Recorded in Jaffa, the ancient Mediterranean port city, Jaffa Cakes sees LennyTunes playfully nod to the tin British biscuit while delivering six tracks of live-driven organic house.
LennyTunes is back with Jaffa Cakes, a six-track EP recorded almost entirely live. Bansuri and Bedouin ney, Turkish and Arabic qanun, a violin taqsim (improvization) from Bashir al Asadi, North African percussion, kalimba, balafon, Osmose, Prophet and Minimoog synths, and a 1960 Fender guitar pushed through vintage phasers and delays all shape the record’s warm, physical sound.
Jaffa Cakes follows Fine Sands, the 1.4 million-stream release that established LennyTunes’ organic house language: warm, instrument-led, and built around live performance. The new EP carries that approach deeper into club territory, with deeper groove, more percussive drive, and more weight.
Behind LennyTunes is more than twenty years of cross-border studio work. Lenny Ben Basat scored the Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano feature Le Sens de la fête, from the team behind The Intouchables. He produced for Mediterranean jazz bassist Avishai Cohen and arranged for French-Tunisian artist Riff Cohen on her acclaimed À Paris album. He also co-wrote Miş Miş, a chart hit for Turkish pop star Simge. His past work has moved through Sony, Universal, Gaumont, Kitty-Yo Berlin, and netd müzik.
His own LennyTunes catalogue has stayed closer to the dancefloor. It started in 2019 with The Bellydance Superstars on Camel Rider, a lo-fi tribute to the Jaffa nightclubs of the 60s and 70s, recorded on instruments from the period. From there it moved through Nueva Beach, The Malfoof Collective, a string of collaborations across the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern scene, the Fine Sands EP, and most recently Jericho. Jaffa Cakes is the next chapter.
The opening title track rolls in on Bansuri, Qanun, vintage Prophet synth, and African percussion. Spring Tank brings the Minimoog forward, sharing the lead with kalimba and a live Violin Taqsim by Bashir al Asadi. Fata Organa turns hypnotic, built around Turkish Qanun, guitars, and a vintage Roland SH1000.
At the center sits Tamtam, the percussive peak of the record: Moroccan and West African drums layered with kalimba, balafon, Bansuri flute, and Osmose-Haken physical modeling synth. Naima is the cinematic moment, with Bedouin Ney flute and analog arpeggios moving over strings, joined by a second Taqsim from al Asadi. The closer, Desert Dweller, moves into dustier, more psychedelic territory, led by a 1960 Fender Jazzmaster running through vintage modulation effects and delays.
Rooted in Middle Eastern Maqam (Scales), North African rhythm, live musicianship, and analog studio craft, Jaffa Cakes brings a distinctly human pulse to contemporary organic house – warm, percussive and endlessly musical.
LennyTunes’ Jaff Cakes EP is out now and is available to purchase here.
