Reviewed by Mark Sherwood

SAOTV are renowned as pioneering experimentalists fusing electronic music to ethnic music from around the world. Only the first song “Isa al-Hamid” could come under the banner of dance music. This track is a blast of drum’n’bass, world fusion and emceeing from Efron Buckle of Ministri Of Defence "giving it up to the almighty" or so it says on the sleeve; actually he really does come off really smooth. For me this stunning cut stands head and shoulders above anything else on the EP. Everything else is a bit down tempo for me, although it can be nice for meditation/reflection. Where SAOTV stand out is that they really try to experiment with different instruments; this is to be applauded, but all in all I consider this disc a bit disappointing as it didn’t live up to the dizzy heights of the first track. However, still well worth searching out which you may have already done if you caught the band's stunning live set at Greenbelt or if the whole concept of adding electronic embelishments to strange ethnic music appeals.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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