Tag: Charif Megarbane

Ruptured Album Release // PREFACES // Acqua Marina

Categories NewsLeave a Comment on Ruptured Album Release // PREFACES // Acqua Marina

PREFACES RETURN WITH โ€˜ACQUA MARINAโ€™ โ€“ A SUN-DRUNK, HAUNTED GUITAR ALBUM FOR OFF-SEASON BEACHES

Out 15 August 2025 via Ruptured and Hisstology

Beirut-based trio Prefaces return with Acqua Marina, a luminous and melancholic new album that conjures the empty beach clubs and concrete shorelines of Lebanonโ€™s coastline. Out 15 August 2025 via Ruptured and Hisstology Records (vinyl + digital), the album marks the bandโ€™s second full-length releaseโ€”following their 2021 debut Hippodrome.

Prefaces is composed of Charif Megarbane (Cosmic Analog Ensemble, Habibi Funk), Salim Naffah (Alko B), and Pascal Semerdjian (Postcards, SANAM)โ€”three key players in Lebanonโ€™s independent and experimental music scenes. On Acqua Marina, the trio distills elements of surf rock, Mediterranean psych, and vintage library music, while weaving in the modal turns and rhythms of the Levant.

Where Hippodrome emerged from a spirit of improvisation and spontaneity, Acqua Marina is more deliberate in tone and form. The album was recorded at Tunefork Studios in Beirut and shaped around recurring imagery: abandoned pools, tiled corridors, rusting gates, and the strange beauty of deserted resort towns. Lead single โ€œMarmouraโ€ captures that sensibility with reverb-laced guitar melodies and a gently hypnotic rhythm, drawing the listener into Prefacesโ€™ submerged world.

Acqua Marina speaks in coastal dialects both real and imagined. Fans of Khruangbin, Allah-Las, Omar Khorshid, Ennio Morricone, or Megarbaneโ€™s own Cosmic Analog Ensemble will find plenty to explore in its currents.

The album is released on limited edition vinyl and digital formats, with artwork that mirrors the albumโ€™s themes of faded glamour and seasonal drift.

LISTEN / ORDER

Photo by Mohamad Al Rifai

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest JULIA SABRA // 06 January 2024

Categories Music ShowsLeave a Comment on Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest JULIA SABRA // 06 January 2024

A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal โ€“ this broadcast features a guest mix by Lebanese musician JULIA SABRA, from dreampop trio Postcards and ambient duo Snakeskin. This broadcast was commissioned and produced by Onassis Cultural Center, and presented for the first time in the frame of Stegi Radio.

Julia Sabra is a Lebanese musician, songwriter, composer and sound engineer. She co-founded Postcards in 2013, a dream pop/shoegaze trio, and is the bandโ€™s lead singer, lyricist, co-composer and multi-instrumentalist. Postcards have released two EPs and four albums and their fifth is set for release in the fall of 2024. The trio has been regularly touring Europe and the Middle East since 2015.

Sabra is one half of Snakeskin, an ambient/electronic duo with long-time collaborator Fadi Tabbal. They released their debut self-titled album in October 2022.ย She is also the manager of Tunefork Studios since 2017, where she works as composer, VO artist and live sound engineer.

  1. Charbel Haber & Fadi Tabbal- Enfin La Nuit
  2. Postcards- Fall From Grace (unreleased)
  3. Marc Codsi – The Wait
  4. Interbellum – Flotsam
  5. Mayssa Jallad – Kharita
  6. Marwan Tohme – To Begin Again (unreleased)
  7. Yara Asmar – Come Back Later
  8. Fadi Tabbal – You Were Right (unreleased)
  9. Anthony Sahyoun – Untitled (unreleased)
  10. Snakeskin – In Our Garden
  11. Farah Kaddour – Khuzama (unreleased)
  12. Youmna Saba – Akaleel
  13. Charif Megarbane – Souk el Ahad
  14. Sary Moussa & Charbel Haber – An Atom of Your Love
  15. Sanam – Ya Nass
  16. Sam The Dog – Pulling It Off (unreleased)

Ziad Nawfal Guest Mix for Radio Alhara // 19 October 2022

Categories Music ShowsLeave a Comment on Ziad Nawfal Guest Mix for Radio Alhara // 19 October 2022

Ziad Nawfal’s monthly mix for Radio Alhara in Bethlehem, Palestine, with music from Lebanon, Egypt, and the USA.

