Semsem from Semsem by Boshoco
Syrian born and raised duo Boshoco land on Sinchi with a new track that samples the first-ever Arabic Sesame Street.
Once again this is a non-profit release, this time raising money for Syrian NGO Jusoor, which is made up of Syrian expatriates who build bridges between the boundless potential of young Syrians and their opportunities for education, entrepreneurship and global community engagement.
Boshoco's sound is playful, energetic and dark, and recalls nostalgic elements we all have in common. They grew up getting music on bootlegged cassettes and CDs from local musicians in Aleppo and met whilst working in a camp for people displaced from their homes. Together they moved to Turkey and became residents in Temple club in Istanbul and now, given the restrictions of movement on Syrians, they had to split, with half of the pair getting political asylum in France and the other moving to Beirut and continuing to work remotely.
Say the pair of the track, "'Semsem' (like the name Boshoco, a cheap ice cream we both used to eat in Aleppo as children), with the children singing, the heavy baseline, the mystical mezmar solo and the energetic beat, is an homage to the little pretty things that made life sweet in Aleppo and to the heavier emotions that came to it with time." It is a darkly intoxicating tune with a meandering bassline and plenty of exotic instrumentals that transport you to another world.
