Seven tracks that decline to lash out, spent instead on what happens when kindness gets mistaken for weakness.
Amsterdam-based Syrian artist Bu Kolthoum unpacks betrayal, grief, and quiet resilience across his seven-track EP, ‘Shadeed’. But Kolthoum does not lash out here, he spends the record dissecting his wounds, reflecting on moments where kindness has been mistaken for weakness and trust has been met with betrayal. Across the project, he searches for peace through faith while acknowledging that not every scar is meant to disappear. It’s a deeply personal body of work that balances gratitude with disillusionment, allowing both to exist in the same breath.
‘Shadeed’ is built around a restrained, soulful palette that leaves room for Bu Kolthoum’s commanding polyrhythmic flow. The drums rarely take centre stage, with much of the rhythmic weight carried by fluid basslines that give the record its slow-burning pulse. Lush live instrumentation, from strings and horns to vibraphones, guitars, and deep sub-bass, shapes a cinematic sound world crafted primarily by MA7SUUBAK, alongside additional production from ‘9L’9 and MOKLAM (Mehrak).