  1. Heroes and Villains – Snake and feather [LB]
  2. Cosmic Analog Ensemble – S’aventurer [LB]
  3. Interbellum – Another day [LB]
  4. Prรฉfaces [Charif Megarbane, Salim Naffah & Pascal Semerdjian] – Embarator [LB]
  5. The New Year – Snow [US]
  6. Kid Fourteen โ€“ Blood thick silence [LB]
  7. Toni Geitani – Raboukom [LB]
  8. Nadah el-Shazly – Afqid ad dakhira [EG]
  9. El Rass & Munma – Return of the penguin [LB]
  10. The Bunny Tylers – Hello your grace [LB]
  11. Oiseaux-Tempete & The Bunny Tylers – Little known ending fading away [LB/FR]
  12. Radwan Ghazi Moumneh – Ya dam’at al ‘ain [LB/CA]
  13. Tony Elieh & Sharif Sehnaoui – Woe to him [LB]

Ziad Nawfal Guest Mix for Radio Alhara // 16 June 2021

Categories Music ShowsLeave a Comment on Ziad Nawfal Guest Mix for Radio Alhara // 16 June 2021

Ziad Nawfal’s monthly mix for Radio Alhara in Bethlehem – Music from Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Switzerland, Canada and the USA:

  1. Postcards – Home Is So Sad
  2. Twyn Towers – Ave Pariah
  3. Prรฉfaces – El Jaguar
  4. Wake Island – Sleep 2.0
  5. Pomme Rouge – Honey Crisp (Etyen Rework)
  6. Rise 1969 – Vah Naboris (Etyen Remix)
  7. Tryangle Man – Esmeray
  8. Yasmine Hamdan – Al Jamilat (Matias Aguayo Remix)
  9. Liliane Chlela – Moukassarat
  10. Jana Saleh – Al Atlal (Om Kalthoum Rework) [excerpt]
  11. Kamilya Jubran & Werner Hasler – Wa Part 1 [excerpt]
  12. Praed Orchestra! – Mirage 72
  13. Nadah el Shazly – Barzakh
  14. Maurice Louca – The Palm Of A Ghost (feat. Nadah el Shazly)
  15. Rรชves Sonores – Seers Theme

Ziad Nawfal’s Hisstology Compendium, Part 3 // 21 April 2021

Categories Music ShowsLeave a Comment on Ziad Nawfal’s Hisstology Compendium, Part 3 // 21 April 2021
A “HISSTOLOGY” COMPENDIUM FOR RADIO ALHARA: VOL. 3, 2018-2021 With an unparalleled discography of over 80 full-length albums since 2005, Charif Megarbane is the prolific Lebanese producer and multi-instrumentalist behind Cosmic Analog Ensemble, Heroes & Villains, Twyn Towers and Monumental Detail, among others. Here is the 3rd and final part of a tribute to his music(s), effortlessly strolling from acoustic folk, free jazz and Saharan blues to cinematic soul, grainy funk and old European film scores.
Excerpts from the following albums:
– Muhadathat Vol. 2
– Une Vie Cent Dรฉtours
– El Cรณndor Aparece
– TANGO GRAVLAX
– Pรฉril Imminent
– In The Lobby
– Penelope
– Tabarja Blues
– Footprints & Handshakes
– The Kaya Collective
– The Submarine Chronicles Vol. 1 to Vol. 10
– Birdwatching

Ziad Nawfal’s Hisstology Compendium, Part 2 // 17 March 2021

Categories Music ShowsLeave a Comment on Ziad Nawfal’s Hisstology Compendium, Part 2 // 17 March 2021

A “HISSTOLOGY” COMPENDIUM FOR RADIO ALHARA: VOL. 2, 2014-2017

With an unparalleled discography of over 80 full-length albums since 2005, Charif Megarbane is the prolific Lebanese producer and multi-instrumentalist behind Cosmic Analog Ensemble, Heroes & Villains, Twyn Towers and Monumental Detail, among others.

Here is the 2nd part of a three-part tribute to his music(s), effortlessly strolling from acoustic folk, free jazz and Saharan blues to cinematic soul, grainy funk and old European film scores.

