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East On Fire

by Foreign Affair

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1.
Sandanya 04:43
2.
3.
Diversion 03:08
4.
5.
Jounieh 05:32
6.
Keep Me In 03:28
7.
East On Fire 04:47
8.
The Same 03:18
9.
10.
Nashkini 05:15
11.
12.
13.
14.

about

Foreign Affair was short-lived project, formed by Rami Fortis and Berry Sakharof in 1989 after the demise of Minimal Compact*, the influential band which they were a part of, alongside main vocalist Samy Birnbach (aka DJ Morpheus), bassist/vocalist Malka Spigel and drummer Max Franken.

When Minimal Compact separated, Fortis and Sakharof started recording this album, in Brussels, when they resided. They worked with producer Gilles Martin, and enlisted several collaborators from the Crammed roster: talented Congolese musician Maurice Poto Doudongo who did some great drum programming, Bel Canto vocalist Anneli Drecker, as well as Vincent Kenis & Marc Hollander, who performed/produced on several tracks, and contributed some remixes (under the Mr Big Mouse moniker they were using for their electronic music productions at that time). Fellow Minimal Compact members Malka Spigel and Samy Birnbach contributed lyrics to some of the tracks..

East On Fire in steeped in the same spirit as Minimal Compact’s music, especially in terms of guitar work and vocals. But, interestingly, Foreign Affairs’ rhythm tracks are electronics-based. Their songs are at the same time poppier, and also (probably a reflection of Fortis and Sakharof’s respective Iraqi and Turkish roots) more oriental-sounding, e.g. in tracks such as Sandanya (with its gibberish vocals), the intense Jounieh, and others. Both aspects are apparent in a song such as Misunderstanding. Some of the lyrics made open references to the political situation in the Middle-East, to what it feels like to be living on a barrel of powder.

Incidentally, elements from the Mr Big Mouse remix of the title track were then used by Kenis & Hollander to create the Farida International 12”, which came out on SSR (and can be described as a kind of middle-eastern-tinged slow acid track…)

Foreign Affair only made one album and one tour: Sakharof and Fortis went back to live in Israel, where they launched into spectacular solo careers and became local megastars...


* Minimal Compact were one of the most inspirational bands of the '80s. They blended funky rock rhythms and incisive guitars with flavours from their native Middle East. The band were active from 1981 to 1988, and released six studio albums and a live album, all on Crammed Discs. They had a large and fanatic following all across Europe and the USA, where some of their tracks - such as Next One Is Real - became underground club favourites.

Original release date: September 1989

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released May 29, 2020

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Crammed Discs Brussels, Belgium

Adventurous and boundary-breaking independent label, since 1981.

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