Episode 4 Sam Shalabi :: “Dawn of the Dwarfs”

Hailing from The Great White North, Sam Shalabi is one of those rare talents that effortlessly bridges the global gaps, both musically and politically, in a familiar way that echoes the essence of society and culture at its most critical condition. From the boreal borders of his country's forests to the poetically sharp physiographic regions, while simultaneously inhabiting the ancient atmosphere of Cairo, Egypt, Shalabi's fundamental footprints can only be measured in melody and madness.

Having connected with our subject, the Sun City Girls, over two decades ago, Shalabi immediately secured a cosmic connection with Alan Bishop, in particular, and has spent the last decade and a half establishing the esoteric ecosystem that would eventually become The Dwarfs of East Agouza. On this episode of "The Burning Nerve Ending Magic Podcast," the multi-instrumentalist, Egyptian-Canadian composer, and improviser sits down to take us through his unique introduction to the Sun City Girls and how he first became aware of the band around the time they released their monumental classic "Torch of the Mystics."

it was inevitable that Shalabi and Bishop, along with Maurice Louca, would go on to form the Dwarfs, who are set to release their brand new LP "Sasquatch Landing" on Constellation Records in early October, back in the 2010s, while their telepathic trickery seemed to percolate to the surface like a rising cloud of contemplative consciousness. But to connect the dots with a liberating language such as intimate improvisation? Forget about it. Maybe there is a higher power out there somewhere pulling all the strings, while we dangle mercilessly from its fragile fibers in the cold vacuum of space. I guess some things do happen for a reason, and investing in that melodic mystery is just part of the poetic puzzle of being a person.