It Spills

There seems to be no end to the great music coming out of Cairo right now, from the experimental club sounds of 3Phaz, ABADIR, and ZULI to the mahraganat and electro chaabi of Shobra el General and Ibrahim X. On It Spills Hassan Abou Alam offers something different again, with a punchy mix of UK club sounds and rave-ready beats. All four tracks here go hard, carried by fat, choppy rhythms, but there is a playful atmosphere that runs through them too, starting from the perky bassline of the opening title track, all the way to the skittering garage beats of closer “All used up.” Though this is very much a club oriented record, with Hassan Abou Alam’s penchant for keeping it interesting and expertly weaving minimal techno, acid atmospheres and heavy dub, It Spills is a great one for the headphones too.