So Far We Have Come, by Tamsin Elliott & Tarek Elazhary

So Far We Have Come

by Tamsin Elliott & Tarek Elazhary

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Triple Gatefold card case, with double exposure photography by Tamsin Elliott and Moustafa Mansour.

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1.	In The Grey Of The Morning 03:18	buy track
2.	El Hara 04:36	buy track
3.	So Far We Have Come 02:41	buy track
4.	The Returning Light // Late Frost 03:41	buy track
5.	Taqasim Nahawand 01:38	buy track
6.	Hope Is The Thing With Feathers 05:02	buy track
7.	Amy Abu El Fanous 04:07	buy track
8.	Telaet Ya Mahla Norha // Mundesse 03:52	buy track
9.	Taqasim Bayati 02:12	buy track
10.	Jala Man Kad Sawarak 05:08	buy track
11.	Out Of Nowhere 02:29	buy track
12.	Barn Elms // Halsway Hornpipe 04:33	buy track
13.	Improvisation: Landscapes Of El Darb El Ahmar 02:22	buy track

about

So Far We Have Come is the debut duo album from Tamsin Elliott (UK) and Tarek Elazhary (Egypt), two artists who have recognised in each other a commonality in their relationship to music. They are both practitioners and composers deeply embedded in their own living traditions, while also leading genre- bending bands (Solana, Dokkan). Through their friendship and ongoing collaboration they have unearthed a series of intriguing connections between English & Arabic folk idioms, and worked together to weave this affinity into a thrilling fusion of songs, tunes and textures.

Long before Tamsin began work on her critically acclaimed solo album FREY (Penny Fiddle Records, 2022), she spent several months in Egypt embarking on an exploration of Arabic music, during which she met Tarek on the Cairo live scene. When international travel was permitted again following the COVID lockdowns, she began to discuss plans with Tarek to bring him to the UK for a return visit, and to make the collaborative album they had dreamed of creating together. So Far We Have Come is a testament to their personal and musical perseverance, and a statement of hope and resistance during troubled times. Tamsin explains that “the title of our debut album was born out of a conversation about the progress that has been made in women’s rights in Egypt and the UK. We see how much has changed, and yet how far we have to go - and this echoes across ecological crises, geopolitical tensions, racism and societal disconnection. So Far We Have Come also reflects the distance
and barriers we have overcome to create this work together.”

Most of the tracks on the album were composed together in early spring, inspired by and interspersed with English dance tunes and pieces from Arabic classical and folk traditions. Having received the EDFSS Alan James Creative Bursary, they began their conceptual process in residency at Cecil Sharp House in London, before travelling to Tamsin’s hometown Bristol to develop and record their ideas over the course of a month. The resulting album is a lively, yet thoughtful, conversation between their traditions and compositional styles.

credits

released September 21, 2023

Tarek Elazhary - Oud, Voice, Field Recordings
Tamsin Elliott - Lever Harp, Piano Accordion, Quartertone Accordion, flute, Voice, Synths, Field Recordings

Archie Churchill - Moss - Guitar
Sam Sweeney - Fiddle
Daniel Gouly - clarinet, Bass Clarinet
Rowan Elliott - Viola, Fiddle
Ricardo do Noronha - Percussion
Leila Sami - Voice

All tracks by Tamsin Elliott & Tarek Elazhary except:
Barn Elms, Mundesse, Amy Abu El Fanous and Jala Man Kad Sawarak (trad, arr. by Tamsin Elliott & Tarek Elazhary), and Talaet Ya Mahla Norha (Sayed Darwish, arr. Tamsin Elliott & tarek Elazhary)
Additional composition and improvisation by Rowan Elliott and Daniel Gouly

Produced by Rowan Elliott
Additional production by Tamsin Elliott
Production consultation by Theo Passingham
Recorded at The Roost Studio, Bristol
Additional recording by Ziad Hisham
Mastered by Sam Proctor at Lismore Mastering

Tamsin's quartertone accordion tuned by Nick Hart

Supported by EFDSS and Help Musicians UK.

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about

Tamsin Elliott Bristol, UK

Tamsin is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and film-maker based in Bristol, UK. With roots in the folk music of the British Isles, her interests and playing styles extend to the musics of Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East as well as experimental and minimalist textures. ... more

tamsinelliott.co.uk

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