Basma and Temir Alcy: NAD review – skulking, sultry French-Moroccan crew evoke this shifting season

Key points

• French-Moroccan vocalist Basma and Paris-based group Temir Alcy have released NAD on Stroom, an 11-track album of dark, downtempo music.
• The album blends folk, shoegaze and ambient sounds, with Basma singing in Darija and French about loss and new beginnings.
• The review also notes releases from Dalga, Hysterical Love Project and Holy Tongue.

French-Moroccan vocalist Basma and the Paris-based group Temir Alcy have released a new album, NAD, on Stroom. The review says it arrives just in time for the changing of the clocks and offers a dark, disorienting listen that explores loss and new beginnings over swampy, downtempo rhythms.

Sound and style

The 11 tracks sit between folk, shoegaze and ambient, built on skulking percussion, droning passages and plucked strings soaked in reverb. Opening track Belati sets the tone with ghostly drones and Basma's layered calls that give way to a sluggish beat. Most tracks are amorphous but carry an intermittent, sultry groove, such as the winding bass on Khti Sarah or the slow, swinging rhythm on Aji M3aya.

shy light

— Basma

Vocals and textures

Basma sings in Darija and French, delivering poetic snapshots of "shy light", blowing wind and bonfires. On Rised, breathy fragments are looped and reversed into a dreamy haze, while her chants on La Tourne are hypnotic. Standout Al Atlal moves like a haunted lullaby, drifting between soft wails and stoic spoken word.

Subtle textures lurk between the vocals and sub-bass, including oscillating electronics on Belati, muted oud on Khti Sarah and glitching field recordings on Aji M3aya. The review also mentions Dalga's 1980s Turkish compilation, Hysterical Love Project's second LP and Holy Tongue's second album.