A Mixtape that takes a look at the contemporary Arab music scene. The sonic incursions of Hello Psycaleppo, the vocal harmonies of Emel Mathlouti, the post punk of Kaleb and Smokable, the futuristic Electro Chabi of Islam Chipsy. A heterogeneous Mixtape, which photographs (partially) one of the most electrifying scenes on the planet.
Arab tunes mixtape # 38 - Contemporary Arab Tunes
01 Sofiane Saidi - Gasbah Ya Moul Taxi 02 47 Soul - Sabah 03 Bu Kolthoum - Zamilou 04 Mashaa Ramle - Ya Bu Rdayyen Ft Enas el Said 05 Kelab - Al yawm al'alamy lilrajul 06 Emel Mathlouthi - Thamlaton 07 Al Akhareen - Ana Al Aaris 08 Islam Chipsy - EL Kahraman 09 Love & Revenge - Batwaness Bik in 10 Maryam Saleh, Maurice Louca, Tamer Abu Ghazaleh - El Shahwa Wel Soaar 11 Yasmine Hamdan - Al Jamilat 12 Hello Psychaleppo - Anqa 13 El Rass - You still cant belly dance b 14 Nadah El Shazly - Afqid Adh-Dhakira 15 Smokable - Jacket Jeld 16 Aqsa Alwasat - Eshrabini
Hawa Dafi is the name of a Syrian band from Majdal Shams, a town located on Occupied Golan Heights. The band consists of 7 elements and proposes a sound that the group defines as Gypsy Rock. It is unquestionably very particular sounds that draw, in equal measure, both from the Eastern tradition and from all the corpus of Western rock music, not forgetting Reggae (perhaps influence of fellow citizens Toot Ard ??) and Jazz.
In 2015 they released their first album titled "Our Story". The album , consisting of 12 tracks , was produced by Samer Jadarat (Palestinian percussionist and producer) and includes both instrumental pieces that sung songs. The drafting of the texts saw the collaboration of Jad Brek , a local poet.
The album is part of a larger project, currently consists of 6 discs, called "Crossing" thought by Samer Jadarat to document the record and the historical period that the Palestinian artists are experiencing.
Hawa Dafi è il nome di una band siriana proveniente da Majdal Shams, località situata sulle alture del Golan occupato . La band si compone di 7 elementi e propone un sound che il gruppo stesso definisce come Gypsy Rock. Si tratta indiscutibilmente di sonorità molto particolari che attingono , in egual misura , sia dalla tradizione orientale sia da tutto il corpus della musica rock occidentale, non dimenticando Reggae ( influenza forse dei concittadini Toot Ard ??) e Jazz. Nel 2015 hanno pubblicato il loro primo album intitolato “Our Story”. L’album, composto da 12 tracce, è stato prodotto da Samer Jadarat ( percussionista e produttore palestinese) e comprende sia tracce strumentali che cantate per la cui stesura dei testi il gruppo sia è avvalso della collaborazione di Jad Brek, un poeta locale.
L’album fa parte di un vasto progetto , attualmente composto da 6 dischi, chiamato “Crossing” pensato da Samer Jadarat per documentare la cronaca ed il periodo storico che gli artisti palestinesi stanno vivendo.
Ramy Essam is an Egyptian self-learned playing the guitar, Born in 1987 to a family in Al-Mansoura - one of Egypt's smaller cities, where he went to school and studied Engineering. He started to write songs at the age of 17, inspired by young poets like Amgad Qahwagi and Mohamed Bahgat, as well as the poet Ahmed Fouad Negm who spoke up against Mubarak's regime. He established the band "Mashakel" (translated to "Problems") in 2009 and through this band started to sing for a free life, illustrating the simple daily problems he lives along with all Egyptians under Mubarak's regime. During the January 25 Revolution,Ramy hailing from Mansoura came to Cairo on January 30 to participate in the revolution. He camped on Tahrir Square, and has become a regular Cairene since. He composed the crowd's anti-Mubarak chants with his song Irhal [ Leave] which became an anthem of the protests. On the 11th of February 2011 Mubarak finally got the message to 'Irhal' and was forced to resign. But when Ramy Essam returned to the square after this historic announcement, he was identified as an agitator, arrested and detained for four hours, during which time he was beaten and Tasered. On March 9th the army stormed the square, ripping down tents and arresting more than 100 people, including Essam.men in army uniforms dragged him to the Egyptian National Museum, which had become a security headquarters. But That Didn't Stop Ramy from Pressing on and Fighting for what He Believes.
