Author: rupturedthelabel

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest CAMILLE CABBABE // 01 April 2025

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A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal – this broadcast features a guest mix by Lebanese musician and filmmaker Camille Cabbabe. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

Camille Cabbabe is a Lebanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and musician whose work spans film, music, and literature. She earned her BA in Filmmaking from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts in 2017, and her senior film, Down is the New Up, won two awards and was screened at festivals across Lebanon, Europe, and the United States.

Beyond filmmaking, Camille is also a musician, having played with several bands over the past decade. In 2024, she recorded her first solo album titled K2 set to be released in 2025. The album is accompanied by a film featuring a blend of home videos and mixed media visuals.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Aphex Twin: Alberto Balsalm
2. Brian Eno: This
3. Interbellum: For Air
4. KŌZŌ 構造: Capsule Tower
5. Camille Cabbabe: The Last Time
6. Massive Attack: Protection
7. SANAM: Ayouha Al-Taiin Fi Al-Mawt
8. Faten Kanaan: Fin août, début septembre
9. Angelo Badalamenti: Twin Peaks Theme
10. Cosmic Analog Ensemble: Ohms and Watts
11. Alko B: Whenever It Gets Dark
12. The Bunny Tylers: I’ll Make It Up To You
13. Kinematik: Muhibbi Al-Kanari
14. Snakeskin: Bodies
15. Vegyn: Big Fun Never Ending Nightmare [75bpm]
16. Camille Cabbabe: Visitors
17. The Incompetents: Grey Midas

Ruptured Album Releases // CLAUDIA KHACHAN & ZIAD MOUKARZEL / JOY MOUGHANNI

Categories NewsLeave a Comment on Ruptured Album Releases // CLAUDIA KHACHAN & ZIAD MOUKARZEL / JOY MOUGHANNI

Releasing April 25, 2025 on Ruptured Records:

The Vapornet, by Claudia Khachan & Ziad Moukarzel / A Separation From Habit, by Joy Moughanni

We are proud to announce two powerful new albums released today on Ruptured, available on cassette and digital formats.

Claudia Khachan & Ziad Moukarzel – The Vapornet
The Vapornet is the result of a unique collaboration between sound producer and musician Ziad Moukarzel and multidisciplinary artist Claudia Khachan. Developed over a long-distance exchange between Beirut and Europe, the album captures a dialogue in sound—blending ambient textures, deep bass, restless rhythms, organ swells, and ethereal vocals.
Structured yet intuitive, The Vapornet unfolds as a meditation on distance, uncertainty, and transformation, offering five tracks that explore the delicate interplay between absence and connection.
For listeners of FKA twigs, Laurel Halo, Holly Herndon, and Arca.

[Listen/Order]

Joy Moughanni – A Separation From Habit
A Separation From Habit marks the debut solo release from Lebanese musician, producer, and sound engineer Joy Moughanni. Built from archival tape recordings, manipulated electronics, and dense sonic layering, the album is a deeply personal reflection on grief, trauma, and memory.
Drawing from recordings made between 1975 and 1985 by George Tarazi, Moughanni crafts a vivid and unsettling exploration of Lebanon’s ongoing struggles, using sound to collapse past and present into a powerful and immersive listening experience.
Highly recommended for fans of Fennesz, Tim Hecker, Éliane Radigue, and Tarek Atoui.

Both albums are now available through Ruptured Records. We invite you to explore these works—each a testament to strength, collaboration, and the transformative potential of sound.

[Listen/Order]

Watch the video for Joy Moughanni’s “A Separation From Habit”, directed by Yara Asmar

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest STEFAN CHRISTOFF // 04 March 2025

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A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal – this broadcast features a mix by Canadian musician, writer and community activist STEFAN CHRISTOFF. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

