Review: Ninety Nine Eyes is rooted in an old Takhmira, a Zar ritual poem, and is the result of a three-year "metamorphosis" between studio time and stage performances. In one way of looking at things, it's neither recorded nor live. It exists on a different plain, where it is impossible to figure out what came first or even when. Were the ideas conceived in a premeditated fashion? Or did they emerge in the moment, in front of an audience? This is getting us nowhere, so let's move on. Yunis, if you're not already on-side, is one of Egypt's leading lights of compositions, and here he employees resonant mizmar, the century-spanning rhythms of tombak, ghostly voices of people who may or may not have been there, somewhere, at some point, and the structure of a Sufi Hadra. The result is a two part stunner that begins with a tense awakening, filled with expectation and anticipation. Perhaps even nerves. Then we erupt into a synth-infused ritualistic tidal wave.
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