Track By Track: Julmud جُلْمود – Tuqoos | طُقُوس

There’s a whole host of influences from the MENA region across the album; Julmud leaves no stone unturned. You’ll hear strains of Jazani music, Yemeni street music and Egyptian 80s pop. There’s also nods to Bedouin music, Sawt music from the Gulf and Palestinian chants, while to the west you’ll hear echoes of breakbeat, bass and vaporwave.

It’s a cocktail that’s singular and unique, each track takes you on its own journey, yet the entirety of the release is cohesive – it feels like a story of spaces, time and places.

Below Julmud dives into the story behind each track, the influences and the visions they call to mind.

Basmala

Colour: Greyish gold

Inspiration: Jazani music 

Setting: Ramallah

This track is a club track but still maintaining the spiritual/tribal sense, inspired by Jazani music of North Yemen with a greyish gold palette mind state.

Kassara

Colour: Stone white

Inspiration: Jazani music

Setting: Ramallah

I think of this as a working song from prehistoric stone workers in Palestine, inspired by multiple Arabic rhythms.

Haras El Jabal

Colour: Dark purple blue

Inspiration: Hijazi music

Setting: Ramallah

Made with the dancefloor in mind, but it also has the vision of nocturnal mountain creatures roaming through the Levant.

Marhale A’la

Colour: Reddish pink

Inspiration: Yemeni music

Setting: Ramallah

This is an emotional one with a sense of Awe, chants praising Yemen as our mother, because alot of types of music that inspire me from Arabic music originated from there.

Saree’ el thawaban

Colour: Purple / lime fluorescent green

Inspiration: Egyptian 80’s pop / vaporwave

Setting: Ramallah

Egyptian mawlid type of approach with a deep slowed down use of Egyptian 80’s pop.

Falnukmel

Colour: Sand stone (wadi rum)

Inspiration: Sawt music from the Gulf

Setting: Ramallah

This is Arabic breakbeat music with a distorted aura that represents the inspiration and the era it comes from, which is old Sawt recordings from the gulf region.

Toshkol Asi

Colour: Sunset purple

Inspiration: Bedouin music / marching

Setting: Ramallah

The image of this for me is a bedouin caravan walking in half speed

Kalma’

Colour: Light blue and sunset yellow

Inspiration: Soul music / vaporwave

Setting: Ramallah

Diving in and out the sweet melodies of soul music like a dolphin, this track has a watery wavy vibe for me.

Ishi Hawa’i

Colour: Saffron

Inspiration:  

Setting: Ramallah

Percussive textures and Southeast Asian indistinct vocals make this a transcendental experience.

Juwway

Colour: Metallic dark blue

Inspiration: while having my morning coffee and listening to random stuff, i thought this old Lebanese pop vocal would fit perfectly in a heavy jungly rave skit .

Setting: Ramallah

Harti

Colour: Amethyst

Inspiration: I made this track as a single for the album with a bit of concentration on bars unlike most of the tracks, and I feel like it has a bit of almost every track from the album.

Setting: Ramallah

Roh Al Nahrain

Colour: Dark teal

Inspiration: inspired by Arabian sea music, imagining myself at the intersection of the tigris and euphrates.

Setting: Ramallah

Mawlana

Colour: Rough silver

Inspiration: channeling old Yemeni street traditions through this with a hint of moroccan Dhikr.

Setting: Ramallah

Taghyeer Thabet

Colour: Metallic black

Inspiration: this was approached with a ritual state of mind, traditional arabic drumming and Palestinian chants from al bireh city.

Setting: Ramallah

Ur

Colour: Olive oil green

Inspiration: an improvisation done in a quiet state of mind after removing the frets of my guitar, with an experimental Arabic folk approach.

Setting: Ramallah

Tuqoos | طُقُوس is out now on Bilna’es بالناقص.