You don't find a lot of Arab jazz-funk knocking around, which means that
Toufic Farroukh is pretty much standing in a class of one. His particular style, mixing up Arab strings and melodies with jazz instrumentalists and some low-key dance beats, is successful enough, as far as it goes. But in trying to mix so much, he almost inevitably loses the spiciest part of each flavor. It starts of hopefully enough with "Systole, Diastole," but quickly loses ground until "Destins Et Desirs" seems a mere exercise in Arab-inflected R&B. "The Girl from the Gypsy Moon" has some excellent soloing from both guitar and accordion, but no passion, and there's equally little heart to the rap on "Only Lonely." There's a good idea behind this, but for the moment
Farroukh is too content to steer a middle course and settle for compromise, which makes for something full of technical skill, but without the fire and passion that sets an album apart.