After That Ramy performed multiple Songs in Different Places across Egypt.Also Ramy Performed his songs in Brittan , South Africa, Sweden, Germany. Time out London Named Ramy Essam Song " Irhal " to be one of the 100 songs that effected Humanity
Ramy was Third on That List. More than 10 Documentaries were made about the Egyptian Revolution and how Ramy contributed from all over the world The United States , Germany, China , Japan , France , United Kingdom, Denmark, Egypt and others. On November 19th Ramy Essam was second runner up for the main prize in the 2011 Freedom to Create Prize awards. Then on Nov 21 he received the Freemuse Award 2011 at a ceremony in Södra Teatern in Stockholm, Sweden. On Jan 25 ,2012 Ramy released an album of songs from Tahrir Square, which he called "Manshourat" .
In 2015 he released his latest album (to date) entitled "Mamnou3" ( Forbidden )
Ramy Essam رامى عصام - Law Kan لو كان
01 Law Kan 02 Fe Yom 03 Hansaki 04 A2ol Lely Ganbak 05 Hnyet El Donia 06 Ohdneni 07 Ensa 08 Kona Eh 09 B3d Ely 3malto 10 Sebtaha 11 Law kan Music
01 Er7al 02 3ahd Mubarak 03 Taty Taty 04 Ga7sh WL 7omar 05 Ed7ako sawra 06 Al Shaheed 07 Ya Swes 08 Edrabny 09 Dabora Short Cap 10 8 April 11 Al Gesh Al araby 12 Sabona w Khazo2 13 Eshhad Ya Zaman 14 Nafat 15 Masry El Asly 16 Etma3zam 17 El Serk 18 Shay L Sawra 19 Damer el 2oma 20. Er7al 2 21 Harara 22 No2at No2at 23 Youm 25 HERE
Introducing Ramy Essam : Revolution Erupts
01 Etma3zam 02 Action 03 3ahd Mubark 04 3oksha 06 Sabona W Khazoo2 07 Shay El-Thawra 09 Mal3oon 10 El-Masala 11 Bta2ty 12 Dabora W Short 13 El-Ga7sh Wel 7omar 14 Nafadt 15 Tartoor 16 Al-Masry Al-Asly
Bachar Mar-Khalifé is a French Lebanese singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist born in the town of Beyrouth in 1983, 13 February. He is the son of the legendary Eastern-Lute player Marcel Khalifé and of the singer Yolla Khalifé, Brother of Rami Khalifé (a member of the band Aufgang).
He grew up listening to the voice and Lebanese compositions of his father . After training with Abd Al Rahman El Bacha, he went on to the Boulogne Conservatoire, where he gradually gave form to his singular approach to piano and percussions, alongside fellow students Rami Khalifé of course (his brother, piano), but also Aymeric Westrich (drums, synths) and Alexander Angelov (bass, backing vocals), who all took part in the elaboration of his first album in 2010 titled " Oil Slick ". During his musical career worked with conductors Lorin Maazel, James Gaffigan as well as with the Orchestre national de France and the Ensemble intercontemporain. He has collaborated on many projects that fuse jazz, world music, electronic and hip-hop with artists as diverse as Bojan Z, Carl Craig, Francesco Tristano, Murcof or Kery James.
He’s composed soundtracks for various films such as Layla Fourie, directed by Pia Marais and praised in 2013 Berlinale as well as Fièvres by Hicham Ayouch praised in 2015 Fespaco.
