Galaxy Juice just dropped a new three-track EP called Give It Over, their first release since the single Only Time. According to the band, this EP took nearly a year to put together because they pushed deep into production, sound design, and the overall concept.
The local band Galaxy Juice recently released a new music video for their track “Ya Salwa” from their latest album “Galaxy Juice and the Forty Thieves”. Playing this song live in Riyadh at the MDLBEAST Soundstorm Festival and seeing the crowd’s reaction was one of the main reasons they started to sing in Arabic. It’s a pretty fun track and music video so check it out.
The music video and animation was done by Agrentinian based Marina Di Milta (@marinadimilta).
If you want to listen to their full album, it’s available to stream on: Spotify, Anghami and Apple Music.
Galaxy Juice: A new music video by one of my favorite local bands, Sahran (Rave Arabia) is from their latest album “and the forty thieves“. The music video was made by Salvador Cresta from Argentine who has previously worked with the well-known indie artist Ariel Pink.
If you want to listen to their full album, it’s available to stream on: Spotify, Anghami and Apple Music.
Boom.Diwan: An ensemble of traditional Kuwaiti musicians who combine Kuwaiti bahri (sea) music with global jazz, Boom.Diwan’s latest EP ‘Minarets’ was conceived across three countries; UAE, Kuwait and South Africa. The band collaborated with pianist Nduduzo Makhathini for these tracks, the first-ever South African musician signed to the legendary Blue Note Records. You can check out the EP below or on Spotify, Sound Cloud, Apple Music or Anghami.
You can also follow Boom.Diwan on Instagram @boom.diwan
The local band Galaxy Juice recently released their third album “and the forty thieves”. This is their first album where they sing in both Arabic and English and they also experimented with traditional khaliji/Gulf percussions. They infused the traditional beats with synthesizers and guitars and managed to create their own unique sound.
If you want to listen to their new album, it’s available to stream on: Spotify, Anghami and Apple Music.
The local band Galaxy Juice just released a new track and it’s their first one in Arabic. The track is called “Subiya” (الصبية) which is the name of a desert in Kuwait located by the sea. The song is from their upcoming album, “Galaxy Juice and the Forty Thieves”.
Local band Galaxy Juice have a new single out called “Dancing Night” which I currently have on repeat. Its their first single from their upcoming album “Galaxy Juice and the Forty Thieves” which will have more Arabic and Khaliji influenced beats and rhythms compared to their previous releases. They’re calling this genre Khalijiwave, check out the new track above or on SoundCloud.
Galaxy Juice, the local psychedelic indie band (and one of my favorite local bands) just released their latest EP, ‘Pantagonia’. Galaxy Juices’ style is influenced by the likes of Pink Floyd, Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips, Animal Collective and Radiohead but with an additional distinctive Middle Eastern touch. They describe their latest EP as being futuristic, weird and shimmering, and a pulsating and bright blast of Psychedelic Pop.
I’m listening to ‘Pantagonia’ right now and really liking it, it’s super chill, check it out [Here]
My favorite local band Galaxy Juice released a new music video last week called Pantagonia. It’s a track from their upcoming EP and like all their previous music videos, it’s pretty weird and trippy so check it out above.
Galaxy Juice are one of my favorite local bands and they just released a music video yesterday for their new single ‘Awaken The Sunshine’. It’s a pretty nice video and the track is really great so check it out.
Altersal, the lead singer of my favorite local band Galaxy Juice released a new single yesterday called “Green feather” made in collaboration with local artist and producer Bazila. The music videos was shot on Failaka island and directed by Argentinian animator Marina Di Milta.
Not sure how I feel about this single, to me it sounds more like a background sound in a movie than an actual song. My favorite tracks by Altersal are Saneman and You Never Listen, both of which have an 80s vibes to them so I kinda want him to do more of that. But you can listen to the single and decide for yourselves.
A year ago this would have sounded like a funny article on The Onion but this is actually real and happening. In 10 days Riyadh will be hosting the MDL Beast Festival, the largest electronic dance music festival in the region featuring over 70 DJs including Afrojack, Black Coffee, David Guetta, FISHER, J. Balvin, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki, Sebastian Ingrosso, Tiësto and more. My favorite local band Galaxy Juice will also be part of the lineup.
