Use Knife is the exciting result of the raw synergy between Iraqi singer and percussionist Saif Al-Qaissy and Belgian musicians Kwinten Mordijck and Stef Heeren, known for their passion for analogue synthesizers and organic wind-instruments.

While Al-Qaissy’s Arabic vocals form the contours of poetic images from his past, fierce synth sequences, distorted samples and heavy Arabic percussion make their politically charged tracks both emotionally compelling and sonically disconcerting.

The band conveys a necessary message about freedom, responsibility, and the chasm between eastern and western mindsets. Even the instrumentation reflects this persistent tension: they intuitively blend distorted industrial textures and throbbing EBM pulses with delicate Iraqi rhythms and tonalities. Use Knife creates a unique harmony against the dissonant global backdrop.

Their debut album The Shedding of Skin was released September 2022 by VIERNULVIER Records and received rave reviews from the likes of The Quietus, Mixmag and Knack Focus. They performed all over Europe and Canada after the album’s release, at festivals like Le Guess Who?, Sonic City, Videodroom, Grauzone, Botanique, Worm, Wrong Fest, Roadburn, Suoni Per Il Popolo, Wave-Gotik-Treffen and We Are Open.

More than just a meeting of eastern and western cultures, their new album État Coupable (March 2025) is a true fusion of culture and politics, in which the skills of the three band members unite in an entirely new way. The album was mixed by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh of Jerusalem in My Heart, who also created the contrasting, ambient second part of the title track.

Reputed for their attention to detail at every level – from timbre to live performances and video production – Use Knife worked together with multi-disciplinary artist Youniss Ahamad, who developed a unique visual language for the band. Aside from music videos and artwork that evoke rawness through direct, distorted images, Ahamad also designed scenography and visuals that take the live show to a higher level.

According to The Quietus, that results in “an all-embracing vortex that allows those experiencing it to plunge, headfirst, into a hypnotic state that veers between a dreamlike trance and a sensual workout”.