Artistically, he is linked to the French electronic music label InFiné with which he created, besides the aforementioned " Oil Slick ", the albums " Who's Gonna Get The Ball From Behind The Wall Of The Garden Today ? " in the 2013 and " Ya balad " in the 2015, a projection of Bachar’s childhood memories and the paths of exile, mainly sung in Arabic as an open letter to Lebanon, his native country.
Originally a solo bedroom project by Egyptian musician Youssef Abouzeid, PanSTARRS began from the artist’s metaphysical crisis of “putting the why into words, when every word is a pale imitation, a mere ripple in the vast ocean of being.” In February 2013 , Abouzeid released his first EP, titled “Nothingness,” with an ambitious DIY spirit. The four-track album was singlehandedly created by Abouzeid, who cooked together his talents in songwriting, recording, and production to release one of the most unique indie rock albums in Egypt this year. It was defined by his wistful sonic vision, pensive guitar lines, and detached vocals that oscillate between plaintiveness and deep contemplation. While all the songs on the album struck an emotional chord, in the song “Gold Tears” Abouzeid’s weeping guitar slides came into their own against a backdrop of a country falling into despair.
While the album received little attention at the time, it was for Abouzeid a turning point because it led him to meeting other people and, as he describes it, “becoming another person.” His second EP titled “Yestoday “ , released in October of 2013, is the product of a collaborative process with his cousin Nader Ahmed (from the electronic duo Vent) recording and mixing the album, and Zuli (from the trip-hop duo Quit Together) mastering it. This eight-track album takes a much more philosophical approach lyrically and combines it with a sound that is on the one hand more aggressive and on the other hand more defined than Nothingness.
Recorded mostly in Ahmed’s living-room studio, the album is something of a cross between the psychedelic fuzz of Tame Impala’s Lonerism and the reverbed, industrial guitar lines and fractured dance rhythms of Deerhunter’s Monomania. Standout moments appear on the album’s opening, So Little Time, and the Arabic-closer Ayez Anam (I want to sleep).
With its reverbed bass line, drum kicks, and lyrics like “So little time, so little space,” So Little Time is emblematic of too much time spent in military-enforced confinement. The song and eight-track album as a whole succeed in not only establishing PanSTARRS as rock musicians, but also present the band’s true innovation, which is rooted in an ability to express metaphysical contemplations of time and space through the ever-present galactic sounds and noise on most of Yestoday. But it is in the album’s closing track that Abouzeid’s unguarded existential dilemmas reveal themselves to greatest affect. AyezAnam is a raw, melancholic, stream-of-consciousness Arabic number filled with soft vocal echoes, a plaintive acoustic guitar and reverbed fuzz making the perfect nihilistic soundscape for his drone-like lyrics: “An empty, empty world / Fuck this world,” and later, “All the people are dying, and I want to sleep, I want to sleep.”
Both albums reflect Abouzeid’s metaphysical search beyond the confines of time and rules. Much of his work questions the things we hold as true, and Abouzeid himself does not believe there is anything true in the absolute. He would rather live in the abstract, not defining things — having the listeners come up with their own ideas about this music.
“I like to play music by myself, there is no one I really want to play with and no one I really want to be like,” he explained in 2013. “Any music I can’t relate to I reject. I like anything real, anything that sounds real. The truthfulness of music is very subjective. Anything that allows me to perceive my own ideas, I like. I like music that is loud, that is vague, because it allows me to imagine it in the way I want.”
The new PanSTARRS EP , titled ” Ghaby Ghaby Ghaby “ released in October of 2015 , takes a slight eerie turn towards dark, measured beats, heavy synth bass lines and, crisp guitar riffs. Youssef Abouzeid’s vivid and somewhat controversial, witty Arabic lyrics give off a sense of bleak ambiance to their sound and perspective, and it feels unconventionally brilliant to be able to decipher every word. Nothing short of interesting though; all the bits and pieces put together create an aesthetically dark product blistered by social awareness, existentialist introspection, navel-gazing and passive aggression all powered by state-of-the-art musical elements that probably trace back to 1980s Electronic Rock/Synth Pop era only cradled with unprocessed innovation and a false sense of retirement.
