BAO+

Mazen Kerbaj / trumpet
Charbel Haber / e.guitar
Sharif Sehnaoui / e.guitar
Eddie Prevost / percussion

The members of BAO are three of Lebanon's most adventurous musicians whose music operates on the fringes of free improv, avant-rock and psychedelia. For this concert, their first in London, BAO will be joined by the revolutionary AMM percussionist Eddie Prevost, from whose music they draw much inspiration.

All three of them are key figures in Beirut's burgeoning experimental music scene and have been the driving force behind Irtijal - International Festival for Experimental Music since 2001 and the Al Maslakh record label (“a UFO created to publish the unpublishable in the Lebanese art scene”).

As well as playing together in BAO, they have worked in many other contexts, notably Kerbaj and Sehnaoui's Wormholes live improvised music/drawing project, and Scrambled Eggs, Haber's underground post-punk band.

HBTV: Brownbook & Hypebeast Present Charbel Haber - Scrambled Eggs from HBTV on Vimeo.

As BAO, they released a debut album in 2004 and then went to STEIM in Amsterdam for a five day residency. They also recorded a live set on the sixth day with guests from the USA (Mike Bullock and Linda Aubry) and Lebanon (Raed Yassin). The result of these recordings will soon be released on Johnny Kafta’s Kids Menu, as a double CD.

BAO also plays with frequent guest Tony Elieh on bass as well as other occasional guests with whom they have performed in Beirut, Tripoli and Freikeh. You can also hear BAO tracks on Singing Knives' "Thoughts From Screeching Lake" and The Wire Magazine's "Below the Radar, Vol.8" compilations.

Wormholes - Sharif Sehnaoui & Mazen Kerbaj from Sharjah Art Foundation on Vimeo.

Mazen Kerbaj – drawing
Mazen Kerbaj – interview

johnnykafta.com
kerbaj.com
sharifsehnaoui.net