When I first met Zeb a decade ago, there was something of the classic tortured artist motif swirling around him: of not being able to quite completely say exactly what you are thinking in any efficient terms. It's that constant word on the tip of your tongue which won't release its grip, the old explanation syndrome, where words to sufficiently sum up musical ideas grasp the meaning. The music is the meaning. And so words frustrate you; the only expression you try to master is the music itself. As I've watched Zeb grow from his Organic Grooves roots to his tenure with Turntables on the Hudson--his new record, Secretly Famous, is being released on Nickodemus's Wonderwheel Recordings--I've watched a man continue to never fully have the words to describe what he's doing, simultaneously doing what he's doing better and better. This has nothing to do with actual dialogues with him about music; Zeb is very well spoken, in fact. You can just see that he'd rather be telling you with an oud in his hands. That instrument is what sets Zeb's globetronica apart from all others in the Arabic realm. No musician has so perfectly woven traditional oud playing into a digital template. His love of both the folk sound of the Middle East and the folklore of Jamaica, reggae, share such complementary aesthetics that their marriage is a faithful bondage. This makes sense, as the philosophies of the Sufi and those of the Rasta share DNA. At times, I feel like understanding the many monikers of Zeb (this record, for example, goes under the name of The Spy From Cairo; even his name, Zeb, is fictitious: his birth certificate states Moreno Visini) includes the comprehension of riddles. That's because his influences run deeply and broadly. He grew up in an Italian gypsy home, where his father would come home late with musician friends and play until dawn. The sleepy eyed youngster often stayed awake to partake in the festivities, leaving for school sleepless and exhilarated. For those who know of the gypsies' power of musical absorbance, Zeb's path is not surprising. That's why I wasn't surprised one day while listening to the opening of "Kamloreja" by Macedonian singer Esma Redzepova and immediately identifying Zeb's rhythmic pattern for "All is One" (also under The Spy From Cairo, out on the compilation Coney Island Love). Or watching the reggae classic, Rockers, and hearing a brilliant poetic monologue by Horsemouth, which was later included on his track, "No Matter What They Say," on Stop the Earth, I Want to Get Off!. While in a Budapest bookshop recently, my hands pulled from the shelf a slim volume entitled Állítsátok meg a világot! Ki akarok szállni by Salamon Gábor. The English translation to that Magyar is the title of Zeb's aforementioned record. It's probable that trickles of Secretly Famous will appear over time. What I'm certain about is that many of his new songs will be worked into my DJ sets. The bottom is full and round, leaving deep pockets for people to crawl into. His oud playing is fierce. "Kurdish Delight" is a bass line boasting monster that pays credit to Kingston soundsystems. The opening "Nayphony," a Jajouka style banger, rolls over wooden floors with thunder. "Kembe" is one of the most uplifting club tracks I've heard. And the simple title of many--"Oud Funk," "Sufi Disco"--clues you in that heavy rides are ahead. The heaviest: "Blood and Honey." This song is the soundtrack of war elephants stampeding prison gates. The bottom edge of the beat sounds like a reprisal of "Cleopatra in NY," but then in trounces forward. It is one of three featuring Tunisian born vocalist Ghalia Bhenali, the album's most surprising and inviting characteristic. Bhenali has an affinity towards classical Indian, but her Arabic temperament is obvious. I have since went on to purchase a few of her solo recordings and am disappointed by nothing on them, so beautiful and rich they are. Romeo & Leila is heartshattering. The Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa wrote under many names to accommodate the many people inside of his head. He used words as his medium for explanation, and grew tortured for the attempt. Greatness is always in the possibility, for it manifests in creative wedges. Secretly Famous is perfectly titled. It's already all there; you just need to open your ears to listen. THE SPY FROM CAIRO mostly known as ZEB (and the PLEB ) has been a producer and a musician for well over two decades. He plays the guitar (electric and Flamenco)the bass, the arabic Oud, The Turkish Saz, the Albanian Cifteli, the Sitar and programs and produces all his music. He has definitely helped shaping the New York underground dance scene for many years. His ethnic dubby music style has become very familiar to many people around the globe and his love for the "eclectic" has pushed him to work on many different music projects, alone and with many other musicians and DJs. He was a co-founder with partner Sasha Crnobrnja ( now IN FLAGRANTI ) of the famous ( and now defunkt ) ORGANIC GROOVES, a regular NY party where musicians and DJ would blend into one "cosmic experience". He co-produced 5 albums with ORGANIC GROOVES. As Zeb he also released 3 albums with Italian Label Irma records the last of which was produced with DJ SABO ( Global Warmbeats ). He has been known for his involvement with TURNTABLES ON THE HOUDSON. Another very popular NY party with live musicians and DJs which later became also a record label along with sub label WonderWheel Records, run by DJ NICKODEMUS. He released many tracks both on Wonderwheel Records as well as Turntables on the Houdson and worked on many remixes with DJ NICKODEMUS. His own remixes include : Billy Holiday, Astor Piazzolla, Baba Maal, Omar Faruk, Richard Dorfmeister, Farid Al Atrache, Novalima and Nickodemus. He released in 2009 the album ZEBSTEP for the Japanese label Rudiments Records. His tunes can be found on hundreds of compilations , ranging from Reggae/Dub to Asian Lounge and downtempo trippy jazz . HIS DISCOGRAPHY IS ALMOST ENDLESS SO: CHECK IT OUT by clicking on the BAND WEBSITE LINK on the left. His latest project as "The Spy from cairo" is called "SECRETLY FAMOUS" and will be released on WonderWheel Records ( via ESL ) around the end of November . On the player above, you can listen to a taste of the new album "secretly famous" AND ALSO check out the project OBLIO with partner Sasha Crnobrnja (pka IN FLAGRANTI) very different from the SFC stylea trip into late 70s and early 80s electronica. the OBLIO album should be released soon on CODEK records! A LITTLE LIFE BIOGRAPHY: Real Name Moreno Visini was born in Italy on june 21st in 1969 from non married parents. His mum roots could be traced in Eastern European/kurdish Gypsies ( not sure about the father). Started to play his fathers guitar when he was 8 years old and immediately loved music ( he learned then, that "MUSIC IS THE ONLY PLACE WHERE MAGIC REALLY HAPPENS").At 15 he left his family to fulfill his dream of musician and run away to London England where he struggled with horrible jobs and language barriers for a year untill he was eventually eccepted in the Arabic/Indian and West Indian community of Ladbroke Grove ( west London ). In the mid 80's he played with a few different bands ranging styles from funk to reggae and world music and then fell in love with electronic music ( the "SAMPLER" was another "magic making instrument" to him! ). In 1986 his father passed away and Zeb returned to Italy to spend some time with his mother, he then went to Spain where he absolutely fell in love with Gypsy flamenco and started to play the classical guitar ( flamenco style ). Back in Britain a year later, he started to create his own style of music, mixing the sounds of the peoples who had been closer to him such as Arabs and West Indians. He was then hired by the band "The Indians" based in the US to record "Indianism" (the band first album ). Moved to Los Angeles for a few months to play guitar with the Indians and make the record then moved to New York ( where he stilll lives almost 20 years later. ). The band The Indians fell apart only 2 years after the release of their first album on Polygram US so Zeb decided to focus on using samplers and keyboards to make his own music trying to learn as many instruments as possible to avoid being depending on "other musicians"