PanSTARRS is gaining more and more listeners with each album and each show, even still, it remains within the indie rock niche. While many musician would be disheartened by this, Abouzeid is unaffected by it. PanSTARRS is his baby and he won’t compromise on the music — even if it means not reaching a wider sector of audience. He is resigned to the fact that most Egyptians won’t get it, so, for him the music is as much about his enjoyment and his creativity as anything else.
In any case, Abouzeid’s head is elsewhere. With changes to the band’s lineup due to study, work and army duties, the music is bound to take another turn in the near future. The lack of consistent musicians usually ends projects and bands, but for Abouzeid each change is another phase of development. His music, he says, is like having a child: With each phase it develops and matures and becomes something new and interesting.
PanSTARRS are constantly supporting local and international underground artists on Facebook where they’re up to date with every new release from any artists they appreciate, so you can head to their page and have a listen and compare quality stuff, Egyptian or other, that’s worth promoting, to the mediocre nonsense we blindly support in the country. Abouzeid is also part of another project called Shlomo Casio, as well as once being part of a band called Manzouma with Ali Talibab who does spoken word.
Mashrou’ Leila (Arabic: مشروع ليلى , sometimes transliterated as Mashrou3 Leila or Leila's Project) is a Lebanese five-member alternative rock band. The band formed in Beirut,Lebanon in 2008 as a music workshop at the American University of Beirut. The band has released three studio albums, Mashrou' Leila (2008), El Hal Romancy (2011), an EP, and Raasük (2013) while causing many controversies due to their satirical lyrics and themes.
The band was formed in February 2008 at the American University of Beirut, when violinist Haig Papazian,guitarist Andre Chedid, and pianist Omaya Malaeb posted an open invitation to musicians looking to jam to vent the stress caused by college and the unstable political situation.Out of the dozen of people who answered the call, seven would remain to form Mashrou' Leila. Band members were encouraged by friends to perform in front of a live crowd; they put on a show as the opening act for a concert on the AUB campus. During the event, Mashrou' Leila proved to be the only band that composed and performed their original compositions. The band continued to play small venues and gain ground on the underground music circuit until they emerged onto the indy music scene during the Lebanese 2008 "Fête de la Musique" event (the yearly Music festival held by the Beirut municipality) sparking controversy for their unabashed and critical lyrics on Lebanese society, failed love, sexuality and politics.
In 2009, Mashrou’ Leila participated at Radio Liban's 'Modern Music Contest' held at Basement (club) winning both the jury and popular awards in part due to their breakthrough single "Raksit Leila" (Leila's dance). The first prize was a record deal.Mashrou' Leila’s self-titled debut album produced by B-root Productions was released in December 2009 at a steel factory in Bourj Hammoud (a suburb of Beirut) where an unprecedented number attendees crowded the factory yard. The gig turned out to be Beirut 's biggest non-mainstream event in recent years and has been a big hit among Indie and Rock fans in Lebanon. Shortly after the release of their first album, the band burst into the spotlight of the Lebanese music mainstream when they were announced to be headlining the Byblos International Festival on July 9, 2010. The concert was one of the most anticipated events of the summer and was attended by scores of fans as well as the Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri.
In 2011, Mashrou' Leila released the 'El Hal Romancy' EP, a recording the band describes as "tackling lyrically more intimate, personal, and theatrical subject matter that is less about the city and its politics proper, and more about the social residue of the city'. This is a collection of songs that happen in a weathered bedroom with ruffled bed sheets, stained carpeting, and a book shelf of references, while a string section plays on a rusty vinyl player to a couple of young lovers trying to survive the city". One week before the release concert in Beirut Hippodrome, Mashrou' Leila announced that the album was available for free download on the band's website.
