quête:ouzo bazooka

Ouzo Bazooka enchant on Kapaim, drawing listeners through a maze of hypnotic, head snapping grooves, cosmic string bending, and swirling guitar explorations. As trailblazers of the new Middle Eastern psychedelia movement, the band fuse traditional folk sounds with gritty soul, funk, and rock.

Title track Tokyo Midnight opens with a groovy guitar riff and continues into an upbeat rhythmic workout, complete with a funky bassline and ululating keyboards. Yurika’s enchanting voice ties things together in a soft yet hypnotic musical whirlwind.

On the B-side, Nasnusa, a beautiful guitar solo flows into a captivating rhythm inspired by traditional Mizrahi music. Yurika’s delicate vocals evoke a love story: a couple watches the sunset as the gates to a new world begin to open. As Nasnusa fades into the light, her lover recalls her beauty and reflects fondly on the wonderful time they shared together.

Founded by Amir Sadot and Ilan Smilan, Sababa 5 have been playing together for two years and recently built their own recording studio. “We just wanted a place to record our music where the whole band could fit together in the same room… so we built the place ourselves! Mind you, there’s not a lot of space… in fact, we’re a bit crammed in there, but that’s how we like it.” Sababa 5’s musical style has been shaped by all its members and continues to evolve while always remaining deeply groove-centric. Their sound is rooted in surf rock and retro funk, drawing strong inspiration from Arabic folk and funk music of the ’60s and ’70s, as well as artists from that era such as the legendary Aris San.

Yurika is a Japanese performer born and raised in Tokyo. During her teenage years, she discovered belly dancing and quickly fell in love with the art form. She later travelled throughout the Middle East to deepen her studies, learning from choreographers such as Orly Portal and performing alongside renowned artists including Raquy Danziger, Boom Pam, and Ouzo Bazooka.

Kutiman joins Batov Records’ Middle Eastern Grooves Series with explosive double-sider

Batov Records is thrilled to announce the debut of pioneering producer, multi-instrumentalist, and multidisciplinary artist Kutiman on its highly collectable Middle Eastern Grooves 45s series. The release features two essential, souk-fuelled, psych-funk heaters: “Haraka” and “Khamsin”.

A prolific musical force, Kutiman delivers the goods on “Haraka” (“movement”), layering neck-snapping rock drums, irresistible psychedelic basslines, and haunting organ riffs, with microtonal-bending synths and tabla-inspired percussion.

On the B-side, “Khamsin” (“heatwave”) continues the trip with another heavy dose of Middle Eastern psych and funk, culminating in a blistering guitar solo in his signature Middle Eastern style by longtime collaborator Uri Brauner Kinrot (Ouzo Bazooka, Boom Pam), who also contributes beguilingly languid bass guitar riffs.

Both tracks showcase Kutiman’s distinctive ability to fuse regional traditions with modern grooves, marking a bold new addition to the label’s standout series.

Limited edition 300 copies. Sababa 5’s debut single features the talented Japanese singer and belly dancer Yurika. The two songs - Crossroad of Love (Ai no Kousaten) and Blue Universe (Aoi Sekai) – blend Yurika's dreamy vocals and texts with the band's 70's sensibility and Israeli soul music. As the band plays a mediterranean groove of both Israeli and Arabic origins, Yurika's Japanese lyrics float effortlessly on top. Sababa 5 and Yurika met in the summer of 2017, when Yurika was in Israel for an internship at the Orly Portal Dance Company. Yurika, performing at the time as a belly dancer with Boom Pam and Ouzo Bazooka, wrote lyrics in Japanese for two melodies composed by Sababa 5 guitarist Ilan Smilan. Both songs on the single are love songs, love that is both personal and universal. The combination of lyrics in Japanese, Yurika's gossamer vocals influenced by the Kayokyoku style and the Israeli sound of Sababa 5 creates a unique and interesting sound. Yurika (vocals), Ilan Smilan (guitar), Amir Sadot (bass) In the recording Lior Romano (keyboards) and Assan (drums).

ABOUT SABABA 5 Sababa 5 was formed in 2016 by Amir Sadot and Ilan Smilan, both members of TIGRIS band and the Hoodna Orchestra. The four members of Sababa 5 are already well known for their work with some of Tel Aviv's top artists/vocalists such as Gili Yalo, Liraz Cherchi, Sari and Reno, Ester Rada and Kutiman - to name but a few. With influences that range from Wrecking Crew and The Funk Brothers recordings from the 60's, to analog Middle Eastern music from the 70's, the sound of the band constantly evolves around different genres and rhythms. Yet, in its core, Sababa 5 remains very much a groove-centric band. The main source of inspiration for the band are "lehakot ketzev" (beat groups) from Israel that played innovative combinations of psychedelic rock mixed with Mediterranean Arab music during the 60’s and 70's. The fusion of East and West, along with the new spirit brought by the band members, creates a unique mix of styles that comes together into a new and original work. The band is currently working on a new instrumental album alongside the production of new songs for local singers. ABOUT YURIKA Born in the Chiba district on the eastern outskirts of Tokyo, Yurika began her journey towards belly dancing at the tender age of five, taking up lessons in jazz dance. After high-school, she applied for belly dancing lessons almost by chance - yet as she quickly fell in love with the music and the nature of the movements, Yurika knew this is what she was meant to do. Before long, Yurika began traveling around the Middle East, learning belly dancing in different cities and countries like Egypt, Morocco and Turkey. Whilst in Turkey, she met the famous Istanbul-New York based female darbuka player Raquy Danziger - who later invited her to perform in Israel. Once in Israel, Yurika began studying with Orly Portal, a master of contemporary folklore dance. After finishing her studies with Orly, Yurika remained in Tel Aviv and joined bands like Boom Pam and Ouzo Bazooka as a dancer. In her work with Sababa 5, Yurika is featured as a vocalist for the first time.

Gili Yalos selbstbetiteltes Album verbindet verschiedene Facetten äthiopischer Musik mit James Brown und Mulatu Astatke, Soul und Funk der Siebziger, Psychedelia und Ethio-Jazz. Die Songs werden von einnehmenden Rhythmen getragen. Groove, Beat und Flow vermischen sich mit einem großen Schatz
betörender Melodien und den Lyrics, die Yalo mit seiner einzigartigen Stimme auf Englisch und Amharisch
vorträgt. Für dieses wirklich außergewöhnliche Ergebnis arbeitete Yalo mit den Produzenten Beno Hendler
(Balkan Beat Box) und Uri Brauner Kinrot (Boom Pam, Ouzo Bazooka) sowie vielen talentierten Musikern aus
der quirligen Musikszene von Tel Aviv zusammen. Zwei Jahre hat Yalo an den Songs geschrieben, getrieben
von dem Wunsch, seine Wurzeln und Vergangenheit im Hier und Jetzt zu verankern. Damit gleicht "Gili Yalo"
der kreativen Aufarbeitung seiner eigenen Biografie. Und die ist nicht ohne: In der geheimen Operation
Moses floh er mit einer Gruppe äthiopischer Juden 1984 während der Hungerkatastrophe im Sudan zu Fuß in
Flüchtlingscamps, durch die Wüste hin zum gelobten Land. Dabei sang er für seine Familie. Es war die
Musik, die ihnen die Kraft gab, weiterzugehen.