Taraban is inspired by two Egyptian songs by Youssef El Manialawy from the early 20th century. Hassan Khan worked with a group of singers and musicians to develop a piece that employs the same modes and transitions as the original songs, yet allowing for improvisation. The musicians working with Khan played the oud, qanoun, violin and riqq. On stage, Khan uses filters, processors, virtual synthesizers, live mics, a battery of feedbacking mixers and laptop manipulation on top of the pre-composed and recorded sections. All the music performed is live.
Hassan Khan (b. 1975) is an artist, musician and writer based in Cairo. Recent exhibitions include: The Unrest of Forms, Secession, Vienna, 2013; Hassan Khan, SALT, Istanbul, 2012; Documenta 13, Kassel, 2012; Intense Proximity, Paris Triennial, 2012; and The Ungovernables, New Museum Triennial, New Museum, New York, 2012. His first solo show, ‘i am a hero / you are a hero’, was held in 1999 at the Gezira Art Center, Cairo. Most recently for the Nuit Blanche Festival Khan premiered Composition for a Public Park a large scale multichannel music and lights installation at the Parc du Belleville in Paris. Khan also regularly performs his own music live; recent appearances include: Klangzeit Festival, Munster; Maerz Musik Festival, Berlin 2013; Ghetto, Istanbul, 2013; Auditorium du Louvre, Paris 2012; Teatro Fondamenta Nuove, Venice, 2012; and as the opening act for the 1st D-CAF Festival, Cairo, 2012. His publications include The Agreement (2011) and Nine Lessons Learned from Sherif El Azma (2009)
Khan performed Taraban in April 2014 during the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival.
[This video was produced by Medrar TV and is featured in partnership with Jadaliyya Culture]