In 2012, the band headlined Baalbeck International Festival.The concert was filmed and released as a live concert.
Mashrou' Leila's anticipated 3rd release Rassuk was recorded at the Hotel 2 Tango in Montreal. Described as 'an arresting, heady mixture of retro-Beirut music – the signature sound being Haig Papazian's razor-sharp violin. The album was released in August 2013. The video of the lead single Lil Watan ("for the nation") was awarded the gold prize at the Dubai Lynx 2015 festival.To promote the album, the band managed to crowd fund over 60,000$; an unprecedented feat for a middle east art project. On April 6, Mashrou' Leila became the first Middle Eastern artist to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
On the 25th of November 2013, Mashrou' Leila played the Red Bull Soundclash with Who Killed Bruce Lee in the Forum de Beyrouth.
On the 17th of March 2015, Mashrou' Leila released a new song with a music video called "3 Minutes" on Youtube Mashrou' Leila's members enjoy the wordplay and ambiguity surrounding their band's name. In English, the name can be interpreted as either “One Night Project” or “Leila’s Project”; Leila being a very common given name in Lebanon.When asked during an early interview about the origin of the nameMashrou' Leila, band members teasingly retorted that the band is a project started to collect money for a girl they knew called Leila . According to the band’s official Facebook page, Mashrou’ Leila means “An Overnight Project”, named for the nocturnal nature of the project characterized by all-night jam sessions.
Current members Hamed Sinnoas the lead vocalist. Haig Papazian on the violin Carl Gerges on drums Ibrahim Badr on bass guitar Firas Abu-Fakher on guitar
Former members Omaya Malaeb on keyboards Andre Chedid on guitars
Mashrou’ Leila's entertaining themes and satirical Lebanese lyrics reflect the many faces and flaws of Lebanese society which are not addressed by mainstream Arabic music. The band is critical of the problems associated with life in Beirut and they are known for their liberal use of swear-words in some of their songs. Their debut album's 9 songs wittily discuss subject matters such as lost love, war, politics, security and political assassination, materialism, immigration and homosexuality. "Latlit" one of the Mashrou' Leila album tracks is a caricature of the Lebanese society overridden by gossip."Shem-el Yasmine" (literally Smell the jasmine), a song reminiscent of Jay Brannan's "Housewife" was described as an ode to tolerance for same-sex love where a young man wants to introduce his bride to his parents but the bride turns out to be a groom. "Fasateen" (literally meaning "dresses") is a ballad that tackles the issue of marriage. The song's music video shows the band members deconstructing nuptial symbols and defying the pressure of romantic relationships.Some of the distinctive features of the band's music is the prominence of the violin in passages redolent of Armenian folk music and the use of a megaphone in some songs to alter frontman Hamed Sinno's voice.
After syncing for a while, the public started to dissect the band, member by member. Hamed got his first solo magazine cover in 2012 when he fronted the December issue of the 1st LGBTQI magazine the MENA region, My.Kali magazine. A year after, Haig fronted the same publication for the same month, landing his first cover in 2013. Carl Gerges landed his first solo cover on the November issue of L'Officiel Hommes-Levant, 2012.
(Source : Wikipedia)
Da tre anni un gruppo indie-rock libanese domina la scena musicale del Medio Oriente e del Nordafrica. I suoi musicisti hanno meno di trent’anni e sono solo la punta dell’iceberg di una scena artistica e culturale che in Libano non ha mai smesso di vibrare. Sono i Mashrou’ Leila, che in arabo vuol dire progetto notturno o progetto di Leila, visto che “leila” non è solo un nome ma significa anche notte.
