DuOud is a duo, consisting of two Paris based musicians, MEHDI HADDAB and JEAN-PIERRE “Smadj” SMADJA.

The name of the band is probably a cleverly coined expression for “two ouds”, or at least thats what this writer assumes. The latter is an acoustic instruments of North Africa and the Middle East, and is coincidentally also the instrument the two musicians use as a base for their music creations.

It can be said, that Mehdi and Smadj are in fact bringing the oud playing to a whole new level, with their freshly, and very 21^st century take on it.  They are not shy with mixing it, and it seems they will go for just about anything in this faze of the creative process, which makes their music unique and fresh, and also variating in style and form.

Mehdi is in this case, the virtuoso on the oude, while Smadj shows his brilliance with sound engineering, making the DuOud sound a mashup of North African native sounds and Western technology. They are hardly pioneers in this sense, because the lute combined with electronic beats, well this has all be done, many many times. However, in the case of DuOud, bringing together all these different music elements, never feels forced, as the different instruments and melodies blend together in the most natural manner, with the outcome result being simply astonishing to one’s ears, leaving the listener in the state of awe.

DuOud music is so good, because the two musicians compliment each other superbly, and have the courage to brake away from the standard bonds, this type of music often puts on itself. Something in this music simply flies over the standard form of a native instrument playing over an often cheap house beat.

I am not surprised to read about people falling in to actual trances, when hearing the two parisians play live. It is for sure the type of music, you need to listen to in a venue, with proper sound, that will allow you to indulge yourself in all the geniusly combined elements and layers of it.

Written by Lucy Natek