Shalabi Effect, a mostly instrumental band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band was originally formed in 1996 as a duo composed of Anthony Seck and Sam Shalabi. The first incarnation of Shalabi Effect released a limited edition cassette recording. In 1998, Shalabi Effect doubled in size by adding Alexandre Saint-Onge on double bass and Will Eizlini on tablas. That year "Aural Florida" was recorded at Red Rocket Studios in Montreal, and was originally slated to be a "side" of a split CD with Godspeed You! Black Emperor, produced by Alien8 Recordings.
In 1999, Shalabi Effect recorded for a second time at Sound of One Hand studios in Ottawa, and by July 2000 had released Shalabi Effect, which incorporated a remixed version of "Aural Florida" embedded among the 131 minutes. Shalabi Effect continues in the tradition of live improvisation based on Middle Eastern modes but Shalabi Effect's approach has become more experimental with the inclusion of strange semi-broken electronics and a variety of odd instruments—most of which happened to be lying around in the studio where it was recorded.
Shalabi Effect is the eponymous debut album of Shalabi Effect. The album cover is taken from the famous Eagle Nebula Pillars of Creation photo made by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The album began with the song "Aural Florida", which was originally going to be on a split release with Godspeed You! Black Emperor; when that release was abandoned, the rest of the album was created.