A cello made of a stainless steel bowl, a violin made of a gallon of fuel and a double bass made of tomato paste. These are just some of the instruments used by a new revolutionary Yemeni-Israeli music band. The Yemeni band EL KHAT is headed by Eyal Wahab, who builds his instruments from objects he finds on the street. The musician functions as one of the cellists of the Elnor disbanded orchestra. His ensemble has already signed two European labels, released two albums, and performed at festivals in Europe.

Wahab fell in love with the Yemenite sound as a child through the songs he heard at home and the melodies played at the neighborhood synagogue. As an attentive listener who absorbed the sounds surrounding him, he decided to produce them himself, as they were played back in the day. 

This is Yemeni Jewish musician, Eyal Wahab, and the frontman for the Israeli band El-Khat. What makes them stand out is that the instruments they perform with were made by him from things people would tend to toss in the garbage.

Full interview: https://t.co/qW6AspLK5f pic.twitter.com/mouCZQJOt3

— ~Jachnun Supremacist~ נפתלי בן מתתיהו (@JachnunEmpire) June 16, 2022

"Honestly, at first I was quite against this music. Even in denial, you could say. It did not stem from embarrassment, but simply that the entire music world was very American or British. I do not mean to offend anyone God forbid, but everything was very Ashkenazi and white. So, Yemeni music was not so acceptable."

"I did not want to sound like things that already exist, I felt that the closest alternative are my roots. But I guess what sets our band apart is the instruments I build. They are things I find on the street and connect strings to and make some kind of musical instrument  that is nice to play on.”

A Yemeni music disc he got somewhere in 2017 was a turning point for Wahab. The Yemeni sound from that musical collection ran through his veins and he decided he was going to start to learn the melody and lyrics to record his own covers. 

For the task, he harnessed fellow musicians and uploaded the recordings to YouTube. He had no idea how far those performances would take him. 

Eyal el Wahab, frontman with Tel Aviv four-piece El Khat, outlines the DIY aesthetic that has him digging into his Yemeni roots and through the neighbourhood's rubbish bins 👉 https://t.co/BIysIYrBkf @Glitterbeat_Rec @mysterylesson @ilkamedia #ElKhat pic.twitter.com/esoLwZqU78

— Songlines Magazine (@SonglinesMag) May 16, 2022

"I recorded about five or six songs and put them online, without PR or anything.  The recording came to a British label called Batov Records and they approached me and offered to make a 12-track album. It's called 'Saadia Jefferson,' and it came out in 2019."

EL KHAT's second album was released last March under the German label Glitterbit Records. Another element that sets the band apart is the places where they record, not in a standard recording studio designed for music. Their songs were all recorded in alternative places like a packing factory,  a carpentry shop, or even in a bomb shelter.