Stefan Christoff is a media maker, community activist, and artist based in Montréal. He hosts Free City Radio, a weekly program airing on seven community stations across Canada and available globally as a podcast. As a musician, he collaborates with artists worldwide, including Anarchist Mountains, Aidan Baker, Adriana Camacho, Aidan Girt, Lori Goldston, Nicolás Jaar, and Sessa. Stefan serves on the board of the Immigrant Workers Centre in Côte-des-Neiges, organizes with Cinema Politica Network, and contributes regularly to Radio AlHara in Palestine. He is also involved with the Social Justice Centre and is pursuing graduate studies in history at Concordia University.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Ana Quiroga – Atalaya
  2. William Ryan Fritch – An Abnormal Union
  3. Hazy Montagne Mystique – Luang Namtha (Ville des larmes)
  4. Stefan Christoff – In All The Noise We Can Still See
  5. David August – VĪS (Aho Ssan Reinterpretation)
  6. Agate Flow – Night
  7. Laura Agnusdei – P.P.R.N (Physarum Polycephalum Rail Network)
  8. Stefan Christoff – Stretching Light
  9. Adrián de Alfonso – La tromba exacta
  10. xodkaar x No Cosmos – گردن (Gardan)
  11. Anarchist Mountains – Passage (excerpt)

Palestine solidarity protest in Sofia by Maxim Mokdad

Ruptured News // Snakeskin announces European dates // April-May 2025

Categories NewsLeave a Comment on Ruptured News // Snakeskin announces European dates // April-May 2025
Snakeskin, the duo of Julia Sabra and Fadi Tabbal, has announced a handful of European dates in Spring 2025, in support of their album They Kept Our Photographs (Mais Um Discos & Ruptured, 2024).  Apr 27 – Malmo (SE) at Intonal Festival  Apr 28 – Oslo (NO) at Kafe Haerverk May 01 – Brighton (UK) at The Rose Hill May 02 – Paris (FR) at Chair de Poule May 05 – London (UK) at Shacklewell Arms  

THEY KEPT OUR PHOTOGRAPHS: Listen/Order (Ruptured) 

THEY KEPT OUR PHOTOGRAPHS: Listen/Order (Mais Um Discos) 

WATCH the video for “Bodies”

Ruptured Album Release // POSTCARDS // Ripe

Categories NewsLeave a Comment on Ruptured Album Release // POSTCARDS // Ripe

Releasing March 28, 2025 on Ruptured Records:

We are thrilled to announce Ripe, the long-awaited new album by Beirut’s shoegaze trio POSTCARDS — composed of lyricist, singer, and guitarist Julia Sabra, drummer Pascal Semerdjian, and guitarist/bassist Marwan Tohme.

Their 5th album Ripe (out March 28 via Ruptured and T3 Records) is both a natural evolution and a bold departure, channeling themes of anger, grief, and resilience.

Recorded live in a family home in the Lebanese mountains and produced by longtime collaborator Fadi Tabbal, the album captures the raw energy of their live shows while balancing intensity with expansive soundscapes.

First single “Dust Bunnies” is out now on Bandcamp and digital platforms. A laundry list of the frustrations of living in Lebanon, the track builds into a menacing, unsettling atmosphere that recalls PJ Harvey’s darker moments, culminating in Sabra belting out: “Our ancestors may have known / There’s nowhere left to go.”

 Watch the video for “Dust Bunnies”, directed by Areej Mahmoud

All music composed and performed by Postcards: Julia Sabra, Pascal Semerdjian and Marwan Tohme. Lyrics by Julia Sabra.

Recorded and mixed by Fadi Tabbal in the Semerdjian family home in Ain Aar, and Tunefork Studios in Beirut. Produced by Fadi Tabbal and Postcards.

Mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market in Montreal.

Cover photo by Mohamad Abdouni. Design by Josette ZOoz Khalil.

Vinyl edition printed and pressed at Mother Tongue in Verona. Includes download card. Limited to 400 copies.

Ripe was partially funded by Institut français du Liban through MASAR, a French initiative supporting contemporary music in Lebanon.

