Lebanese Indie Music Label // Promoter & Distributor // Radio Show
Sharif Sehnaoui, Mazen Kerbaj and Hadi Saleh, co-curators of Irtijal Festival‘s 12th edition (April 4-12), were the guests of Ruptures for a presentation of the festival’s program. The show was book-ended by two live performances from the Kerbaj/Sehnaoui duo.
Listen:
Track listing:
Mazen Kerbaj & Sharif Sehnaoui LIVE
Jim Denley
Eric Chenaux
Igorrr
Niveau Zero
Osman Arabi
Jad Atoui
Liliane Chlela
Mazen Kerbaj & Sharif Sehnaoui LIVE
The Ruptured Sessions Volume 4
Volume 4 of celebrated CD series The Ruptured Sessions brings together a selection of some of the finest performers in the world of contemporary electronica, including artists Joseph Ghosn, Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, Munma and OkyDoky from Lebanon, as well as internationally celebrated musicians Tashweesh (Palestine), C-drík (Belgium), and Enduser (USA). The sessions were mastered in Germany by C-drík, in his Berlin studio.
“This week, local music mogul Ziad Nawfal, who hosts the Ruptures radio program, launched the fourth CD in a series of live session recordings. The Ruptured Sessions, Volume 4 is an experimental, electronic affair with seven different artists. “Untitled Sketch,” by Joseph Ghosn, is a gently contemplative minimalist piece. Tashweesh – an electronic multimedia project involving some former members of Palestinian hip hop crew Ramallah Underground – offers up a track of soulful hip hop […]. OkyDoky launches a synth-assault in the upbeat, electro-pop track “I am a robot.” Lebanese producer Ghazi Moumeh provides a glitchy slow-paced interlude with “Ya dam’ at al ‘ain.” C-Drik does high-pitched silence in “De vous je me détache,” a […] minimal track composed of occasional bell tolls and one long, drawn out cello note, that […] create a haunting atmosphere. Munma’s “Explorer + Soft integration” is dark brooding minimal tech. The final track from Enduser is the highlight of the album, incorporating a chaotic, bass-heavy jungle beat, samples of Tasmin Archer’s rather cheesy 90s hit “Sleeping Satellite,” and an oriental style dance-off with sweeping strings fighting against the grinding beat.”
(Natalie Shooter in NOW Lebanon, March 2012)
Sunday 11 March 2012, Radio Lebanon 96.2FM (10am-12pm)
1. Leonard Cohen: Going home (2012)
2. Leonard Cohen: Amen (2012)
3. Palace Songs: Winter lady
4. Leonard Cohen: Winter lady (1967)
5. Leonard Cohen: Show me the place (2012)
6. Cass McCombs: Teachers
7. Leonard Cohen: Teachers (1967)
8. That Petrol Emotion: Stories of the street
9. Don Nino: There is a war
10. Leonard Cohen: There is a war (1974)
11. Leonard Cohen: Darkness (2012)
12. Leonard Cohen: Here it is (2001)
13. Jonathan Richman: Here it is
14. David McComb & Adam Peters: Don’t go home with your hard-on
15. Leonard Cohen: True love leaves no traces (1977)
16. Leonard Cohen: Anyhow (2012)
17. Johnny Cash: Bird on the wire
18. Teddy Thompson: Tonight will be fine (live)
19. Leonard Cohen: Story of Isaac (1969)
20. Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo: Master song
21. House of Love: Who by fire
22. Leonard Cohen: Dress rehearsal rag (1971)
23. Jean-Louis Murat: Avalanche
24. Leonard Cohen: Crazy to love you (2012)
25. Evan Dando & Liv Tyler: Hey that’s no way to say goodbye
26. Bill Callahan: So long Marianne
27. Antony: If it be your will (live)
28. Leonard Cohen: Everybody knows (live 1993)
A l’occasion de la sortie de son 1er ouvrage, ‘Fragments du Livre du Naufrage’ (Amers Editions), le réalisateur Ghassan Salhab était l’invité de l’émission Ruptures (Radio Liban 96.2FM) le Lundi 5 Mars, pendant une heure où il a donné libre cours à ses préférences musicales.
Ecouter:
Ghassan Salhab (part 1) + Ghassan Salhab (part 2)
Track listing:
Patti Smith
The Gun Club
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Angels Of Light
A Place To Bury Strangers
Bohren & der Club of Gore
Frank Black Francis & Two Pale Boys
Gérard Manset
Mogwai
A couple of days prior to the release of their first recorded collaboration, “Kachf el Mahjoub / Unveiling the Hidden“, Lebanese artists EL RASS (Mazen el Sayed, words & vocals), and MUNMA (Jawad Nawfal, beats & electronic treatments), were the guest of Ruptures, for a presentation of the album and no less than three live performances. They were accompanied by Belgian electronic musician C-Drik, who spoke about the process of mastering the album.
