The Dwarfs of East Agouza - Live at Zebulon, LA 10/26/2023
October 26, 2023 - The Dwarfs of East Agouza (Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls) perform live at Zebulon, Los Angeles, California.
https://thedwarfsofeastagouza.....bandcamp.com/album/b
The Dwarfs of East Agouza is a trio from Cairo, Egypt, featuring Maurice Louca (Alif, Bikya), Sam Shalabi (Land of Kush, Shalabi Effect) and Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls, The Invisible Hands, Alvarius B.).
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt
**footage shot and shared by the Great one, Eric Lamers of Los Angeles, @boxelderone on Instagram.Thanks Eric!
#THEDWARFSOFEASTAGOUZA
On October 26th Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls brings his Cairo, Egypt based improv trio THE DWARFS OF EAST AGOUZA to Los Angeles for the first time. Composed of Bishop (Acoustic Bass, Vocals & Alto Sax), Maurice Louca (Keyboards & Drum Machine) and Sam Shalabi (Electric Guitar), the group was born in 2012 when the three were living in the same apartment building in Cairo's Agouza district. Since, they have toured Europe and released several albums on labels such as Sub Rosa, Nawa, and Akuphone. The bands instrumental improvisation-based explorations are propelled by Loucas North African percussion loops and shimmering keys, Shalabis West African tinged free jazz guitar and grounded by Bishops driving Krautrock-style acoustic bass.
Also appearing at this auspicious gig: the cherished L.A.-based experimental duo of Eyvind Kang & Jessika Kenney, and Insideoutmosphere, an evolving project of artist Reza Monahan.
Most Dwarfs of East Agouza performances and recording sessions are improvised everything the trio plays is continually morphing into the next unknown idea. As the sound, energy, and instantaneous composition flows, the trance is growing and growing, ranging from raw shapeshifting no wave, free jazz, traditional Arabic and modern experimental explorations to a concrete mystic trip from a universe expanding and contracting constantly. This is earth interrogating the sky, the sky rejoining the earth, an unknown and unwritten cosmogony.
**Maurice Louca** is an Egyptian musician and composer born in Cairo where he lives and works. As well as being the co-founder of the bands Bikya, Alif and Lekhfa, Louca lends his sound to numerous other projects, composing for theatre, film, dance and contemporary art. Hes released two LPs on Sub Rosa : Elephantine, Saet El-Hazz.
**Sam Shalabi** is a prolific Egyptian-Canadian composer and improviser living between Montreal, Quebec and Cairo, Egypt. As the founder of Land of Kush, Shalabi Effect, and many other projects, he began with punk rock in the late 70s and his work has evolved into a fusion of experimental music that incorporates modern/traditional Arabic, shaabi, noise, and classical music with spoken word, free improvisation and jazz.
**Alan Bishop** is a founding member of Phoenix/Seattle avant-garde trio Sun City Girls, who, for 27 years, explored the outer reaches of improvisation and composition (from free jazz/post rock psychedelic, and sound collage to outernational Arabic and Asian inspired folk music). As founder of the Sublime Frequencies record label, Bishop has released over 120 records, introducing previously ignored musical genres from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
