DUOUD - Oud electronic duo from France with Smadj et Mehdi Haddab

New album release 1st July

MENSHEN

Duoud - Pectine (part 1) - Meshen
Duoud - Pectine (part 2) - Meshen

The meeting of the old and sacred instrument with electronic music

Mehdi Haddab and Smadj choose to play their instrument with a new point of view using electricity for it sometimes and a small computer to play real times beats.

News

MENSHEN new album release 1st July on Accords Croisés & PIAS
9 new tracks produced by Smadj, Mehdi Haddab & David Husser

Always “trash & kitsch”, The mighty parisian musicans-producers duet DuOuD – Smadj & Mehdi Haddab are back with a long-awaited new album MENSHEN! Album in their image. Smadj and Mehdi Haddab are as much pranksters as the Menshen who represent them on the album. Door guardians in Chinese iconography. Funny and mystical at the same time. Goalkeepers who go in pairs, as much as these two. Assumed playfulness, respectful insolence. Such an oxymoron. “Les enfants terribles” of the oud are back! Reckless as ever: “Jean-Pierre Smadja and Mehdi Haddab are not only the guardians of a door: they bless the movement which makes the threshold pass, in one direction or the other”. Bertrand Dicale
DuOuD had released a very noticed first album in 2002 “Wild Serenade” . Then an all too rare gem “Sakat” with the Yemeni master Abdulatif Yagoub in 2006 and “Pink Kong” released in 2009 by World Village. We left them between tradition and futurism, brilliantly manhandling a timeless instrument, the oud.

DuOuD & Mahmoud Goma Tribu
Line-Up with Smadj, Mehdi Haddab and Mahmoud GOMA Tribu (4 musicians + 1 dancer)

More than a double bill, DuOuD & Mahmoud Goma Tribu is a wedding imagined by the very renowed, expert es world music, Monsieur Alain Weber. On one side, DuOuD – Smadj & Mehdi Haddab – often called « les enfants terribles » of oud. On the other side, the Pharaoh of Luxor : Mahmoud Goma and his most glittering partners playing ouds, percussions and dancing. It’s the very first encounter between the popular music of Upper Egypt and the avant-garde vision of DuOuD. And there is one thing to unite them : a sense of celebration and wild feast. An electric and inspired wedding ! They want it long and restless like a very first night… At the risk of being electrocuted, the oud vibrates according to the psychedelic deviations of SMADJ and Mehdi Haddab, sorcerer’s apprentices from a trance not so distant from the sacrosanct “tarab” of the courts of yesteryear, where feverish and elated sultans clothes were tearing off, under the influence of the “chetan”, the devil of poetry.
But with Mahmoud Goma‘s kaff saidi, (“saidi” from Upper Egypt), a musical and rhythmic mix of Bedouin “kaff” and Nubian dances, anything is possible! The quivering of the body under the rapid rhythm of the “maksoum” is accentuated by this unique way of playing the tabla in Egypt. The magnetic scents of the oud, both pentatonic and modal, African and Arab, and whose ancestor slumbers in the tomb of Ahmôsis (1500 BC), resonate with the same ambivalent sound range as those of DuOuD mixed with some experimental music from the 70s. Mahmoud Goma, star of Luxor, declaims, facing the Valley of the Kings, his songs from old musicals, those of a world where “the bride has cheeks red as strawberries and lips soft as honey and where love is bright like the sun ”. text by Alain Weber

Buy “Menshen”

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On tour again for 2022 in France, Netherlands, Portugal, Brazil…

20/06/2023 LOUXOR - EGYPTE ( DuOuD & MAHMOUD GOMA)

22/06/2023 ALEXANDRIE - EGYPTE (DuOuD & MAHMOUD GOMA)

23/06/2023 CAIRE - EGYPTE (DuOuD & MAHMOUD GOMA)

22/07/2023 GDYNIA - POLAND (DuOuD)

28/07/2023 RIMINI - ITALIA (DuOuD)

09/08/2023 SHERBROOKE - CANADA (DuOuD)

10/08/2023 MONTREAL - CANADA (DuOuD)

21/09/2023 FEZ - MAROC (DuOuD & MAHMOUD GOMA)

Our Story

The mighty parisian musicans-producers duet DUOUD – Mehdi Haddab & Smadj have been the first band to mix the North African oud with electronic sounds. The pair builds a musical cycle that looks to their North African roots while absorbing and morphing contemporary music styles break beats, techno, jazz, grooves & rock guitar sounds, they do it with such an imaginative freedom that sets them apart from their contemporaries. Their Debut album « Wild Serenade » saw them winner for the Best Newcomer award in the BBC Music awards supported by 3 years world tour. In 2006, DuOud is recording “Sakat” in Yemen with Abdulatif Yagoub. A true meeting of culture, a deep and rare jewel. On “Ping Kong”, the duet hovers between tradition and futurism, with varying moods ranging from surf kitsch to contemporary groove, with featuring from Cyril Atef and Vincent Segal from Bumcello and Malouma.