RIPE: Listen/Order here

 Photo by Nessim Stevenson

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio // 04 February 2025

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A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

1. Muslimgauze – Khan Younis [Shekel of Israeli Occupation]
2. NÂR – MIMOUNE II [What We Talk About]
3. Sandy Chamoun / Anthony Sahyoun / Jad Atoui – Bihali [Ghadr]
4. Postcards – Nine [In Parenthesis Vol. 1]
5. Sandy Chamoun – Soukoun Mouwhesh سكون موحش [Fata17 فتى١٧ ]
6. Liliane Chlela – 2024 [Malign/Benign]
7. Liliane Chlela – Bison [Anatomy of A Jerk]
8. Use Knife – Freedom, Asshole [État Coupable]
9. Nour Sokhon – The destruction and the rebuilding [Beirut Birds]
10. Elyse Tabet – Or other cars in sight [Seaside]
11. Xlmxkhfi – Black Beach [afterthought]
12. Jawad Nawfal – STO On A VHS [Various Artists VV-VA-00]

Ruptured News // Mayssa Jallad live on KEXP // December 2024

Categories NewsLeave a Comment on Ruptured News // Mayssa Jallad live on KEXP // December 2024
Mayssa Jallad’s live set from Trans Musicales 2024 is now up on KEXP.

Recorded at L’Antipode on December 04, 2024, during the Trans Musicales de Rennes festival, the set features several excerpts from Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels.

With Julia Sabra (guitar, synth) and Pascal Semerdjian (drums), Mayssa delivers a striking performance, tracing key sites of the Lebanese Civil War and the ways physical spaces hold historical memory.

Watch the full set on KEXP at the link below.

Mayssa’s album Marjaa: The Battle Of The Hotels, released by Ruptured and Six of Swords in March 2023, is still available on both labels’ Bandcamp pages.
 

MARJAA: Listen/Order (Ruptured) 

MARJAA: Listen/Order (Six of Swords) 

Press Review // Fadi Tabbal // I recognize you from my sketches

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Acclaim for Fadi Tabbal’s I recognize you from my sketches, released by Ruptured in January 2025:

“Subsuming the sounds of others into his own, not in his typical bilateral mode of collaboration but through sampling, Tabbal seems to grapple with the binary between community and self. “I am all that is left,” he announces in the closing track. As the tidal synth pads wash over and retreat into tape hiss, the trace of the medium is the last to go. But this solitude is not an abandonment; empty tape always carries the potential to hold space for sounds yet unheard.” – James Gui, Pitchfork 7.5
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/fadi-tabbal-i-recognize-you-from-my-sketches/

“10 tracks of somber ambient and rose-tinted noise—at times plaintive, at times anguished. I hear bits of Tim Hecker in the smoldering distortion crackling at the edges of his synths and guitars, and a Kranky-esque sensibility in general—in the mournful desert landscaping of “(keep pumping),” say, or the striated textures of “When we swam together,” translucent as quartz. Citing a lifetime of personal struggles—mental-health issues, loneliness, missed opportunities, the violence of Beirut itself—Tabbal calls the record “a breakup album between who we want to be and who we turned out to be.” That sounds like a bleak assessment, but by the end, his tough-love meditation yields something that sounds a lot like hope.” – Philip Sherburne, Futurism Restated
https://futurismrestated.substack.com/p/futurism-restated

“A lot seems to happen here in semi-secret detail, which is not congruent with the more obvious, superficial events and at the same time interacts with them in an interesting way. At points like this one has to mention Tabbal’s musician friends – Julia Sabra, Charbel Haber, Anthony Sahyoun, et al: people who have repeatedly played an important role in the artist’s life and work and whose samples and quotations beneath the surface also shape the sound of this album, which fits well with the personal theme, because every biography, every personal memory would not be what it is without the influence of others. The semi-transparency of the sounds creates a tension that is never fully resolved and also leaves open the question of whether absence really is the only thing that protects life.” – Uwe Schneider, African Paper
http://africanpaper.com/2025/02/08/

“Tabbal continues his long-standing conversation between self and community, exploring the ways in which personal and collective identities intersect through music.” – Cairo Scene
https://cairoscene.com/Noise/

“This latest release, with the lovely title, I recognize you from my sketches, sees Tabbal develop his core sound with even more emotional depth and explores the spaces between memory, identity and personal growth.” – Norman Records UK
https://www.normanrecords.com/records/

Adventures in Sound & Music x Resonance FM broadcast by Shane Woolman for The Wire Magazine (with a guest mix by Fadi Tabbal):
https://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/fadi-tabbal-guest-mix

