Welcome to Electro Hafla, an underground party in the heart of Yemen. The oriental sound is based on a thousand and one stories Shiran heard from her grandmother. She left Yemen for Israel in the late 1940s. Similarly, Ron Bakal, Shiran's husband, mixes traditional Middle Eastern influences with the cosmopolitan sound of the electronic scene. Their debut EP, 2022, introduced listeners to a new way of working with their Iraqi-Yemeni roots. Dynamic bass lines and synths are wrapped around the alluring sounds of traditional musical instruments such as the darbuka.
The story of Shiran and Bakala is almost like a fairy tale. It was love at first listen when the pair met while studying at the Rimon School of Music and instantly bonded over their passion for music. The album Fadaytak reflects this beautifully. A storm of soft Yemeni folk melodies, Arabic pop, and a robust mix of hip hop, afro beats, 808, and electro. It's not just on this record that cultural heritage is developed and sown globally in a style favored by BBC 6 Music presenters Gilles Peterson and Tom Robinson. The Electro Hafla party will bring to Dolní Vítkovice cultures that may be familiar to you, but in the colours of Ostrava will take on a whole new contour.
Read more"We discovered Shiran & Bakal at the World Music Festival Taiwan where they completely captivated a diverse audience. They are authentic, contemporary, and sexy." says Filip Košt'álek, the festival's chief dramaturge