Excerpts from the following albums:

– La Fonte Des Glaces
– La Montรฉe Des Eaux
– Libans De Reves OST
– “Plays” Brothers Nylon (Extra Hissy Tape)
– De l’Usage Des Crampons Sur Terrain Glissant
– The Forgotten Boomerang
– Asleep At The Switch
– Grands Pays
– Petits Pays
– All By Mistake
– Fortune Tellin’ EP
– Before The Film
– Aprรจs Le Film
– Les Sourdes Oreilles

Ziad Nawfal’s Hisstology Compendium, Part 1 // 17 February 2021

Categories Music ShowsLeave a Comment on Ziad Nawfal’s Hisstology Compendium, Part 1 // 17 February 2021

A “HISSTOLOGY” COMPENDIUM FOR RADIO ALHARA: VOL. 1, 2009-2013

With an unparalleled discography of over 80 full-length albums since 2005, Charif Megarbane is the prolific Lebanese producer and multi-instrumentalist behind Cosmic Analog Ensemble, Heroes & Villains, Twyn Towers and Monumental Detail, among others.

Here is the first part of a three-part tribute to his music(s), effortlessly strolling from acoustic folk, free jazz and Saharan blues to cinematic soul, grainy funk and old European film scores.

Excerpts from the following albums:

– Anatomy Of A Moment: Infants-Children-Teenagers
– Concrete Abstracts
– Innertimes/Outerspace
– Plays Fayrouz
– Ya3tik el 3afieh
– Ghost Notes In Between
– Like Morning To The Insomniac
– 4/4 x 10
– In The Land Of A Thousand Snares
– ล“
– Monumental Detail
– Fish Fingers
– Kachumbari
– As The Suntanned Shared A Toast
– Ruptured Sessions Vol. 6: For Beirut

Ruptures Radio Show // 01 April 2020

Categories Music ShowsLeave a Comment on Ruptures Radio Show // 01 April 2020

Featuring musicians from Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Sweden, France & the USA:

1. Kid Fourteen – Drifter [2020]
2. Mutamassik – Rhythms Rattle On Death Pawns [2015]
3. Muqata’a – Ma Lam Yuqal [2018]
4. Sary Moussa – In Praise Of Shadows [2020]
5. Brothers Of Heliopolis – Inner Source [2019]
6. The Submarine Chronicles – Gin Ripples [2020]
7. Kinematik – Murur Al-Kiram [2020]
8. Johnny Kafta Anti-Vegetarian Orchestra – Bedo’s Lullaby [2015]
9. Aya Metwalli – Ya Qarawan [2019] PREMIERE
10. Marc Codsi – Encounters II [2019]
11. Youmna Saba – Nafas [2018]
12. Fadi Tabbal – The Death Of Strangers [2018]
13. Subchamber Ensmble – Skate Park Fauna [2019]
14. Rise 1969 – Autonomic Neuropathy [2019]
15. Ziad Moukarzel – Questions Of Worry [2018]

Ruptures Radio Show // December 2018

Categories Music ShowsLeave a Comment on Ruptures Radio Show // December 2018

Featuring artists from Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco and France:

1. Interbellum – Ready to dissolve
2. Postcards – Revolvers
3. Alko B – Elephant in the room [Ruptured session, to be released Xmas 2018]
4. Mme Chandelier – Exodus
5. Oiseaux-Tempete + Bunny Tylers – The little known ending fading away [Live]
6. Munma – Eole
7. Kid Fourteen – Ice in my eyes
8. Cosmic Analog Ensemble – Phoenician rose
9. Heroes & Villains – The rest is history
10. Tapeman No. 1 – Le coeur sec
11. Ziad Qoulaii Allstars – Mystique [Unreleased]
12. Maryam Saleh, Maurice Louca & Tamer Abu Ghazaleh – Nefsif akli
13. Panstarrs – Dor el fo2 [Unreleased]

(2012 end-of-year lists) – CHARIF MEGARBANE

Categories ChartsLeave a Comment on (2012 end-of-year lists) – CHARIF MEGARBANE

I asked some of my favorite musician and artist friends, from Beirut and beyond, to list their 10 favorite albums of 2012…
Alternately, they could also provide me with a list of the records they listened to the most in 2012, regardless of date of release.

Charif Megarbane (musician, Cosmic Analog Ensemble / Heroes & Villains)
http://hisstology.bandcamp.com/

– Allessandro Alessandroni: Romance And Drama
– Kaidi Tatham: Various releases
– Pond: Beards, Wives, Denim
– Ballakรฉ Sissoko & Vincent Segal: Chamber Music
– Janko Nilovic: Rythmes Contemporains
– Broadcast: Various releases
– Large Professor: Unreleased instrumentals

Memorable 2012 choruses:

– Bat For Lashes: “Laura”
– Tame Impala: “Why Won’t They Talk To Me”
– F. Gibbs & Madlib feat. BJ The Chicago Kid: “Shame”