If you haven’t already heard it, you soon will do. Titled ‘En Couleurs’, the new EP from Algeria’s rising music star Losez (aka Nazim Boudaoud) is a triumph. It contains seven heart-stopping tracks, each of which is associated with a different feeling and, of course, a different colour. These include قع الليلة (‘Shake Down’) for blue, ‘23 Sa7bi’ for pink, ‘Hotline’ for green and ‘Wa7di’, yellow. This is because, he tells us, “They’re perceived differently by everyone and can be felt directly in the soul with happy and sad emotions.”

As with Losez’s previous works, its catchy beats are overlaid with flows in Arabic, French and the occasional line of English. The sort of record that you can’t help but listen to on repeat, it’s already been picked up by SWANA-focused digital platform Millie World. We sat down with the polymath, who told us five things you need to know about ‘En ‘Couleurs’.

ONE

This record is testament to the fact that from pain, sometimes beauty comes. “The whole project talks about a very complicated and upsetting situation full of heartbreak, loss and failures but there’s a ray of hope to get out of these negative situations. If you focus on the last track of the album, و سعيد, you can hear that every four bars the beat switches slightly from a happy ambiance to a darker one and I actually wrote that track as two linked stories and switched my mood and theme every time with the beat.”

TWO

The EP works as a story with a beginning, middle and upbeatish ending. “’Bambina’, قع الليلة ‘Shake Down’ and ‘23 Sa7bi’ have pretty happy moods in their production but they also all have an upset tone that reflects looking for the light without finding it. But the interlude ‘Outro’ is about making steps to get better, change the narrative and move towards a greater place mentally, physically and career-wise. ‘Hotline’ and وحدي show a new me – with the same problems and difficulties but being ready to face them and do better.”

THREE

The EP isn’t just straight hip hop. This young talent has explored a range of alternative genres, from trap-synth on ‘Hotline’ and ‘Wahdi’, to hyperpop on ‘Bambina’, house electro on ‘Shake Down’ and two-step for ‘23 Sa7bi’. “I mixed and mastered a few songs and took part in the production. The rest were done with my boys Dr4co, Marrakush, $lushhy, Brice Lejeune, Mo ED, Nash, Hazem and the guys at Top1Percent studios.”

FOUR

He worked closely with Lebanese photographer Janna Soueidan on the creative direction and styling. “Janna deserved her flowers for sure.” While all of the graphic design and artworking was done by Boudaoud under his studio DRIFT213. “I consider myself a one-man label because I have knowledge across different fields, such as graphic design, videography, editing, production, sound engineering and creative direction. I got to apply all of it in this project, even more than with my previous two EPs.”

FIVE

The is a nod to fellow Dubai-based Algerian, designer Wathek Allal of Precious Trust, who is a long-time supporter and friend. “The last two tracks of the project, وحدي and و سعي, complete each other – one means ‘alone’ and the other ‘happy’. Originally their names were ‘night’ and ‘3mri’. But I was chatting with Wathek about a collection he was designing and he was telling me about this concept he had about being alone and happy, and I really related to that. He’s been part of my career since the beginning – supporting and pushing me in every way.”

Read our full interview with Losez here.