“A digital Renaissance man, Smadj, a sort of African Brian Eno has created one of the most outstanding debuts in recent years…” -Daily Telegraph UK

“This sound has poise, passion, space, depth and on this album, a welcome simplicity.” -Songlines

Rasa Music is delighted to announce the release of, “Take It and Drive” by Tunisian producer, engineer and oud virtuoso, SMADJ. A product of the Parisian dance scene, though Tunisian by birth, Smadj (aka Jean-Pierre Smadja) has successfully blended his roots with his musical tastes to combine North African & electronic music with Latin, jazz and oriental sounds. To complement his unique vision, Smadj has drawn on the talents of some of the most exciting musicians currently recording outside of the mainstream in contemporary music.

Amongst those contributing to this project are Mercury Award Winner Talvin Singh, Amit Chatterjee, who guests on guitar and vocals, and Mehdi Haddab, who also partners Smadj in the duo DuOud. Alongside these excellent musicians is one of the great vocal finds of recent times – Mali’s Rokia Traore. She contributes on ‘He Said’ and ‘Fatwords’, two of the standout moments on this album, which are likely to be released as singles over the coming months. Aside from the collaborations, Take It and Drive also features a number of intimate, minimalist tracks – utilising and illustrating Smadj’s craft with both electronica and the oud.

Smadj’s previous work with DuOud took the oud - a beautiful instrument that lends itself to Turkish, North African and Middle Eastern interpretation - to new heights. DuOud built an absorbing musical cycle and that collaboration and the subsequent touring over the past couple of years, has resulted in Take It and Drive, a logical step forward.