Shalabi Effect is a mostly instrumental band from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The band was originally formed in 1996 as a duo composed of Anthony Seck and Sam Shalabi. Shalabi is an Egyptian-Canadian musician who is also the founder of Swamp Circuit, Detention, Nutsak, The Dwarfs of East Agouza, Moose Terrific and the orchestra Land of Kush. Seck is a filmmaker and member of the supergroup Valley of the Giants.

History

Shalabi and Seck independently released their first recording, a self-titled limited-edition cassette, in 1998. They then added Montreal artist and musician Alexandre Saint-Onge on double bass, and Will Eizlini on

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

s and recorded the song "Aural Florida" at Red Rocket Studios in Montreal. The 36-minute song was meant to be half of a split CD with

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also located i ...

, produced by Alien8. Instead, Alien8 became their label and they recorded "Aural Florida" for a second time at Sound of Sound of One Hand Studios in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, along with several other songs. The result was the two-CD album ''

Shalabi Effect Shalabi Effect is a mostly instrumental band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band was originally formed in 1996 as a duo composed of Anthony Seck and Sam Shalabi. Shalabi is an Egyptian-Canadian musician who is also the founder of Swamp Circu ...

'', which was released in 2000. The album continues in the tradition of live improvisation based on

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern modes but with a more experimental approach. It also includes strange semi-broken electronics and a variety of odd instruments, most of which were lying around in the studio where it was recorded. Returning from touring the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the autumn of 2000, the group stepped into the studio for the third time. This time with a mind to create an EP release that captured the mood of the tour. In fact the EP, entitled, '' The Trial of St. Orange'', has a great deal more varied material, including a

drum 'n bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

mix. '' Pink Abyss'', dubbed by the band as their "pop" record, was released in January 2004. In 2005, they released their fourth album, ''Unfortunately''. On July 18, 2007, Anthony Seck was a guest, and music from the Shalabi Effect was featured on an unscheduled "technical test" episode of

Tom Green Live ''Tom Green's House Tonight'' (formerly known as ''Tom Green Live!'') is a talk show hosted by Tom Green. In addition to its primary Internet television, Internet broadcast on ''TomGreen.com'', the show has been television syndication, syndicated ...

. Anthony Seck was again featured on Tom Green Live in March 2008 in a segment called 'Shalabi with Cheese'.

Members

*Anthony Seck (electric guitar,

lapsteel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

, moog, keyboards) (1996–present) *Sam Shalabi (

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

, electronics, toys) (1996–present) *Alexandre Saint-Onge (double & electric bass, electronics, voices) (1998–present) *Will Eizlini (percussions, electronics, trumpet,

) (1998–present)

Discography

As Shalabi Effect

* ''Shalabi Effect'' (1998), Independent * ''

'' (2000), Alien8 * '' The Trial of St. Orange'' (2002), Alien8 * '' Pink Abyss'' (2004), Alien8 * ''Unfortunately'' (2005), Alien8 * ''Feign to Delight Gaiety of Gods'' (2012), Annihaya * ''Floating Garden'' (2015, EP), Independent * ''Friends of the Prophet 6'' (2021), Unrock

As Sam Shalabi

*''Luteness'' (2000) *''On Hashish'' (2001) *''Osama'' (2003) *''Eid'' (2008) *''Music For Arabs'' (2014) *''Isis and Osiris'' (2016) *''Gecko'' (2020) *''Shirk'' (2022)

As Anthony von Seck

*"My Best Friends in Exile" (2011, Experimental Farm)

Sam Shalabi on Other Albums

Molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

– You'll Never Be Well No More (1999, Fancy) *

A Silver Mt. Zion A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

– He Has Left Us Alone but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms… (2000,

Constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

) *

– Trilogie: Toil & Peaceful Life (2000, Fancy) *Kristian, Shalabi, St-Onge – Kristian, Shalabi, St-Onge (2001, Alien8) *Detention – Warp & Woof (2001, Arrival) *

Fly Pan Am Fly Pan Am, or Le Fly Pan Am, are a Canadian experimental rock band formed in Montreal in 1996. They release their albums through the Montreal-based Constellation Records, producing and collaborating on works with Godspeed You! Black Emperor a ...

–

Ceux Qui Inventent N'ont Jamais Vécu (?) ''Ceux qui inventent n'ont jamais vécu (?)'' ''(Those who invent have never lived (?))'' is the second album by Fly Pan Am. It was released by Constellation Records in April 2002. The album, as stated by Constellation Records, has a recurrent ...

(2002,

) *Fortner Anderson – Sometimes I Think (2002, Wired On Words) *Klaxon Gueule – Grain (2002, Ambiances Magnétiques) *

Elizabeth Anka Vajagic Elizabeth Anka Vajagic is a singer and guitarist who was born in Montreal, Quebec, currently signed to noted independent label Constellation Records. She has worked with members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Hangedup, and has been praised am ...

– Stand With The Stillness Of This Day (2004,

) *

– Trouble At Jinx Hotel (2004, Alien8) *Ensemble SuperMusique – Canevas «+» (2004, Ambiances Magnétiques) *

– Nostalgia / Pain (2005,

) *Poseidon Council – An Sphinx Awoken (2005, No Type) *Nutsak – You Are Going To Prison / Last Train To Nutsak, NJ (2008, Signed By Force) *Land of Kush – Land of Kush's Egyptian Light Orchestra –

Monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., polyga ...

(2010, Constellation) *Land of Kush –

Against the Day ''Against the Day'' is an epic historical novel by Thomas Pynchon, published in 2006. The narrative takes place between the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the time immediately following World War I and features more than a hundred characters spr ...

(2009, Constellation)

References

{{Authority control Canadian post-rock groups Musical collectives Alien8 Recordings artists Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Montreal