Staff favorite
On the 24th of October, via London’s Partisan Records, Tunisian-born/New York-based experimental singer Emel Mathlouhi releases The Tunis Diaries. Her new album, split into two parts, features a collection of newly recorded reworks from Emel’s catalog (“Day”), and an eclectic selection of covers (“Night”). Equipped with only a laptop, tape recorder, and a classical guitar she crowdsourced from a local fan via Facebook, Emel created The Tunis Diaries entirely in Tunis after she was unexpectedly quarantined in her childhood home this Spring. The resulting project is a back-to-basics exploration of Emel’s roots, as well as a spontaneous and complex reflection on her relationship to her homeland. Two tracks from The Tunis Diaries are available now – “Holm,” an original song which was first released alongside a self-shot music video (1.4M views and counting) this April, and a sui generis cover of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World.”
