Ancient instrument and machine – a Bedouin-futurist fusion of old rhythms, new sounds and grinded coffee.

The project Habaju (“They were smashing”) aims to breathe new life into an ancient bedouin instrument. The project focuses on the recreation of its rhythmic patterns, while also exploring its historical role in the sharing of coffee, hospitality and conveying messages and emotions through complex rhythms. The outcome is a machine that, after decades of traditional instruments serving mainly as decoration, generates these rhythmic patterns, echoing its almost forgotten purposes.

The history of the instrument can be traced back to the 6th century. There have been several usages, besides its original purpose to grind coffee beans. The unique sound of the hitting has led to its use in social and cultural activities as a musical instrument, used for musical performances and communication within rural communities. The emergence of modern grinding machines has widely replaced the traditional tool, shifting its purpose to being an aesthetic object transporting cultural heritage.

A machine that brings the original instrument, its rhythms and smells back to life by playing the almost forgotten popular and improvisational rhythms and connecting people. The completion of this project represents not only the revival of an ancient practice, but also a fusion with modern technology which opens a space for new interpretations of historical sounds and meanings.

With every different movement of the pestle, also the motors create their own humming sounds, depending on direction and speed, until the pestle hits inside the instrument’s body playing the final beat. Both sounds together, the acoustic wooden beat and the rhythmic machine movements are fusing into a new generative sound experience.