Haig, Hamed, Ibrahim, Firas e Carl si sono conosciuti nel 2008 alla facoltà di architettura della American University di Beirut, dopo aver partecipato a un workshop musicale che doveva servire come valvola di sfogo rispetto alla situazione politica libanese. Da allora i cinque hanno cominciato a esibirsi a Beirut e sono diventati uno dei punti di riferimento del panorama musicale alternativo nazionale, suscitando polemiche per i loro testi provocatori e critici, in cui affrontano i problemi della società libanese, gli amori falliti e le difficoltà di una generazione stretta tra la voglia di creare e vivere e i confini stabiliti dalla politica e dalla morale religiosa.
Cantando in arabo-libanese, raccontano di immigrazione e politica, della difficoltà di avere vent’anni, di crescere in una città come Beirut ancora segnata dalla guerra civile. Cantano di quanto sia difficile, in Libano, amarsi se si appartiene a confessioni religiose diverse, come nella malinconica Fasateen (Vestiti), o di quanto faccia male l’amore quando lo si perde, come nella struggente ballata Shim el-yasmine (Odora il gelsomino), che racconta di un amore omosessuale.
I testi dell’ultimo album sono più intimisti, ma non risparmiano critiche alla società libanese e, in generale, a una società contemporanea che spezza i sogni dei suoi giovani: “Digli che siamo ancora qui in piedi, digli che stiamo resistendo / Digli che abbiamo ancora occhi per vedere, digli che non abbiamo fame”, cantano in Wa nueid (Noi andiamo avanti). Mentre nel video di Lil Watan (Per la nazione) si prendono gioco della musica tradizionale araba – impersonata da una ballerina di danza del ventre – che con la sua onnipresenza non dà spazio ai musicisti indipendenti.
I loro arrangiamenti sono eclettici come la loro Beirut e mescolano stili e influenze diverse. Tra jazz, elettro-pop, rock e tarab c’è spazio per i virtuosismi del violino e i riff della chitarra elettrica, in un mix orecchiabile e accattivante. La voce di Hamed Sinno, il cui stile è stato paragonato a quello di Freddie Mercury, è potente e profonda. Il cantante qualche anno fa ha fatto coming out in un paese in cui l’omosessualità è un tabù sociale e questo ha attirato sul gruppo le critiche degli ambienti conservatori: lo scorso agosto, alcuni abitanti della cittadina di Zouk Mikail, vicino Beirut, che ospita un festival musicale, hanno protestato contro il concerto della band in programma. Ma i fan dei Mashrou’ Leila hanno reagito con una campagna di sostegno sui social media.
Nel 2011 i Mashrou’ Leila hanno ottenuto il successo internazionale: i loro concerti sono sempre sold out a Dubai e al Cairo. Hanno suonato al Festival internazionale di Baalbek in Libano, poi ad Amman, Tunisi, Casablanca, Istanbul. Hanno fan in Palestina, Russia e Israele. Da circa due anni sono ininterrottamente in tour in Nordafrica, Medio Oriente ed Europa. I loro concerti fanno il tutto esaurito anche a Parigi e Londra. L’anno scorso, sono stati tre volte in Italia: a Firenze, ospiti del Middle East now festival, poi a Parma, Mestre e Milano e infine a Napoli, dove hanno chiuso il Forum internazionale delle culture.
Fieri di essere indipendenti, per realizzare il loro terzo album, Raasuk, hanno usato il crowdfunding, con l’hashtag #occupyarabpop. I loro fan, con cui hanno un rapporto diretto tramite i social network, sono stati anche coinvolti nel processo di scrittura della prima canzone del prossimo album, che uscirà nel 2016.
Rifiutano l’etichetta di “colonna sonora della primavera araba” che gli è stata affibbiata dalla stampa occidentale. Loro, dicono, non vogliono né possono essere gli interpreti di quella stagione di rivolte. Sono prima di tutto musicisti. E amano fare puro e semplice pop.
Khebez Dawle is a Syrian five-member rock band. Founded in Damascus, Syria in the late 2012 as a one-man project, the band consolidated in Beirut, Lebanon in early 2013. With Anas Maghrebi, Muhammad Bazz, Bachi Darwish and Hekmat Qassar & Dani Shukri. Khebez Dawle has a one album so far, their self-titled concept album "Khebez Dawle", recorded April-July 2014 and scheduled to be released August 2015. All the band members are now living in Beirut, Lebanon.
