Defending a new wave of Lebanese electronic music

06 March 2009

BEIRUT: What is Lebanese music? Is it the holy trinity of traditional Arabic melodies, hand-clapping rhythms and repetitive vocals of oriental and Western pop music and the electro-beat of computer-generated dance sounds? It could be, were it not for a small, artistically significant alternative scene that's been shaking Beiruti ears for 10 years.

Though Beirut's underground groups admire and re-use American- and European-born genres, they also re-invent them. In the case of electronic indie music, every group has varying influences and has been exploring new sounds and techniques in an interesting effort to create what might be defined as a "true" Lebanese electronic music identity, separate from that of the West.

The most significant example of this new wave is the now-defunct trip-hop group Soapkills, which coalesced around vocalist Yasmine Hamdan and composer-DJ Zeid Hamdan in 1998. Born in Beirut in the 1970s, both musicians spent years in exile, an experience that enhanced both their knowledge of Western music and their unique vision of Beirut.

"Our ironic name, 'Soapkills,'" Yasmine writes on her Myspace page, "calls to mind a Lebanese society that can be criticized as flashy and sophisticated on the outside but rotten within."

Reared on various musical moods and forms - ranging from Chet Baker to Portishead and Massive Attack - the duo stilled remained strongly inspired by the classical Arabic repertoire of vocalists such as Umm Kalthoum, Asmahan and Abdel Wahab. Since the break-up, Soapkills has become an inspiration for a new wave of electro- oriental fusion music in the Middle East.

Jawad Nawfal's band Munma is another electronic group exploring oriental harmonies and rhythms - with additional artistic production from his brother Ziad Nawfal. Munma belongs to the Altered Ear formation, a laboratory for sound research and composition created by Jawad Nawfal in 2001. Munma released three albums commonly referred to as the "fate trilogy" - "34 days" (2006), "Black Tuesday" (2007) and "Unholy Republic" (2008) - which was forged in the aftermath of Israel's 2006 war on Lebanon.

The Nawfals introduce classical Turkish rhythms into their music, re-calibrating and modifying them. Munma's electronic music is also characterized by ominous moods, sets of menacing clicks and glitches, and a random selection of radio samples and political speeches.

"We knew that the presence of political speeches in our albums might have triggered a conflict with the Lebanese General Security," Ziad Nawfal remarked.

He says they were able to steer clear of any overt political finger-pointing (and thus censorship) by remixing these speeches, unhinging from whatever meaning they were originally meant to have, and rendering them strictly musical.

On their Myspace page, one of their admirers wrote: "As far as I remember, only 'Muzlimgauze' did such an anti-touristic oriental music ... they provide some orientalism but no exoticism."

"We're perfectly aware that Munma's cerebral style is not accessible to a broad public. Our music is dedicated to a small group of 'electronic initiates,'" Nawfal continued.

"Our most important factor, in our eyes, is to keep exploring realms of possibilities for a new Middle Eastern electronic music," he added.

Central to the promotion of Beirut's new alternative musical scene is the Beirut Incognito record label, which has a solid history of supporting most of the groups from Beirut's indie scene. Incognito is the sister ship of Lebanese independent music shop La CD-Theque. This hub of audio-visual and printed matter opened its doors in 1996, in response to the domination of large-scale music companies devoted to promoting commercial and mainstream products.

Incognito grew from the success of La CD-Theque's initiative in 2004. It was intended to handle the store's growing production activity, and to extend that work to neighboring countries, particularly Jordan, Egypt, Palestine and Syria.

The label produces and distributes artists from the capital, where the underground music scene is often the most vibrant.

While it dabbles in all kinds of musical genres - including classical Arabic music and jazz - Beirut Incognito clearly favors rock and electronic music, including many of the groups previously mentioned.

The Lebanese underground electronic scene is characterized by its interconnectedness. Nabil Sabila, alias "Trash Inc.", is the former drummer of Zeid Hamdan's post-Soapkills project "New Government." He also collaborated with Jawad Nawfal on his "Unholy Republic" album. Sabila's album "Ultramind" (2009) is his first full-length release, abounding with musical nods to the 1980s, and showcasing a highly entertaining collection of modern dance-floor electronic sounds.

Multi-talented might also be an appropriate word to describe Joanna Andraos. Trained as a photographer, she organized her first photo exhibition entitled "Appetite" in 2000.

Her pastimes include manipulating photo negatives and studying classical piano, but she somehow also found the time and the inspiration to start composing an album of electronic music, in collaboration with Jawad Nawfal.

"Khimara," as the resulting album was called, was released in 2007. Assembling strands of classical music with computer-generated sounds, Andraos boldly contributes to the new wave of electronic Lebanese music.

In order to meet this small, inter-connected and audacious underground music world, have a peek inside the B018, Basement and Club Social nightclubs. Your curiosity will not be disappointed.

For more information on these acts, see www.incognito.com.lb, www.myspace.com/trashinc, www.myspace.com/munma, www.soapkills.com, www.joannaandraos.com