promote the album, El Khat has embarked on a North American and European tour, including an eight-date UK run beginning on October 9 at London’s 100 Club and concluding on October 19 in Birmingham at the Future Days festival.
Musicians: El Wahab on multiple instruments; percussionist Lotan Yaish and organist Yefet Hasan.
Live in the UK:
Wed 9 Oct – 100 Club, London
Thu 10 Oct – Elysium Gallery, Swansea
Fri 11 Oct – Heartbreakers, Southampton
Sat 12 Oct – Where Else?, Margate
Mon 14 Oct – The Piper, St Leonards-on-Sea change of venue
Tue 15 Oct – Exchange, Bristol
Thu 17 Oct – Cobalt Studios, Newcastle
Sat 19 Oct – Future Days, Birmingham
Buy Mute
Author: Sonia Keller