Pacific Notions x KEXP broadcast by Alex Ruder:
https://www.kexp.org/shows/pacific-notions/

Featured in Battiti’s broadcast “How We Roll” for RAI3:
https://www.raiplaysound.it/audio/2025/02/

Featured in Battiti’s broadcast “Rime Ignoranti” for RAI3:
https://www.raiplaysound.it/audio/2025/02/

Listen/Order

Press Review // Chamoun, Sahyoun, Atoui // Ghadr

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Acclaim for Sandy Chamoun, Anthony Sahyoun and Jad Atoui’s Ghadr, released by Ruptured in November 2024:

“On this record, scene stalwarts Anthony Sahyoun and Sandy Chamoun (SANAM) join forces with electroacoustic artist Jad Atoui in a reckoning with tradition that’s fueled by stuttering sub bass, searing guitar textures, and layers of melancholy vocals. Chamoun’s ghostly rendition of “Tahal Layl”—a Bedouin folk song—floats atop drones that expand into a blistering modular onslaught; “Al Moulatham,” on the other hand, interpolates reflections by Yousef al-Domouky on the genocide in Gaza over glitchy, Tim Hecker-esque ambient swells. Ghadr exhorts us to listen to both violence and repair, mobilizing tradition to face an uncertain future.” – James Gui, Ley Lines column, Bandcamp
https://daily.bandcamp.com/ley-lines/ley-lines-november-2024

“When SANAM meets Jad Atoui, you know something excellent is going to happen. Amidst an escalating war and unprecedented bombardment, somehow Lebanon’s music scene still managed to churn out releases – all while many were organizing shelter and food for those in need. This one embodies that spirit as much as any of them. The album’s fiercely crackling and driving electronics fuse a sound so powerful, that it seems to channel lost and unwritten musics together with newly invented music, and Sandy’s vocals ring out as both song and scream. This music may be the best answer to 2024, transcending words alone.” – Peter Kirn, CDM Best Listening of 2024

“The all-encompassing noise, from guitars and electronics, is easily understandable here, but the beauty of Chamoun’s Arabic vocals exquisitely offsets these sounds even if we don’t understand the lyrics. There are deep and wide references here, including a quote from an Instagram post by Yousef al-Domouky about the genocide in Gaza, poetry from Paul Chaoul, and on the opening track, a traditional Bedouin folk song. It’s stunning work from start to finish.” – Peter Hollo, Utility Fog broadcast, FBi Radio

Artist Spotlight with CairoScene: https://cairoscene.com/Noise/Artist-Spotlight-Ghadr

Listen/Order

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest RENATA // 07 January 2025

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A monthly selection of alternative, ambient and experimental music from Lebanon and the MENA region, selected by music promoter and label owner Ziad Nawfal – this broadcast features a mix by Lebanese DJ, producer and promoter RENATA. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.

Renata was invited to produce this set in August 2024 and kindly agreed. However, Israel’s brutal campaign on Lebanon soon began, forcing her to pause the project. She was finally able to complete it just a couple of weeks ago.

The result is a mix that carries the weight of the past year —a deeply personal and carefully curated selection that spans experimental electronics, folk traditions, and beyond, featuring tracks from Psychic TV, Suzanne Ciani, Raed Yassin, and more.

Accompanying the set is a full-length video of Renata spinning live on vinyl, filmed in Beirut and available to watch on Ruptured’s YouTube channel – see below.

Filming and editing by Anthony Zouein and Rony Khoubieh in Beirut. Tech support by Wicked Solutions.

TRACK LIST:
Psychic TV / Rene Hell / Unidentified members of the Royal Drums Ensemble / Maria Nanemba Muyinda / Evaristo Muyinda / Chants et Danses des Montagnards du Vietnam / Kopolyano Kyobe & Band / Mazen Kerbaj / Senyawa / International Archives of Folk Music: Greeks / Raed Yassin / Jerusalem in My Heart / Vollmaier / Suzanne Ciani / Komeda Quintet / Praed Orchestra / Suzanne Ciani / Snekkestad, Kjaergaard & Jacobson / Clara! Y Maoupa / Jerusalem in My Heart