Tirakat [CD], Charif Megarbane / Ali, CD

This album, recorded over an intense three-day window in Berlin, brings together Charif Megarbane and the Jakarta-based band Ali. Their collaboration builds on a long, organic history of musical exchange between Indonesia and the Arab world, blending shared references, improvisation, and years of band experience. Rather than a conceptual fusion project, the record evolved naturally through spontaneity and the musicians' overlapping backgrounds. The title Tirakat reflects this process, a word rooted in both Arabic and Javanese traditions, capturing discipline, journey, and the layering of influences that shaped the album.