Zini -- Zini

This isn't quite like anything that's usually featured on Adobe & Teardrops, but it's so intriguing I had to share. Particularly on a week like this, Zini's blend of Middle Eastern music with 90s-style alt-rock is a reminder of the importance of cultural synthesis, using two seemingly disparate elements and making something greater. The album's opener, "Faison," is a guitar-heavy thrasher that introduces many of the musical themes heard throughout the album.



As the music unspools, we're treated to sonic explorations of gorgeous non-Western instruments like the oud, the digeridoo, the saz (a Turkish stringed instrumented), and duduk (an Armenian flute). The Stockholm-based collective wends its way through many genres. "The Purity of This" settles on brooding acoustic guitars and peaceful contemplation of this life. It just goes to show that a whole lot can be gained by merging -- not conquest, domination, or willful isolationism.

Zini -- Facebook

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