Al-Qasar

Parisian psych-pop outfit Al-Qasar first surfaced in 2018, introducing a gritty, cross-cultural strain of acid rock they labeled “Arabian Fuzz.” The ensemble blended punk, post-rock, Middle Eastern folk, garage rock, and desert blues while delivering lyrics in classical Arabic, and in 2022 they released their expansive debut album Who Are We?.

Thomas Attar Bellier, a guitarist and oud player born in Paris and based in Los Angeles, established the project as an homage to the Turkish psychedelic pop icons of the 1960s and 1970s, among them Selda and Erkin Koray. Their initial EP, Miraj, arrived in 2020 after sessions in Cairo and spotlighted Bellier alongside an ever-changing circle of companions and poets. With Moroccan vocalist Jaouad El Garouge at the helm and an instrumental palette that fused electric guitars and drums with electric saz, bendir, darbuka, and sagat, the unit evolved into a full-fledged rock band after moving operations to Paris. On the pioneering full-length Who Are We? from 2022, Bellier and his collaborators enlisted Franco-Algerian oud player Mehdi Haddab of Speed Caravan, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Sudanese-American singer Alsarah, Egyptian vocalist Hend Elrawy, and punk legend Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys.