Mighty Parisian electronic music crew Acid Arab have been putting European festivals and clubs under a spell with their intoxicating blend of sharp Western electronic music with Eastern sounds and vocals. Formed in 2012 by Parisian DJs Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho, Acid Arab patiently honed their style by meeting with scores of artists from all over North Africa and the Middle East. They laid down the groundwork by releasing several EPs on the electronic music label Versatile, featuring collabs, remixes and tracks by other artists. Moving on to create their own tracks, they became a fully-fledged musical entity by teaming up with Pierrot Casanova, Nicolas Borne and, for studio and live activities, sensational Algerian keyboard player Kenzi Bourras.

Born in the transcultural cauldron that is Paris, their concept was to create a space for Arab culture in the world of contemporary electronic music. Fascinated by complex Eastern rhythmic structures, which drive dancers to trance just like an acid house does, their aim is to take these codes and use analogue techno devices to create something new: oriental acid music which combines the coldness of techno and the dramatic power of the East. They don’t paste oriental sounds on occidental beats, they want to embody both cultures without pretending to reinvent oriental music. Their third LP Trois (2023) is a collection of serious dancefloor bangers with sophisticated production and eight guest vocalists from North Africa, Syria and Turkey.