Sound Base Berlin: Praed

Dancing in Real Time

Concert, Talk, DJ Set

How do you make music that works simultaneously on the dance floor, in the sound lab, and in a collective space of memory? For twenty years, Praed has been constantly seeking new, surprising answers to this question. The duo was founded in 2006 by Raed Yassin (vocals, synthesizer, sampling) and Paed Conca (clarinet, electric bass, electronics) in 2006 and feels closely connected to Berlin’s real-time music scene—that vibrant community that continually redefines musical boundaries through improvisation and experimentation.

Yassin and Conca focus primarily on pop music from the Arab world, Egyptian shaabi, elements of jazz and psychedelic rock, and sound collages. They playfully deconstruct the conventions and routines of these genres and reassemble them using electronic means, always keeping the physical energy of the sounds at the center. Praed essentially make dance music, characterized by hypnotic rhythms and a complexity that addresses issues of cultural transfer as well as memory, identity, and collective experience.“Dancing in Real Time” aptly describes this approach: Between Berlin and Beirut, avant-garde and pop, experimentation and ecstasy, a music emerges that, above all, is meant to be experienced together.

Prior to Praed’s concert, a panel discussion will expand on this perspective and turn the spotlight on Berlin’s musical ecosystem. DJ, label owner, and studio operator Rabih Beaini and musician Tony Elieh will discuss with transdisciplinary performer houaïda the conditions under which experimental music emerges in Berlin. What creative freedoms does the city offer? What challenges shape the work of musicians, labels, and independent venues?

Following the discussion, Sherryaeri will present a genre-fluid DJ set featuring primarily music by artists who are heard far too rarely and should be in the spotlight more often.

Part of Sound Base Berlin. 

Conversation with Rabih Beaini and Tony Elieh, moderated by houaïda, in English
Concert: Praed
DJ set: Sherryaeri