Maral’s ‘Mahur Club’ [APR121] out today

Maral – Mahur Club
APR121 | Out Now
Download/Cassette
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Los Angeles’s Maral has spent the past half-decade quietly honing an approach that meshes the latest in club music contortions, a range of pulverized dub effects, and samples from her library of Iranian folk, pop and classical musics. More likely to be found working behind the scenes for local labels and club nights, Maral steps into the spotlight on Mahur Club, highlighting a trans-historical collage technique that emphasizes formal experimentation as much as it does personal history.

Exploring (rhythmic) psychedelia in both concrete and abstract forms, Mahur Club dials in on mashed out versions of Jersey club, reggaeton and dub, nodding to psych rock and trip hop via whirlwind takes on contemporary battle dance genres. Repetition and rapid sample chop are utilized on tracks like “don’t trip on your way down” and “lori lullaby”, pairing familiar dance-floor rhythms with waterlogged Farsi vocals in a sublime vortex of tradition, pop and functionality.

Mahur Club features material from ABE, DJ Abosohar and Loris. The release consists of two separate components; a cassette featuring two mixed portions and a free mixtape of individual tracks. Mastering provided by Will Mitchell, artwork by Maral Mahmoudi and design by Caleb Ali Miller.