YEMENBLUES

At a time of dangerous political, religious, and cultural polarization and xenophobia, Yemen Blues and Only Love Remains lead by example, creating a color-blind, all-embracing celebration of gyrating togetherness with love firmly at its pulsing core. The members of Yemen Blues are spread across continents, with roots that span cultures. This global patchwork manifests in their singularly exhilarating polyglot mélange of Bedouin folk, funk, blues, avant-garde, Arabian classical, fuzzed-out rock, psych and jazz. So, wherever you’re from, Yemen Blues speaks your language. Equally a gathering of musicians and a spiritual channeling, Yemen Blues rejects the very concept of taking sides, instead seeing only unity and love as pathways to harmony on both micro and macro levels. They explore intricate and potentially thorny issues through the simplicity of sheer fun–a universal state where we all can meet. Set for an August release, the 10-track Only Love Remains is the boldest offering yet from a group already known for its sonic daring. Unlike their prior albums which were created from finished Kahalani compositions, this time they deliberately shook things up by booking a studio for two weeks with only a few of his embryonic ideas to build upon. The result is a collective and semi-improvised outpouring that embraces the strengths of all four accomplished musicians and the richness of their individual cultures, with performances elevated by the knife’s-edge wartime circumstances.