Some of the most exciting young musicians from across the Arabic world will come together in Britain in May to take part in a bold and innovative new kind of global collaboration.

Under the banner ‘Music Matbakh’ (Arabic for ‘kitchen’), a dozen performers from six different countries in North Africa and the Near East will spend three weeks working intensively with leading British musicians on a programme that will culminate in a series of performances and recordings.  The unique collaboration will also be filmed and an interactive website with video diaries will enable music fans in all of the countries involved to follow the work-in-progress.

The invited musicians include both popular and traditional performers, virtuoso instrumentalists, singers, percussionists, wizards of electronica and MCs drawn from Egypt, Jordan,  Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia.  They will work with musical director Justin Adams (producer of the highly acclaimed album, ‘Aman Iman’, by Tinariwen) who has been involved with British Council projects in Syria and Tunisia and whose wide and varied experience made him a natural choice.

“What attracted me to Music Matbakh is that it’s so hugely ambitious”, Adams says.   “The dozen musicians come from all over the Arabic world and most of them have never met, let alone worked with each other before.   Putting us all together for a three week residency is a bit like a musical version of the Big Brother house.  Nobody knows what’s going to happen, except that it’s going to be fascinating and very creative because everybody has been picked for the open-mindedness of their approach.”

One of Britain’s most versatile guitarists, Adams grew up in the Middle East and came to prominence playing with Jah Wobble in the late 1980s.  He went on to work with a host of other artists including Sinead O’Connor and for the past five years has been the guitarist in Robert Plant’s band, Strange Sensation.  His affinity with the music of Africa and the Near East can be heard on his acclaimed album ‘Desert Road’.

Other British musicians involved include the drummer Leo Taylor, who has worked with Matthew Herbert and Nitin Sawhney and Andrew McCormack, pianist with Jazz Jamaica.  Further well-known names from the British music scene are also expected to participate on a guest basis.

“The musicians involved come from such varied backgrounds but that’s the appeal of a project like Music Matbakh,”  Adams says.  “It’s about breaking down barriers and creating an alternative environment for some very talented musicians to work together in a way they would find hard to do at home.  London is such a multi-cultural capital that it’s a natural place to base a residency like this.”

Leah Zakss, music adviser at the British Council, says:  “People often think of the Council’s work as simply sending British artists to perform abroad but we always look for opportunities for exchange and reciprocity in everything we do.”  

The British Council has been involved with musical projects on a country-by-country basis in North Africa and the Near East for some years.  “In many ways Music Matbakh is an extension of what we’ve been doing”  Zakss adds.  “We’ve found an enormous demand among Arabic musicians for collaborative opportunities and with six different countries involved, it made sense to bring everyone together in a quite different environment and see what emerges.”

The Arabic musicians arrive in Britain on May 5th and will spend every day working together intensively with British musicians in a rehearsal studio, with evenings set aside for meeting other musicians and networking opportunities.  During the residency concerts will take place in Cambridge, Gateshead and London.  “The performances are going to be interesting because people are going to get to hear what’s developing at different stages and in its raw state, “ Adams says.  “It’s a challenge but a thrilling one”.

The entire project will be recorded and filmed from beginning to end by Yeast, a creative visual agency who have worked with such diverse artists as Nitin Sawhney, Courtney Pine, The Beastie Boys, Brian Eno, Michael Nyman and Baaba Maal.

After leaving Britain on May 27th, Music Matbakh will stop off for a concert in Casablanca, with further performances and film screenings planned in Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Damascus and Tunis so that the learning and creativity resulting from the UK residency can be shared across the region.

For Biographies of musicians go to the Musicians page