Global Rhythms: Les Arrivants

About this event

Les Arrivants (The Arrivals) was formed in the fall of 2020, as musicians Amichai Ben Shalev (bandoneon), Abdul-Wahab Kayyali (oud), and Hamin Honari (percussion) were settling into life in Montreal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the lens of this unique moment in history, as uncertainties permeated their lives, they met and discovered their new home city. Their repertoire mirrors their resettlement experience, informed by the traditions the instrumentalists have mastered throughout their careers – Argentine Tango, Classical Arabic music, and traditional Persian rhythms. Thanks to the happenstance of meeting and forming a group in Montréal, Les Arrivants have created an introspective sonic experience that channels the complex emotions associated with migration and travel. The music they make together leaves space for the individual skill of each performer to shine, while also building a soaring, charismatic, combined sound. Philosophically, their approach is similar. While the individual backgrounds of each musician can’t be ignored, it’s what the three can accomplish together that matters most: “We were not oblivious to the conclusions audiences might reach when they see us — an Iranian-Canadian, an Argentine-Israeli and a Palestinian-Jordanian — together on stage,” the group states on their website. “We were not interested in either using the project to advance a political message, or to use our ‘co-existence’ as a marketing gimmick. What interested us (and still interests us most) is the artistic promise of the project — what we can achieve musically by combining our instruments, our tastes, and our experiences.” To date, Les Arrivants has released two albums: Home (2022) and Towards the Light (2024). Their first album, Home received the 2023 Opus Prize – Album of the Year award for World Music from the Quebec Council of Music (CQM). Watch: Les Arrivants – Home | Sofar Montreal

Description from townhallseattle.org