In their second album entitled “Towards the Light”, the Les Arrivants, a world fusion band that has artist members from various countries and different cultures further extends the limits of their music and cultural discoveries. Continuing from the success of their album titled “Home”, the trio of Amichai Ben Shalev on bandoneon, Abdul Wahab Kayyali on oud, and Hamin Honari on tombak, Daf, and percussion set out to explore the next frontier of the feelings of migration and displacement.
“Towards the light” is a warmly sensual dramatic odyssey into the spectrum of human experience as the noises and feels are denser, complex and more expressive as to the journey of the migrants. The album captures a tapestry of feelings: Happiness, hope, memories, confusion, unsolved conflicts, and the sweet-sad feeling of having to say goodbye to one’s own country, but also welcoming new territories and new friendships.
Les Arrivants has managed to give a world music with a heavy Middle Eastern feel and this makes the compositions passionate and unique. The album proper commences with the single “City Of Ashes,” a bass-heavy number that has a silken mysterious slant to it and more explicitly underlines the bands talent at creating different vibes with their music. After that, “Phoenix Landing” brings the neo-jazz sound into play, with folk motifs on board and diving into deeper emotional territory.
In “Towards the Light” Les Arrivants metaphorically captures the state of constant relocation and continued soul-searching, thus addressing such pios and moments, complexities as the uncertainty arising from having no native land. The album reflects an overall hopeful and sincere outlook, and gives a view into the component parts and the work that goes into creating what is Les Arrivants.
I think with “Towards the Light”, Les Arrivants have changed again and shared timeless music connected with the principal human experiences – migration and a desire to find home.
