electronic press kit

Out Of Nations is 6 travelers with 1 destination: 
a futuristic “World Music” dreamland rooted in funk, jazz, & progressive pop.

The Out Of Nations Story

Artist information

Label: Riverboat Records // World Music Network (WMN)
Genre: Middle Eastern, Latin, Electronic, Crossover, Jazz
Hometown: Berlin
Influences: Quincy Jones, Wayne Shorter, Lucky Thompson, Steely Dan, Earth Wind & Fire, Sting, Ahmed Adaweya, Marc Antoni
Sounds Like / For fans of: Snarky Puppy, BadBadNotGood, Ibrahim Maalouf, 47Soul, NY Gypsy All-Stars, Tamer Abo Ghazaleh,  Red Baraat, Balkan Beat Box

Booking: 
booking@outofnations.com / +49.30.2392.6952

Press Materials Links:

"QUEST" (CREDITS)

(Riverboat Records // World Music Network, ©2018)
Audiophile? Click here for higher quality audio

bio:

Out Of Nations is a dream for a future world where humanity comes before nationality. Founded by composer/reeds player Lety ElNaggar and producer/engineer Khalil Chahine, the band breathes new life into familiar genres by playing original, danceable World Music rooted in pop, funk & jazz.

Out Of Nations emerged when Lety and Khalil developed tracks that each tell part of a global story with a modern sound, inspired by their musical experiences across continents. Lety was born and raised as a third-culture kid in suburban America to Egyptian and Mexican immigrant parents before music moved her to NYC, Cairo, Beirut, and Berlin. Taking inspiration from her story and Khalil’s deep experience working with a variety of Middle Eastern, Latin, and European artists, they melded global influences with pop-classic, funk, rock, electronic, and jazz sounds. They discovered and invited musicians to join the band who shared a passion for performing this eclectic variety of styles, forming a team that connected on a musical level before realizing that each one of them carried a different passport.

Live, the band invites audiences on a journey through Middle Eastern and Latin inspired Electro-Acoustic grooves — a soundtrack to match the visual wonderland they create on stage. The show transports audiences through recognizable and imaginary places, reflecting the mind's creative potential when freed from the idea that all people should identify with a certain nation. They’ve performed to ecstatic audiences at Berlin’s legendary Quasimodo club & UfaFabrik Internationales Kultur Centrum, Luxembourg’s Meyouzik Festival, Cairo’s D-CAF (Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival), and more.

Out Of Nations' music has been featured on Worldbeat Canada, Radio Monte Carlo, RadioEins, Deutsche Welle, Rhythm Planet, Global Village, and BBC & PRI co-produced radio program The World. Critics have called their recently released, debut album Quest “a spectacular world music album that wanders with ease and elegance between propulsive, rhythmically dynamic global beats.” The album has attracted a broad palette of World Music, Jazz, and Electronic music and media outlets like Songlines, World Music Central, Jazz Thing magazine, SoulandJazz, the Huffington Post, and Faze Magazin among others.

Out Of Nations is produced by Khalil Chahine.

For bios in German and Arabic, please see this document.

selected press

New York Music Daily (USA)
“Quest is one of the most entertainingly eclectic releases of recent months. It’s hard to find a playlist that works this well as party music as it does as headphone record."
— Alan Young (03/2019)

Rhythm Passport (UK)
“Quest lacks for nothing. The 11-track LP is a musical world tour. They lead their compositions in a no man’s land where traditions and styles fade and merge...a treasure trove of influences and genres."
— Marco Canepari (02/2019)

Mixed World Music (NL)
“The album is a true sample of stylish forms that often blend into each other or are subtly distorted…The band manages to keep your attention effortlessly”
— Ton Maas (01/2019)

World Music Central (USA)
“Quest is a spectacular world music album that wanders with ease and elegance between propulsive, rhythmically dynamic global beats; melodies from various traditions and vibrant jazz-rock fusion.”
— Angel Romero (10/2018)

Faze Magazin (DE)
„The sound is colourful, and the instruments, well-tempered and coordinated, form a harmonious unit. The organic and electronic are wonderfully combined.” 8*
— Cars10.Becker (10/2018)

Soultrain (DE)
„Quest, the debut album from Out Of Nations, doesn’t reach for the sledgehammer in protesting the problems of our time, but uses musicality and artistry to allow the quieter moments of this longplayer to develop into something intense and long-lasting”
— Dominique Dombert-Pelletier (9/2018)

Spintheglobe Radio Top 10 World Music Albums (US)
"Quest" Charting at #4 (8/2018)

Interview on Radio Eins (DE)
"Live aus dem Babylon mit Knut Elstermann" (8/2018)

DW - Deutsche Welle (DE)
فرقة أوت أوف نايشنز العابرة للقارات تؤلف بين الموسيقى العربية واللاتينية
(8/2018)

Amal Magazine / أمل برلين (DE)
"مشروع موسيقي يرفض تصنيف الناس Out Of Nations" (8/2018)

Interview with Radio Monte Carlo (FR)
(7/2018)

Romman Magazine / رمان الثقافية (FR / LB)
"الموسيقيّة: العمل لكسر القيود المفروضة على الموسيقى والجغرافيا"
(7/2018)

"Quest" featured on PRI the World (US)
(9/2017)

Huffington Post (US)
"The overall feel of the tune is barely restrained flamboyance, as well as sonic texture against sonic texture, crisp percussion contrasting with the wonderful flavor of the reeds, the colorful sounds and arrangement of each instrument precisely placed. The aural tinctures and essences mingle together creating an integrated instrument of musical expression."
—Randy Radic (8/2017)

Interview with Worldbeat Canada (CA)
"Their sound melds the organic and the electronic, the sonic and the visual, boldly going where few have gone before."
—Cal Coat (9/2017)

Beehype (Global Digital)
"A full set of Arabic percussions along with the groovy bassline kick in to breed the infamous balady beat paralleled with a full brass section grandeur. [...] We can’t wait to hear what else Out Of Nations has to offer with the upcoming release"
—Alia'a Shabrawy (9/2017)

Fokiú Media (Global Digital)
"Out Of Nations is a band that looks to break down the preconceived limitations of music and geography."
—Marlena Fitzpatrick (9/2017)

lIVE VIDEOS

Backstage with OON

PHOTOS