Name And Concept:
We enjoy the wordplay in our band's name. In Syrian spoken-word, "Khebez Dawle" means "government bread" or -literally- "country bread", it's a very common thing in Syria. The Syrian government bread always used to mean safety, stability and living well, to all the Syrian people. However, to us, "Khebez Dawle" is also interpreted as "the people that are the basis for building a dignified, safe and well-being country", regardless of any boundaries or policies. Thus, we ourselves and all the people around us are the subject matter of our music.
Musical Background:
Khebez Dawle members performed in many venues and places back in Syria, under many names and projects. Anas -Lead singer/songwriter- worked in media production with many studios in Syria, and as a vocalist/rhythm guitarist with many Syrian bands. Bachi -Guitarist- works at the ‘Bidna Capoeira’ organization, and co-founded a Syrian band called ‘Ana’. Bazz -Bassist- played bass guitar for many Syrian bands and co-founded ‘Ana’ with Bachi. Hekmat -Guitarist/Keyboardistalso played for many bands and composed soundtracks for short films and animations. Khebez Dawle has been recording and playing with session drummers until Dani Shukri from the band Tanjaret Daghet joined Khebez Dawle.
Musical Style:
Khebez Dawle's sound is a combination of "indie/post-rock oriented guitars, modernrock up-building drums and bass, and the dirty, rough oriental male vocals". Khebez Dawle's music consists basically of "Arabic Syrian spoken-word lyrics, oriental vocal lines/guitar licks/solos, and a rhythm section that is a creative fusion between oriental and modern-rock beats".
Lyrics:
Khebez Dawle's lyrics are best described as "revolutionary, hopeful, yet wise poem" The lyrics are written in Arabic Syrian spoken-word language. -selections of the lyrics would be sent upon request
Khebez Dawle (2015): By the 1st of May, 2014, Khebez Dawle started recording their self-titled first album, funded by The Arab Fund For Art And Culture (Afac) and The Arab Culture Resource (Mawred) -links below-. It's a concept album that tells the story of a Syrian young guy experiencing the events of the Arab Spring, particularly the Syrian Uprising. This album tells the story from a humanitarian point of view, away from any polarizing political alignment.
Live/Dates:
From May 1st, 2014 through 2015, Khebez Dawle is doing shows and concerts at many venues and places in Lebanon in order to promote the album. Here's our schedule for the past period :
2014: May 15th Yukunkun Club, Gemmayze. May 24th AUB Outdoors 2014. June 3 rd Metro Al Madina, Hamra (guest). June 6 th Yukunkun Club, Gemayze (headliner with others). June 21st Fete de la musique, Beirut 2014. August 7th till 10th Forestronika Festival 2014 "Life In FlowMotion". September 17th The Back Door, Mar Mikhael. September 26th AltCity Hamra (Unplugged). October 8th Radio Beirut, Mar Mikhael. October 23rd Yukunkun Club, Gemmayze. December 13th Metro Al Madina, Hamra, Binzin Wisikh Fundraiser.
2015: February 24th Station Beirut, FriendsWithWarChild Concert. April 21st Metro Al Madina, Hamra, Global Week for Syria.
By the first days of 2015 Khebez Dawle will be preparing for their album-release show to be held early 2016, -place not confirmed yet-. It's a rock musical show that involves visual arts and actors. The show builds up as the scenario of the story evolves.
01 Khebez Dawle خبز دولة 02 Seen Suaal سين سؤال 03 Tawdeeh توضيح 04 Betaammer بتعمّر 05 Manam منام 06 Ahbal أهبل 07 Ya Sah يا صاح 08 Belsharea بالشارع 09 Aayesh عايش 10 Ma Aad Beddo ما عاد بدو 11 Haki Bani Aadami حكي بني آدمي
The temperature in the pressure cooker that is the Syrian rock band Tanjaret Daghet only keeps rising. First, they lived as persecuted rock musicians in Syria. Now they live in Beirut as exiles, anxious about their families and homes. Their debut album, 180 Degrees, is the product of a release of steam.
