There is a comfortable space in between the natural and the synthetic. The world as we know it doesn’t make these elements mutually exclusive. We are surrounded by this dichotomy whether or not we choose to acknowledge it, so more than likely our ideas of what is “pure” have already been machine gunned with holes. We have (or at least attempted to) developed some type of balance between the tech and the bio. It is here that we have failed to find definition and succeeded in discovering Zaki Ibrahim.
Eclectica (Episodes in Purple), Ibrahim’s second EP, bends and stretches freely into various positions. “Love-Like” is sonic mist. The track doesn’t attempt to penetrate the listener but rather, looms above and waits, to float down when ready. “Computer Girl” delivers almost the opposite of what the title suggests. Technotronic comes to mind but that’s just not the case. The song’s vocal lines are light, but the layered sounds behind them are busy. It yields a surprisingly soothing delivery. “Lost in You” treks out on an interesting trip towards pairing the tranquil with the frantic. It begins as a soft French ballad over hypnotic arpeggios and ends in what seems like a battle between instruments. A pretty but false lullaby.
Eclectica is indeed the product of an open mind and we could praise Ibrahim for breaking boundaries and transcending labels. We love to credit artists for being genre annihilators, especially because we keep getting bulldozed by the prosaic. Ibrahim could possibly qualify but that’s not where the credit belongs with regard to this collection or her as an artist. What she can be credited for is making music that combines ingredients which normally shouldn’t work but do. Not all sound mash ups are successful because they’re “different”. Often, those leaps off the cliff of creativity end up being weird and off-putting and try to hide behind the pretense of being experimental and progressive. We could in fact categorize her if we wanted to/needed to, but why bother? It just so happens that this space is just as warm and comfortable without the box.
