Kem, in ancient Epypt, means the color Black, like the limon of the Nile, the black earth, fertile. An extremely positive word for a color, often seen as negative, or “evil”. It is in that symbolic earth that “(the mystery of) KEM” grows new rhythmical aspects whose schemes, “dances” and improvisations take roots in the Yin and Yang complementarity of rhythmical pulses. For this journey, Stéphane Galland is surrounded by daring and talented young musicians: Sylvain Debaisieux, Bram De Looze, and Federico Stocchi, and one of the most prominent Carnatic Flute players in the world from South India, Ravi Kulur. The album also features Ibrahim Maalouf as a very special guest. With “(the mystery of) KEM”, Stéphane Galland visits the rhythmical roots where all the musical traditions that he has rubbed together and integrated into his own language converge and explores a specific space that allows the integration of all these concepts without a priori or stylistic limitation. Welcome to the black and mysterious earth of KEM.