Tickets start at KD73 for a 3-day pass and go up to KD923 for the VIB tickets (very important beast). For a full lineup of the performers as well as more information on the festival including tickets, visit mdlbeast.com.
Altersal, the lead singer of my favorite local band Galaxy Juice released a new EP last week along with a new music video which I’ve shared above. This is what he had to say about his latest release:
“You Never listen” is an ep that follows up to my debut album “Wifi Dreams” that was released in January last year 2018. It is a deep expression and reflection of some personal incidents and low points that I was experiencing with my relationships this year so I tried to transfer all my negative feeling and emotions and turning then into a beautiful bouquet of flowers that I can share with everyone’s who’s been through the same hardship in their personal lives and so that they can dance and sing their troubles away just as I did.
Unlike the music I play with my band Galaxy Juice which is a mixture of guitars and synthesizers. This project is more electronic-based and even though the guitar is my first instrument, I didn’t use any guitar or acoustic instruments so this is a full-on electronic synth-based project that I really enjoyed creating.
The project was mastered by a great engineer called Charlie Vella who produced music by one of my fav bands called Twin tribes, so he helped me take my production to a new level that I’m really happy with.
Here are the streaming links to “You Never Listen”: iTunes / Spotify
This weekend isn’t as busy as last weekend, but I did find some cool events so there should be enough in the list below to keep you busy. If I missed anything let me know in the comments:
This is a pretty cool track and video by Altersal, the lead singer of my favorite local band Galaxy Juice. It’s his first single from his solo debut album “Wifi Dreams” which comes out early next year. [YouTube]
What do you get when you put the guys from Radiohead in a gahwa, in Salmiya, watching the old Star Wars movies, drinking guava nectar instead of tea? This could take a while, but for the sake of this post, I’ll give you the answer; Galaxy Juice. That’s exactly the feeling I get when I listen to their new release single “Allokation” off of their new album Timenesia which will be released Nov 1st .
Back to my opening question, can you see it? I mean, how does one make Galaxy Juice? Aren’t you just a little bit curious? I was. So I paid them a little visit.
Before Timenasia, there was Crystal Dunes. The story of the making of Crystal Dunes is one that plays right into last week’s post, where I talked about the difficulties artists face in trying to “make it” in the music industry in Kuwait. When Crystal Dunes was made, naturally, these guys wanted to print copies – to sell, to give out, to use as coasters or whatever else – you get the idea. But when they approached record companies here, they were told they could only print a minimum of 1000 copies. At the time, the band didn’t feel like they had the kind of demand that would require that quantity and tried to negotiate them down to about half that, but even then, the prices they were getting were obnoxious. So, the next logical step; print it outside of Kuwait – to the U.S. they went. There, they found a printing company that kept their overheads nice and low, where they were able to print 100 copies. Perfect.
Back in Kuwait, when their order arrived, and as Mohammad Al Owaisi, (Drums & Synthesizers), tells it; he’d receive online notifications that his “package has arrived” but is being… you guessed it, “held at customs”. This “hold” starts feeling more like a “keep”, and so, he heads to the Customs Department at the airport. Now, before they could get into the details of “what’s the hold up?” they first had to locate this package. And so the search begins for this box, in a room full of other boxes, in a back office in the back of this office – they never find it. They hand him a note that basically states; because of the contents of the shipment, the package has been sent for inspection, please follow up with the Office of the Ministry of Information. Still on airport premises, he makes his way to the temporary “chinko” structure that is the Office of the Ministry of Information, far out into the horizon, off the path. As he stood in a room full of more boxes waiting to talk to someone, his eye catches his box. Finally! And, as though the universe and the stars were finally aligning, a man appeared from the back. They spend a couple of minutes talking about the box, the contents of the box, the quantity of the contents of the box, the motives behind the contents of the box, all the while Mohammad trying to explain that these CD’s are for distribution purposes only, and not intended for sale. Nevertheless, it’s a no go. With one copy of Crystal Dunes in hand, he’s redirected to the Ministry of Information HQ in Shuwaikh.