Jean-Pierre Smadja aka Smadj as an artist, producer – recording engineer never stops experiencing musical collaborations on various projects with great artists such Burhan Öçal, Erik Truffaz, Talvin Singh Cem Yildiz, Ibrahim Maalouf, Bojan Z… Algerian Born, Mehdi Haddab is well known as both a virtuoso player of the classical oud, and for his pioneering musical project Speed Caravan breaking into the rock world armed with an electric oud. Mehdi and his Speed Caravan have buildt their reputation and fan base at festivals worldwide, Speed Caravan’s electrifying, high-energy stage performance has become their trademark.

Both of them have chosen the oud, just like one chooses one’s favorite pastry: with an accepted greed, without fear nor complex. And they truly became a phenomenon. Respectfully insolent with the instrument tradition, alternating “classical” Arab tunes and personal compositions, warmth of the acoustic instrument and electronic saturation, Duoud burnt the stage during many years. Life and projects teared them apart… But the “Enfants Terribles” of the oud are back ! The new repertoire already polished in China, Australia, India, Panama, East Africa, Albania, Belgium, Portugal among other stages. An album just like them. Smadj & Mehdi Haddab are as much pranksters as the Menshen who represent them on the album, these door keepers borrowed from Chinese iconography. Characters that go in pairs, funny and mystical at the same time; as much as these two very same musicians. Assumed playfulness, respectful insolence. An oxymoron of this ilk. “Les enfants terribles” of the oud are back! Reckless as ever: “Smadj and Mehdi Haddab are not only the guardians of a door: they bless the movement that makes the threshold pass, in one direction or the other”. Bertrand Dicale

BBC – Radio 3
Awards World Music 2003

THE CREW

In 2002, Smadj joined fellow oud magician, Mehdi Haddab to create DuOuD, a duo transporting the oud to the 21st century. First album signed on Label Bleu, a famous Jazz label “Wild serenade” (2002) – album BBC awards nominated. Second album “Sakat” with Abdulatif Yagoub (2006) and then “Ping Kong” (2009) on World Village.

SMADJ

Tunisian born, Parisian musician, Jean-Pierre Smadja (Smadj) grew up listening to Oriental, Brazilian, funk, soul, and folk music. Releasing his first album in 1994, he became quickly recognized on an international scale for his signature blending of acoustic and electronic sounds on “Equilibriste”. Smadj is East meets West, often severely borderline. Personal Website

MEHDI HADDAB

Mehdi Haddab is famous for the creation of the band EKOVA with Dierdre Dubois & Arash Khalatbari (first album signed by Sony Music : “Heaven’s Dust” 1998 + Remix album (featuring DJ Cam, Doctor L, Da Lata , Smadj … ). In 2009, he creates the band SPEED CARAVAN as a leader. Mehdi Haddab is a real crossover artist, multiplicating movies collaboration.

Jean-Pierre Smadja (Smadj)

Tunisian born, Parisian musician, Jean-Pierre Smadja (Smadj) grew up listening to Oriental, Brazilian, funk, soul, and folk music. Entering a jazz school at age 15 due to his intense interest in the guitar, Smadj’s musical development came to be characterized by transforming traditional jazz styles into eclectic sounds. This interest in the mechanics of making music led Smadj to pursue a degree in sound engineering, which led to a fruitful career as a recording & sound engineer for famous classical and folk musicians.

Releasing his first album in 1994, Smadj became quickly recognized on an international scale for his signature blending of acoustic and electronic sounds on “Equilibriste”, which would ascend on the European World Music Charts to the number 4 position. In 2002, Smadj joined fellow oud magician, Mehdi Haddab to create DuOuD, a duo transporting thevoud to the 21st century.

