The Handover

The Handover are the critically acclaimed trio of Aly Eissa, Ayman Asfour and Jonas Cambien. The group combines the delicacy of classical Arabic music with the raw expressiveness of Egypt’s rural and shaabi music, peppered with a good dose of psychedelic improvisation and experimentation. Together, through the interweaving of oud, violin and keyboard, they explore the common and uncommon senses of Egypt’s ritual music.

“There is, and has been, a prevailing orthodoxy permeating the Egyptian musical hierarchy that would render this spectacular piece (The Handover’s self-titled album) as scandalous. But let us remember that over the past 100 years, Said Darwish, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Halim El Dabh, Ahmad Adaweya, and the modern Mahraganat movement have all experienced their fair share of scandal and opposition. Music must always be pushed forward – it may not always succeed as revelatory, but in this particular case, it does. Much like the venerable magic carpet, the Handover slowly builds to escort you into its swirling, ascending expression of the psychedelic, eventually descending, step by step, back to earth, landing as a wondrous spaceship with wide open doors inviting us inside for repeat listening.” – Alan Bishop/Sublime Frequencies (March 2024)