Proof of identity

>> Checkpoint 303 captures the full
spectrum of Middle Eastern sounds—literally

OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS: Checkpoint 303

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

Kicking off the 2007 edition of the Festival du Monde Arabe are the duo Checkpoint 303, comprising SC Yosh and SC MoCha—SC stands for “sound catcher” and “sound cutter,” respectively. The backbone of CP-303’s music is the field recordings gathered by Yosh throughout the Middle East, particularly his native Palestine.

“These range from the chants in demonstrations and audio excerpts of identity checks at military checkpoints,” explains MoCha, the Tunisian half of the duo, “to people talking, children playing or snippets from radio programs. We try not to go out looking for a particular sound that will convey a particular impression. The recordings use randomness as a way to achieve a certain degree of objectivity. Our sounds sample various aspects of life in the Middle East, both positive and negative. Unfortunately, the media only covers the violence and the suffering. But our music also deals with hope.”

A strong, clear political statement can fortify a solid piece of music, but it can’t save a weak track, as CP-303, whose music is intrinsically political, are well aware. Proof lies in the tunes up for grabs at www.checkpoint303.com, in which those found sounds are reconfigured into tough, evocative grooves, indebted to dub, drum & bass and abstract electronica, and supplemented by touches of traditional Arabic music.

“We’re a band, not a bunch of boring politicians. We go on stage and play our songs over and over at different venues, so they’d better be good, or else we’d be the first to suffer from this!”

The pair often works with various pals from the Middle East and beyond, indicative of a healthy if underrepresented alternative music scene in the Arabic world. Noting that youthful sounds, from hip hop to heavy metal, are boiling over from the Maghreb to the Levant, MoCha points out the challenges truly intrepid artists face—“A [mainstream] music industry that lacks diversity, not enough opportunities to interact with international alternative artists, and random restrictions on freedom of expression in some countries.

“On the other hand, maybe because of all this and because of the region’s social and political dimension, the Arabic underworld can be a cradle for artistic innovation that might also stimulate other underground music movements around the world.”

With Club d’Elf at
Théâtre Corona on Friday,
Oct. 26, 8 p.m., $33