Listen:
El Rass & Munma (20 Feb) part 1
+
El Rass & Munma (20 Feb) part 2
Track listing:
El Rass & Munma *3
El Rass & Munma LIVE *Nou7
El Rass & Munma LIVE *Rissala
Boom Bip & Dose One
Munma
Radiokvm
El Rass & Munma LIVE
RUPTURED presents
The CD Launch & Live Premiere of
KACHF EL MAHJOUB [UNVEILING THE HIDDEN]
A musical collaboration between
EL RASS (Mazen el Sayed, words & vocals)
& MUNMA (Jawad Nawfal, beats & electronics)
ABOUT THE CD
“Kachf el Mahjoub / Unveiling the hidden” is a musical collaboration between Lebanese poet and musician Mazen el Sayed, otherwise known as El Rass (The Head), and Lebanese electronica artist Jawad Nawfal aka Munma. El Sayed is a prolific writer and musician, at ease with a variety of instruments, while Nawfal has previously released an impressive number of albums and EPs, exploring downtempo electronica and ambient dubstep. The collision of harsh beats and brazen, slammed vocals works wonders on Unveiling the Hidden, a truly outstanding collaboration between Nawfal’s Munma project and Mazen el Sayed’s El Rass persona, produced and released by independent Lebanese label Ruptured.
Notorious for his masterful flow in the classical Arabic language, quite an uncommon phenomenon in Lebanon’s exuberant rap scene, El Rass is impressive on Unveiling the Hidden, with lyrics tackling both social and political sensitive subjects. Munma, on the other hand, creates a sound-world perfectly fitting El Rass’s agitated discourse, alternating between broken beats, elaborate percussion, and ambient layers of synths. At times reminiscent of mutant hiphop outfit Shabazz Palaces, at others of the collaboration between dubstep producer Kode9 and vocalist The SpaceApe, this album is an uncanny meeting of Arabic hip-hop and electronica, and represents an exceptional event in the realm of contemporary Lebanese alternative music.
LISTEN: https://soundcloud.com/el-rass-the-head/borkan-beirut
Belgian electronic musician C-DRIK, live at EM Chill [Mar Mikhael, Beirut]
accompanied by several talented Lebanese electronicians
CEDRIK FERMONT (aka C-drík Fermont, C-drík, Cdrk, Kirdec, Y-drík, M-drík, F-drík and many other “-drík”) is a multifaceted vegan artist, academically trained musician, DJ, singer, composer and drummer.
Of Greek, Zairian and Belgian descent, born in Zaire (RDC), he lived in Belgium, where he studied under the guidance of electro-acoustic composer Annette Van de Gorne, before relocating to the Netherlands, then to Germany in 2010. C-drík started his first electronic project in 1989, and juggles between different musical genres, including electronica, noise, breakcore, digital punk, electro-acoustic, industrial, ambient, free jazz, hip hop, etc. He is also a label manager and promoter, producing his own projects and those of similarly-minded experimental artists, mostly from Asia and Africa.
I asked some of my favorite musicians from Beirut and beyond, to tell me what their favorite records of 2011 were…
A bit of a late entry, this one, as I received it around January 25. My friend Tim Welfare dropped me a lovely note from Santiago Chile, where he’s been living for the past few months. Thanks Tim!
Tim Welfare: curator, multimedia artist, musician (Scratch My Nose)
– Pop.1280: The Horror
– HTRK: Work Work Work
– Health: Get Colour (my fav album for the last 3 yrs + probably for a long long time)
– Gold Panda: Companion
– Slug Guts: Howlin Gang
– Chrome Dome: Self-titled
– Bass Drum of Death: GB City
– Vega, Vaino, Väisänen: Resurrection River
– Iceage: New Brigade
– Oneohtrix Point Never: Rifts
I asked some of my favorite musicians from Beirut and beyond, to tell me what their favorite records of 2011 were…
French musician Frédéric Nogray (The Imaginary Soundscapes) answered thus:
“N’ayant pas ou peu acheté et écouté de disques récents tous ces derniers mois, je ne suis pas forcément au courant de ce qui est sorti. Et de ce que j’ai entendu peu de choses retiendraient mon attention. Pas assez en tout cas pour en retenir 10. Ce sera donc un Top 1 :
“Honeysuckle Æons” de Current 93. Très bel album, touchant. Ma bande son pour cette fin d’année.”
And for non-French speakers:
Not having bought or listened to that many recent albums in the last few months, I am not well qualified to cite any current releases. And from I’ve actually listened to, very few albums have caught my attention extensively. Not enough, anyhow, to make up a list of ten favorites.
It will a “Top 1”, then: Current 93’s Honeysuckle Æons; a gorgeous, touching album. My personal soundtrack for the end of this year.
I asked some of my favorite musicians from Beirut and beyond, to tell me what their favorite records of 2011 were…
Hamed Sinno: musician (Mashrou’ Leila)
– tUnE-yArDs: W H O K I L L
– Adele: 21
– Foster The People: Torches
– Young The Giant: Young The Giant
– Anna Calvi: Self-titled
– Piers Faccini: My Wilderness
– Hercules & Love Affair: Blue Songs
– Maria Minerva: Cabaret Cixous
– PJ Harvey: Let England Shake
– Lykke Li: Wounded Rhymes
– Florence + The Machine: Ceremonials
– Arcade Fire: The Suburbs
– Radiohead: The King Of Limbs
Ruptured Music 