CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Nomad SoundSystem

Zankel Hall
Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 9:00 PM

Nomad SoundSystem

With hard-hitting Western dance grooves and soulful North African raï melodies, Berlin-based Nomad SoundSystem mixes ethnic, electric, and eclectic sounds, appealing to club and world music audiences alike. Hailing from Tunisia, Algeria, Japan, and Berlin, the group’s members reflect the multicultural melting pot that is Berlin today.

The Berlin in Lights festival is made possible by a leadership gift from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

Major funding has also been provided by Mercedes and Sid Bass, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from Martha and Bob Lipp, Fundación Mercantil (Venezuela), and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Additional funding provided by Axel Springer AG, GWFF USA Inc., and the Jerome Robbins Foundation.

Program Notes:

ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS ON
NOMAD SOUNDSYSTEM

Berlin has long been a hallowed center for culture and music. These days, the up-and-coming group Nomad SoundSystem underscores how Berlin is still such a hub—albeit now a brilliantly multiethnic and vibrantly cosmopolitan meeting ground for artists and sounds from all over the world.

Since coming together just four years ago, Nomad SoundSystem has already played alongside such kindred spirits as Rachid Taha, Nitin Sawhney, and Transglobal Underground—all of whom groove to an urbane beat. With members from Germany, Tunisia, Japan, and Algeria, the group injects high-energy dance-floor rhythms with echoes of music from across the globe, from North African raï to the energy of hip-hop.

On their recent, self-titled debut album, Nomad SoundSystem demonstrates their witty worldwide wandering on tunes like “Atarishi,” in which a traditional Japanese koto skitters across a surface of Balkan brass, all fed by a one-drop reggae beat. Deeply Maghrebi polyrhythms ground the melodic soaring of “Zmen Aalech,” while the anthemic “No/w Peace” blends gritty rock styling with North African vocal arabesques. Their music reinforces just how central Berlin is as a global epicenter of DJ culture.

Anastasia Tsioulcas is a New York–based music critic who writes for Billboard, Gramophone, and Songlines magazines, among other publications.