Cherif El-Masri is a composer and multi-instrumentalist based in Cairo. For the past 20 years he has studied and performed in various musical idioms (jazz, free improvisation, punk rock, extreme metal, classical & folk Arabic, experimental electronic music). He's been an active member of several seminal Cairene bands such as Eskenderella and Procession Towards the Unknown.
Since 2012 he's been a member of The Invisible Hands, a psych rock band co-founded with Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls / Alvarius B / Sublime Frequencies) . El-Masri is currently recording and performing as Tarkamt, a solo project combining primitive analog electronics, electro-acoustic processes, visceral free improvisation, and unclassifiable progressive composition to form a maelstrom of chaotic energy that transcends the dichotomy of noise versus music.
Since 2012 he's been a member of The Invisible Hands, a psych rock band co-founded with Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls / Alvarius B / Sublime Frequencies) . El-Masri is currently recording and performing as Tarkamt, a solo project combining primitive analog electronics, electro-acoustic processes, visceral free improvisation, and unclassifiable progressive composition to form a maelstrom of chaotic energy that transcends the dichotomy of noise versus music.
Tarkamt's debut full length album was released in February 2018.