Experimental folk musician Mike Cooper was in Beirut for a few days last week, to take part in the Johnny Kafta Summer Extravaganza live event, alongside some renowned musicians from Canada and Lebanon. On a whim, I asked Mike if, instead of the traditional interview – songs – performance format, he would agree to play live for a full hour, uninterrupted… With his usual calm, he replied ‘Sure, I can do that for you’. And there you have it: a full hour of Mike Cooper improvising live in the studios of Radio Lebanon, with whatever instruments and materials he disposed of, on that evening. Fadi Tabbal engineered the whole thing, and it was rather splendid. Thank you, Mr. Cooper.
ZIAD NAWFAL is a Beirut-based DJ, radio host, music promoter and producer, and the co-founder of ground-breaking independent label Ruptured with Lebanese studio owner and engineer Fadi Tabbal.
Nawfal has spent the better part of the last 20 years exposing Lebanon and the world to the special local and regional independent music talent, on his long-running radio shows ‘Ruptures’ and ‘Decalages’ on Radio-Lebanon 96.2FM.
Since 2010, he is also the managing director of Irtijal, the first and foremost festival for experimental music in Lebanon.
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