Acid Arab

Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho are Acid Arab. The basic idea behind the Parisian duo's project is to weld a loose network of Eastern influences—strings, percussion and Arabic melodies—to the framework of house and techno. In their own words, the project first started "as a concept, then a Facebook group, then a party, then (almost) a genre, then it was us." In 2013 Versatile Records released the first Acid Arab EP, a various artists 12-inch that featured one track from Minisky and Carvalho (as Acid Arab) alongside productions from the likes of I:Cube and Crackboy, who remixed Omar Souleyman's "Shift Al Mani." Each production took the Acid Arab concept and ran with it, laying bare the project's potential. The release was followed by a second Acid Arab EP, this time featuring impressive cuts from Legowelt and DJ Gregory (as Headcore). And towards the end of 2013, they announced plans to release an Acid Arab compilation. Due out through Versatile this month, it features mostly unheard material from French luminaries like I:Cube, Etienne Jaumet and Pilooski, while two of Minisky and Carvalho's own tracks—one of which features a Parisian street performer called Sha dïfeature as well.