Guedra Guedra releases new single “Paradigm”
Guedra Guedra
Releases new single “Paradigm”
New album MUTANT out August 29th via Domino’s Smugglers Way
Guedra Guedra, the electronic music project of Moroccan producer Abdellah M. Hassak, will release MUTANT, his debut LP on Domino’s Smugglers Way imprint, on August 29th, and today he shares his new single “Paradigm.” Inspired by the traditional chants of the Maasai tribes of Kenya and Tanzania, “Paradigm” mixes aquatic synth chords and 4/4 kicks with mesmerizing call-and-response voices. “Percussion plays a central role in Maasai music,” says Abdellah, “and in ‘Paradigm,’ it is recreated through body slaps and organic textures, evoking the communal dances and rituals of the Maasai people. This rhythmic foundation enhances the song’s nomadic and ancestral spirit while infusing it with a contemporary dynamic.” The track arrives today with a visualiser by Sophie Koko.
Watch the “Paradigm” visualiser here.
Stream “Paradigm” here.
“Paradigm” follows MUTANT’s previously released first single “Drift of Drummer,” hailed as “a cauldron of rhythms, humanized by snippets of speaking voices” by the New York Times and “(a song that) purrs with polyrhythmic energy…it seems to transform multiple times across its heady, evolutionary span” by Clash. “It’s going to sound great on late summer nights when you’re trying to keep the season from slipping away,” wrote Stereogum.
The sound of Guedra Guedra is a dazzling compound of visionary electronics and musical traditions drawn from across the continent of Africa. On his second album MUTANT, released on Smugglers Way, the Moroccan producer (real name Abdellah M. Hassak) sculpts irresistible rhythms and sounds from his analogue synths and drum machines, blending them with percussive fragments, field recordings from Morocco, Tanzania, Guinea and more, gathered while travelling across the vast landmass.
MUTANT explores themes of identity, Pan-Africanism, Afrofuturism, and decolonization, bridging the musical heritage of the continent with elements of techno, bass music and dub. “I created something energetic, where I could find my freedom to compose,” Abdellah says. “I wanted to have a cultural sound that explored innovation with African and diasporic music alongside the vibes of rhythm and the vibes of bass.” The songs on MUTANT celebrate the wealth of African polyrhythmic forms and also challenge how this richness has long been marginalized by technological tools and systems of thought shaped by Western logic and models of standardization. “Mainstream music production tools struggle to capture the depth and sensitivity of non-Western cultural expressions,” says Abedellah. “They often render nonlinear rhythms, meaningful silences, and community-driven dynamics from other cultures invisible. Decolonizing music and technology, therefore, means questioning the very foundations of these tools, and rethinking their design so they can host other worldviews.”
MUTANTis a revolutionary record, an ingenious meld of the organic and the electronic. While Guedra Guedra’s samples and field recordings celebrate the diverse folk music history and heritage of Africa, his drum programming and synth work across the album reinterpret these sounds for dance floors. As Abdellah says, he’s “researching rhythm, researching sound, researching people. I said, ‘I need to learn more about African culture.’ I’m learning at the same time as I’m doing this music.”
GUEDRA GUEDRA LIVE
July 4: Down the Rabbit Hole Festival - Groene Heuvels, Beuningen, NL
July 26: Sin Sal Festival (Secret Line Up) - San Simon's Island, SP
September 11: Arabesques Festival – Montpellier, FR
September 13: Ponton Miziki Festival - Pointe Noire, CR (TBC)
September 17: Mercat de Musica Viva de Vic – Vic, SP
September 19: Institut des cultures d'Islam - Paris, FR
September 20: Scopitone Festival – Nantes, FR
MUTANT will be available on white vinyl with a limited edition screen-printed jacket, standard black vinyl, CD and digitally. Pre-order here: Dom Mart|Digital.
Guedra Guedra Online:
Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music
Smugglers Way
Website | Instagram