Day 2, Ministry of Information HQ. Like a sad song on replay, Mohammad goes through the saga of explaining; we’re a band, we make music, we wanted to share our music, we like CD’s, we wanted to give people CD’s. “So, is it just music, or do you sing?” the lady asks. “We sing”. “Yeah, we’re going to need to see those lyrics. Can you email them to me?” Mohammad goes home and emails her the lyrics.
Day 3, Ministry of Information HQ. He heads right back to the same lady, the only released copy of Crystal Dunes still in its plastic wrapper sits on her desk, unopened. The lyrics pass the censorship requirements. It’s a go! But, not until he is made to sign a memorandum of understanding, (ta3ahud), somewhere between an apology and a promise to never do that again ie. bring in products with the intent to sell or distribute. Approval letter signed and stamped, he heads back to the customs office at the airport, ready to finally take his babies home.
But, back to the ta3ahud for a minute. I’d understand if their only concern were that of a commercial nature, but they seem to also have a problem with just plain distribution. Why is that? Is it because they’re afraid that with enough of a following, a band has the potential to create propaganda? Or, maybe they don’t want to bring outside competition inside Kuwait’s market? I mean, let’s face it, Kuwait loves to play Monopoly. But, wait, this gets tragically better. Turns out, ALL members of Galaxy Juice are Kuwaiti citizens, all working government jobs and in essence, these Kuwaiti artists made a project in Kuwait, and tried to promote it, also in Kuwait, by giving it away, and couldn’t. In their own hometown, they couldn’t. I wondered if maybe their music had been more “Kuwaiti”, if that would’ve cut the number of hoops they would’ve had to jump through; that their music being difficult to categorize made it so it required all that extra screening. And so I investigated.
Band Members
Salem Al Salem – Lead Vocals, Guitar (Job-Accountant)
Mohammad Al Owaisi – Drums, synthesizers (Job-Mechanical Engineer)
Abdula Asem: Bass (Job-Marine Biologist)
Bader Al Salem: Drum machines, Sampler
In listening to their work, I found many elements of Kuwaiti music – an alternative rock vibe that seamlessly goes into a rhythm, or a clap, or a scale which would immediately be recognized as Arabic, or even specifically Kuwaiti. In their live show from last spring of this year at Shaheed park, they stopped mid-song to go into a full on traditional Kuwaiti clapping session, Sharbeka. So, clearly, their work is a fusion, but what I’m more interested in is, are they innovating? Are they on the brink of innovation? That begs the question, when does one know when a band is doing Kuwaiti Rock? Or, Arab Rock? When or where are the lines? Do these lines exist? Or is it up to us to create them? Listen to it and tell me what you think. You could be thinking, well, Amin, Rock is Rock. My answer to that is, there was a time when there was American Rock n’ Roll, and British Rock n’ Roll, and although distinct in their sound, they were still considered Rock n’ Roll. It’s not like British Rock had distinct British hymns or maritime stories incorporated in it, it just had a different take on an American Rock n’ Roll. Over time, and with the gaining popularity of the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, British and American Rock n’ Roll meshed into one. But, there was a time when there was a division, and it was a division by geographical location. So, back to Kuwait and the possibility of music innovation, how would we recognize it? How would we recognize the emergence of Kuwaiti Rock? If it’s even possible. I know that in this coming season, many artists will be experimenting with Arabic, even Kuwaiti elements in their music, and the lines are going to start to get even more blurry. Do we call it “Kuwaiti Pop Music”? But it’s not. Do we call it “Kuwaiti Urban Music”? What are the rules? I’m sure an Ethnomusicologist could answer this quite simply, but I think we’re at a time where the lines are already blurry for artists trying to incorporate some of their roots into their work. Here is a specific part of Crystal Dunes where you can see a clear integration.
When I listen to Galaxy Juice it makes me think; are they making music for our time? There album is called Timenesia, and is somehow of the past, the future, of here and of other places. It’s like they’re this Rock group, experimenting with music of somewhere that is not of here, almost like they’re playing for outer space. With a name like Galaxy Juice, it all makes sense.
Post by Amin FARI Are you a musician looking to perform? On the flipside, are you a host looking for musicians to book? Or maybe you’ve just got an awesome idea you’d like to share? Get in touch [email protected] / Instagram: @xxmrfarixx