“Through making this record, we got offered a new perspective into our lives,” says the drummer Dani Shukri. “The road has been filled with growing pains, joy, suffering, rebirth, faith, hope and love.”
In October 2011, the three musicians moved to Beirut to explore the opportunities of the Lebanese music industry and to avoid military service and the harassment of the Syrian intelligence. Today, they perform as a trio and as the backing band of the electro-pop band Zeid and the Wings.
The lead guitarist and vocalist Tarek Ziad Khuluki, 24, is as energetic as the sound of his electric guitar. Short, with untamed, shoulder-length hair, stubble and an earring, he’s a contrast to the band’s lead vocalist and bass guitar player Khaled Omran, 30, who, with his tall and sturdy physique, glasses, close-cropped hair and lumberjack shirt, is a pillar of calmness. Shukri, 24, with his friendly, brown eyes, beard and long, curly hair tied back in a ponytail, unites the energies behind his drums.
“You are a big bag with a brain and soul inside. Your name is human / Your sound is low so start singing / I carry your misery and you carry me. Your name is my name,” Omran sings in Arabic on the song Tanfesseh (Little Steam Releaser) from the album.
“Our lyrics are open for anyone to understand the way they want. It’s not trying to convince anybody – we are just sharing an experience about what we do,” he says during a conversation at their house in downtown Beirut.
Their roommate, the violinist Haian Arshied, walks into the room with his iPad.
“Did you see Khaled? Your bass was bombed!” He shows them photos from the High Institute of Music in Damascus, from where Arshied, Omran and Shukri graduated. They watch in disbelief. Five upright basses are still standing, but the room is destroyed.
“Today, they killed the instruments,” Omran said. Then a discussion breaks out about whether the government could have been behind the bombing.
Growing up in an authoritarian society, and later being “disenchanted with almost all we thought was real” with the degradation of the popular uprising into an ugly bloodbath, makes the musicians extremely critical of power and media.
Shukri hums the riff of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall.
“Yeah, exactly, when I first saw that film I understood,” recalls Omran, who says that he was always breaking the rules at school. “I was angry.” Metal was an outlet, but not one that the government liked.
They explain that when rock and metal became popular in Syria, the intelligence started monitoring the metallers. On June 6, 2006, the authorities went on a raid in Syria, arresting everyone with long hair or black T-shirts on the suspicion of being Satanists.
“It was like a conspiracy,” says Khuluki, adding that the same happened with fans of techno, who were accused of being drug addicts. “Everything they don’t like, they make illegal.”
Omran had numerous encounters with the officials. During one interrogation, an officer was watching MTV Arabia. “Do you know this band?” he asked Omran, who replied that they were Bullet for My Valentine. The officer wrote it down as “Bullet”.
In the end, they told Omran the name of the person who had given him up.
“They are trying to separate the people from one another to create tension,” Khuluki says.
Tanjaret Daghet, which means “pressure cooker” in Arabic, planned album release parties in Beirut, Cairo and Amman, but not in Damascus – their hometown.
“Being away from Syria causes us deep pain and anxiety. Knowing that our loved ones are in constant danger, being away from our homes and our roots is disturbing,” Shukri says. “It’s hard to talk about hope and forward motion when your home is being torn to pieces. But this particular struggle and existential schism has helped us understand better who we are, what we want and pushes us daily to find a way to make it come true.”
The band recently released the single Ta7t El Daghet (Under Pressure), which they call “our perpetual state of being”.
01 Pressure Pot 02 Alternative 03 Pressure Vent 04I Swear To Your Life 05 Under Pressure 06 Where Is The Pressure 07 Farmers Dining Tables 08 Dont Be Afriad 09 O Grey HERE
