Name: Karpe
Members: Chirag Rashmikant Patel, Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid
Nationality: Norwegian
Current release: Karpe's new EP "Diaspora Dreams (The Quickstyle Selection)" is out now. Their record-breaking EP Omar Sheriff is still available via A & K AS. The duo are also on a German tour at the moment: The duo are also on a German tour at the moment:

23.05. – München – Backstage Halle
26.05. – Köln – Essigfabrik
28.05. – Hamburg – Mojo
29.05. – Berlin – Astra Kulturhaus

For more tour dates, go here.

If you enjoyed this interview with Karpe and would like to know more about their work and music, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram, and Facebook.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

Magdi: It’s difficult to say. When it comes to music, this impulse is kind of like a balloon. When it is crammed full of air, I need to let it out. When we are done with a project, after a year and a half in the studio, the balloon is empty. At that point we just have to live for a while - with all the ups, downs and impressions living entails.

When we first started out, it was only music and lyrics. Only one balloon, if you will. But with time we have expanded our creative universe to contain visual arts, live shows etc. There are always several balloons floating around. It is always a creative birthday party in my head. Some guests might have left, some of the balloons may have popped, but there is still a party going on. At all times.

For me, everything in my surroundings can be a source of inspiration. Yesterday we happened to end up at an intimate kawali gig in a shisha bar in London. That was super inspirational. Having a proper conversation with my dad can be equally inspirational. It is about being alert and curious. Attentive and receptive when it comes to potential inspiration you come across.

I need variation as well. If I see the same things all the time and listen to the same kind of music, the output tends to turn out similar to something I have done before.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a “visualisation” of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

Magdi: When we start a new project, we do so with an entirely blank canvas. Eventually, when some thoughts, ideas and sketches / demos start to emerge, so do the rules of our game.

We don’t know where we’ll end up, but we have some guidelines that we lead by. We lay down the rules ourselves, and they are always unwritten. With our latest project Omar Sheriff for instance, the only rule is that we are not interpreting. Not just in terms of language, but in terms of traditions, influences and references. If I want to sing in French, Arabic or English I do so. Uncensored and untranslated.

It’s the same with the melodies and instrumentation. If we want to make a club tune and feel Harpreet Bansal (violinist) should be a part of it, we have to try it out. For instance, the biggest song from the project, "Paf.no", is a version of the Tunisian folk tune Sidi Mansour and has a chorus in Arabic.  



There are two things, two ground rules, that always apply, regardless of time and place. Our new material can never sound- or look the same as our previous project. After making an extremely visual project like Heisann Montebello (2015 - 2017) for instance, where all the songs were released with elaborate music videos, we made a feature film etc.

The next project SAS PLUS/SAS PUSSY was purely audio. We released a 30 minute long track, a rap audio drama.



The other thing that is a non negotiable in our process, is that we always need time. We don’t have deadlines before we are 95% done with it all. It is a fluent development from chance into planning.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do research  or create early versions?

We like to work with several ideas at the same time. It takes the pressure of each individual idea and makes us more free and able to follow our inspiration in the moment.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Magdi: For me, I like to travel. Go to another country or city for a while. For five days at a time for instance. We rent a studio, or bring whatever we need to work. I am fully on and in the process 17 hours a day, no distractions

The worst thing in a creative process is to be pulled out of your line of thoughts, to be distracted.

And I like to walk. In big cities, at night. Alone.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

It is really difficult to say. It depends on the song. Could be a melody, some lyrics, an idea. Honestly, it never starts out the same way.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Magdi: They most definitely need to merge with the melodies and the drums. It’s like a sped up game of ping-pong, lyrics and melody on opposite sides of the table. A great melody with really bad lyrics isn't worth anything to me.

It’s no fun watching a game of ping-pong if only one of the players carries a paddle. The two can draw on each other, creating a great game. It’s a whole, from start to finish.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

Magdi: I started out rapping. The first ten years were about becoming good technically. Eventually, when I felt like I started mastering it, the rhyme schemes and so forth, I realized that it might not be the most important part after all. I took a step back and started thinking about why I was writing. It’s about emotions, entertainment or whatever you want to convey. When I listen to other artists, I have to believe it. It’s about credibility.

Because I started out in rap, lyrics have always been essential. In our latest project, Omar Sheriff, it has been exciting to see how unfiltered we can be in our writing. Not just in the actual lyrics, but in language and references.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

Magdi: Whenever the process takes an unexpected turn, we always try to go with it. If it’s a dead end, we can always rewind. Go back to where we started out.

But you never know, suddenly the little detour takes you to the best rave ever. I want to experience that, so I always need to explore those twists and turns. Both literally and figuratively.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

When it comes to writing, it’s like pushing a ball forwards on an uneven surface. You don’t really control where it is heading even though it is you pushing it. Often rhymes or melody decide the direction.

Sometimes, and this is a beautiful feeling, the ball starts rolling downhill and you just have to run after it. It just happens. No control.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

Magdi: On some levels I feel like I am always in a creative state. It is not possible to turn it on and off. Sometimes I dip my toes in it, sometimes I am up to my knees and sometimes I am swimming in it.

The best experience of the creative state is to swim. Totally indulge in it. It is not always possible, but luckily you can still get your hair wet when  you’re only ankle deep. You just have to bend down. It takes a bit longer.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

In addition to music, we have worked a bit with film. In film, the experience is very often that a product can get a lot better with some more time and money. This is not the case with music.

With music, you reach a point where you just can not touch the song anymore. It is a gut feeling telling you that it is finished. You have captured a feeling. If you touch it beyond this point, you risk writing or producing the desired vibe away. You might lose it all.

This is a reality regardless of the age we operate in. Whatever you capture is not digital.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you are satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

If we are not feeling a song 100%. If we have captured something, the essence, but not the entire feeling – we put it aside for a while. Maybe for more than a year. We leave it until we are in a different place mentally, and we look at it with new eyes.

“Baraf/Fairuz” from Omar Sheriff is a current example of a process like this.



What is your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

We are involved in everything, the entire process. We work with people that we trust and know are great, so it runs smoothly. We are there for the production, mix and mastering.

We always consider our projects as a whole. Everything we do is directly linked to the music. Production, artwork, videos, what’s posted on Instagram – music isn’t consumed in a vacuum. Everything plays a part in shaping what we have created.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Yes, I can relate to that. For us, the end of a creative process has always been the start of a tour. And after a tour, you have the similar tour blues.

The different states tend to relieve one another.