Arabesque

In Turkey, arabesque is often derided as “taxi driver music” – an imitation of Egyptian orchestras; lushly ornamented, overproduced sentimentalism for the lower class.

The Algerian producer El Mahdy Jr. discovered its spurned beauty during his stay in Istanbul and chose it as a source of samples for “The Spirit of Fucked Up Places,” his 2013 EP on the Boomarm Nation label.