Belgian/Iraqi band Use Knife releases ‘Sowieso F***ed’, ‘F***ed على أي حال’ or ‘F***ed anyway’. A cynical "c'est-la-vie" anthem, set to a heavy 95 BPM beat and a disarray of fucked up samples & sounds, about ten little wanderers who wander kilometers from home trying to belong. 

But home is where the heart is. And the House will never share its wealth.

Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem in my Heart) did the mix once more and Youniss Ahamad deconstructed his live-visuals into distorted video loops to accompany this sing-along.

‘Sowieso F***ed’ is a digital-only release, but comes with a T-shirt for you to wear, depicting a great design by graphic designer Farah Fayyad, so you can spread the message even further. You can pre-order the t-shirt until Nov 5.

Head over to this link to listen, watch, wear & buy: https://linktr.ee/useknife

The release was initiated before the brutal reality of the genocide happening in Gaza. Now, the cynical message must make way for solidarity with the Palestinian people. The profits made from this release and the accompanying t-shirt will therefore go to the Gaza Crisis Appeal of Oxfam International.

Palestinian Radio alHara has made a sound program with information about Palestine: ‘Until Liberation, learn Palestine’. You can find the files called “Learning Palestine _ 12 hours track” here: https://linktr.ee/radioalhara

And the band played on,
towards a climax of disruptive noise.

Use Knife is Stef Heeren, Kwinten Mordijck & Saif Al-Qaissy

Buy on bandcamp

Sowieso F***ed

music is my inspiration!!!!  I love Music!!!!!

Use Knife is the exciting result of the raw synergy between Iraqi vocalist and percussionist Saif Al-Qaissy—who fled war-torn Iraq—and Belgian musicians Kwinten Mordijck and Stef Heeren, known for their passion for analog synths and organic wind instrumentation. 

The band tell a necessary tale of freedom, responsibility and the gulf between the Eastern and Western mindset. Even the instrumentation itself reflects this constant friction; intuitively muddling distorted industrial textures and jerky EBM pulses with brittle Iraqi rhythms and tonalities, Use Knife devise their own distinct harmony against the dissonant global backdrop. 

Debut album 'The Shedding of Skin' (2022) received critical acclaim by The Quietus, Mixmag and Knack Focus, a.o.. They played at festivals such as Le Guess Who?, Sonic City, Videodroom, Grauzone, Botanique, Worm, Wrong Fest, Roadburn, Suoni Per Il Populo, Wave-Gotik-Treffen and We Are Open a.o.

Additionally, ‘Peace Carnival’ was released on Morphine Records —a 10” remix EP featuring tracks from the debut album reinterpreted by Muqata’a مقاطعة, Zoë Mc Pherson, and Rabih Beaini.

Their new album ‘État Coupable’ (March 2025) is mixed by Jerusalem in My Heart's Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, who also created the contrasting ambient 2nd part of the title track, while New York based engineer Heba Kadry (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Nicolás Jaar) handles the mastering. Nihiloxica’s drummer Spooky-J, also laid down a post punk beat on first single ‘Freedom, Asshole’.

Youniss Ahamad crafted Use Knife’s distinct visual language, evoking rawness through direct and distorted imagery, and developed scenography and visuals that truly enhance their live show, creating “an all-embracing vortex that allows those experiencing it to plunge, headfirst, into a hypnotic state that veers between a dreamlike trance and a sensual workout.” (The Quietus)

Their radio show ‘Feeding The Gentry’ airs monthly on Palestinian Radio Alhara.

listening, 
grooming,
sleeping
...

You can't see it because of the angle with which I took the shot, aiming down, but beyond those blocks is the sea.  To the left is the Mediterranean, to the right is the Atlantic Ocean.  No it's not Gibraltar, but a little bit further West. ... Actually I checked recently and it is further North more than West, I thought I was facing South when in fact I probably was facing the Atlantic ocean, which is why I suppose the waves were of a decent size where we were.
...

https://bandcamp.com/hakekong
https://www.facebook.com/ha.kekong
...
My face and the bike are a courtesy of Joël Vaudreuil
[https://vimeo.com/user8897093]  ... Merci Joe!
I then went ahead and butchered his work with a borrowed helmet.
Sorry Joe. =(
...
sometime in 2025:
I have not been able to recover access to my other account [https://soundcloud.com/ha-kekong] for a couple of years.  Don't be mad if I have not replied to your message in the past two years, that's because I never got them ; ) ... You can always reach me here though.
...

I'm trying to promote what I think is good music, so if you want to help out a bit I'd rather you [like] or [repost] my *playlists* rather than my field recordings, if you don't mind, unless you are a die hard fan of those things. Thank you ; )

I speak French, so if you send me a private message, and that you are a francophone, please write in French, thank you.  ... I mean, you don't absolutely have to, but I would prefer it. 

All my field recordings (except for when I record a person) are public, freely downloadable by anyone who is able to click on the button.  I encourage anyone interested to use them in any way whatsoever, on purpose or accidentally. No need for permissions or credits or any other kind  of administrative maneuvers.
...

Anarchists give me hope.

I'm a big fan of EFF.  Love ya EFF.  (no connection with the above line)
... and of course Richard Stallman and Linux and all the others.  Bless yous.

Now don't be lazy, go find out what it is this "EFF" that I'm talking about.  I'll give you a hint: it has to do with computers.

You have a nice day now.  Hugs & Kisses.