In 2003, Smadj joined master percussionist Burhan Öçal for Burhan Öçal & The Trakya All Stars and in 2005 he stepped behind the scenes to serve as artistic director for Burhan Öçals “New Dream”, re-arranging Gypsies music. Meanwhile, Smadj was recording his own projects with other Turkish virtuosos Savas Zurnaci and Orhan Osman and DuOud. (“Sakat” with the yemeni player Abdulatif Yagoub recorded and “Ping Pong”).

More? A solo project “Selin” with Erik Truffaz and Talvin Singh as special guests ; a soundtrack with Cem Yildiz for the film “Muro”, some tremendous work with a “Hü” band, focusing on Alevi traditional music, and a huge project “the oud after Smadj” with Natacha Atlas, Ibrahim Maalouf, Mehdi Haddab, Cem Yildiz…..command for Saint Denis Festival (France). Some knows better Smadj for his album “Fuck the DJ”, relased in 2012, a musical journey where music is having an orgy with disco, dubsteps and oriental flavor. But there is the “Spleen” side of him (released in 2015). Smadj is East meets West, often severely borderline. And it’s a real pleasure.

Mehdi Haddab

Mehdi Haddab is famous for the creation of the band EKOVA with Dierdre Dubois & Arash Khalatbari (first album signed by Sony Music : “Heaven’s Dust” 1998 + Remix album (featuring DJ Cam, Doctor L, Da Lata , Smadj … ). First album… first world tour through Europe, the USA, Canada… EKOVA will open all the shows in France for The CURE, before to release a second album : “Space lullabies and other Fantasmagore” (2001), ranked 11 in the Top World Music Albums. The band is starting a second World Tour in the USA, Canada, Europe, Russia, Turkey…

In the 2000’s, Mehdi Haddab start collaborating with SMADJ with the DuOud project. First album signed on Label Bleu , a famous Jazz label “Wild serenade ” (2002) – album BBC awards nominated. Second album on World Village / Harmonia Mundi. And…. As always a long world tour : the USA , Canada, Europe , Russia , Turkey , Yemen , Oman , Tunisia, Morocco , Japan, Singapore, Morocco, Yemen, Algeria , Malaysia , Australia … They open shows in the US for the diva Natacha Atlas.

In 2009, Mehddi Haddab creates the band SPEED CARAVAN as a leader. First album “Kalashnik love ” (Real World Records ) – Song lines music awards nominated, and again a World Tour : Europe , Canada , Australia , New Zealand , Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia , Lebanon , Jordan , Egypt , Mexico , AEU, Dubai , Abu Dhabi , The Azores…
Second Album : “Big Blue Desert” 2016 (World Village/PIAS Records)

Mehdi Haddab is a real crossover artist, multiplicating movies collaboration : Imuhar / music Philippe Eidel ; Mortel Transfert / music Reinhart Wagner directed by JJ BENEIX, ; with Ekova : track (Temoine) in Wayne WANG’s movie “the center of the world ” 2001 ; with Duoud : Track (Johnny Guitar) in Rachida BRAKNI’s movie « De Sas En Sas » ; with Speed Caravan : Track (Diamond Belly Button) in Oliver STONE’s movie “Wall street 2” 2010). He is also creating for television : main theme with Al Jazeera music show (AL JAZEERA english/Moonbeam Films ) Track : Kalashnik love ; main theme TV talk show prime time Ness Nesma (NESMA TV ) Track : Galvanize ; original Score in Salem Brahimi’s documentary « Emir Abd El Kader ».

Mehdi was seen on theater in Othello, with Denis Lavant & Disiz la Peste. He also create the original music score with Sapho. Plus, he appeared as stage performer with Rachid TAHA , Brian ENO , Steve HILLAGE (Russian Tour 2005) and on the project Damon ALBARN’s AFRICA EXPRESS.

He played with : Rachid TAHA, HARD-FI, Mick JONES (the Clash), John Paul JONES (Led Zeppelin), Amadou & Mariam, Damon ALBARN (BLUR),GORILLAZ ,Chek TIDIANE ,Baba MAAL, Tinariwen, Natacha ATLAS, Talvin SINGH, Rodolphe BURGER, Nedim NALBANTOGLU, Erik MARCHAND, Viorel TAJKUNA, Angelika NIESCER, Lotfi ATTAR, Julien LOURAU, Cyril ATEF, Mino CINELU, Mathieu CHEDID, Eric TRUFFAZ, Ibrahim MAALOUF,Tony ALLEN…