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 – 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 band’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. 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)


Ruptured News // Youmna Saba at Souffle Continu, Paris // 12 January 2024

Friends in Paris,

This is happening in your city on Friday 12 January.

The exquisite Youmna Saba will present her new album “Wishah”, co-released in late 2023 by Touch [UK] and Ruptured [Lebanon], in a live showcase taking place at Souffle Continu music store. Starting 6.30pm.

There will be copies of the album available to purchase in both vinyl and CD format.
Facebook event HERE.

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest ANTHONY SAHYOUN // 05 December 2023

Ziad Nawfal’s monthly broadcast for Stegi Radio in Athens – with a guest mix by Lebanese musician, producer & sound engineer ANTHONY SAHYOUN. This broadcast was commissioned and produced by Onassis Cultural Center, and presented for the first time in the frame of Stegi Radio.
Anthony Sahyoun is a guitarist, composer and producer whose work spans electronic processing of acoustic elements, programming, drone and ambient music. He also scores music for film and has composed sound for various installations. Projects include Kinematik, Stress Distress, NP, May Berde, The Quiet Sanctuary, and more recently free-rock/folk sextet SANAM.
For this guest mix, Anthony selects recent music from the Lebanese, Egyptian and Palestinian contemporary music scenes. Spanning experimental, ambient to Chaabi, the mix highlights the influence of Arab musical heritage into contemporary practices.

  1. Faust – Party 6
  2. Malayeen – Fifi
  3. Youmna Saba – Ritha’
  4. Jerusalem in my Heart – Istashraktak
  5. SANAM – Bell
  6. A Trio – Textural Swing
  7. Abdullah Miniawy & HVAD – Dirty Lanes Take (Dirty Canes Lake)
  8. Maurice Louca – El-Gullashah
  9. Aly Eissa – Gouda Bar
  10. Sote – Trans Force
  11. Two Or The Dragon – Dance Grooves For The Weary [Parts I & II]
  12. Jad Atoui – Spectral Tides
  13. Julia Sabra & Fadi Tabbal – Snakeskin
  14. 3Phaz – Slomo Strut
  15. Safa – Gazelles
  16. Zuli – Bro! (Love It)
  17. sssarry – rrruubby
  18. El Mhady Jr. – Permanent Defeat
  19. Al-Mutreb Abul-Loul – Sorry Habibti (Radio Edit) ft. Miramar Muhd and 1800s Internet
  20. SANAM – Shajar El Touti
  21. Nadah El Shazly – Palmyra
  22. Jonny Kafta Anti-Vegetarian Orchestra – BBQ in Karantina
  23. xlmxkhfi – Love is a lie and that’s ok (Abdelhalim Underwater Edit)
  24. Elyse Tabet & Jawad Nawfal – Courbe Lisse
  25. Jerusalem in my Heart – Wa Ta’atalat Loughat Al Kalam
  26. (Unknown Artist) – (Field Recording)
  27. Marc Codsi – Remembering October 2019 (then I sink)


Photo by Gab Ferneine

Press Review // Youmna Saba // Wishah

Acclaim for Youmna Saba’s album Wishah, released by Touch UK In October 2023 (CD/digital) and by Ruptured in December 2023 (vinyl/digital).

“Structured into five discernible stages, Wishah guides us through a gradual process of revelation, deconstructing memories and barriers that have built up through the ages. Saba carefully peels back those layers, finding an empty shell at the center, the place where home once existed. Each word stings. Caustic, atmospheric drones hollow out the last remnants, leaving our thoughts trailing into the endless night. A stunning album.” – Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis
https://foxydigitalis.zone/2023/12/13/the-capsule-garden-vol-2-42-december-13-2023/

“Nestled in the interval between the urgency of speaking, and that of remaining silent or speaking out of turn, Youmna Saba engages in a relentless yet passionate and loving heart-to-heart with her instrument.” – Nasri N. Sayegh, L’Orient-le-Jour
https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1350564/youmna-saba-electronise-son-oud.html

“The five-song composition feels like going in circles on the edge of an epiphany; a spiral in synthesized oud.” – Layla Raik, SceneNoise
https://scenenoise.com/New-Music/Youmna-Saba-s-Wishah-is-an-Obscure-Tapestry-of-Oud-Soundscapes

Also included in Scene Noise’s Best Albums of 2023 (Middle East & North Africa):
https://scenenoise.com/Reviews/Best-Albums-Of-2023-Middle-East-North-Africa

“Lebanese musician, composer and musicologist Youmna Saba positions her voice at the center of her latest solo album (…) Very strong material indeed.” – Boomkat
https://boomkat.com/products/wishah

“A remarkable new work from Beirut’s Youmna Saba, now based in Paris. Saba is an accomplished oud player (…) On Wishah و​ِ​ش​ا​ح her oud’s sound is technologically extended, to amplify every string squeak and body tap, and further integrated with sympathetic electronics. The works range from abstract processed sound to delicate oud fingerpicking, and most tracks patiently reach a place where Saba brings in her emotive vocals. It’s an immersive, moving listening experience.” – Peter Hollo, Utility Fog (FBi Radio)
https://www.frogworth.com/utilityfog/archives/2023/10/08/playlist-08-10-23/

“Saba s’attaque au logiciel historique du oud en tant qu’instrument : (elle) utilise ce qui est souvent perçu comme une série de défauts pour le transformer en instrument électro-acoustique, en jouant notamment sur des dispositifs de larsen maîtrisé, comme lorsqu’elle a placé le oud face à 6 voix et travaillé sur leurs résonances dans l’instrument. À le faire sonner ainsi, elle s’affranchit de la vision essentialiste s’étant largement diffusée ces cinquante dernières années en Europe ; un oud justement dénué de bruits, suspendu dans une logique de pureté proche de la musique baroque, où chaque note résonne et doit rencontrer le silence du public.” – Musique Journal
https://musique-journal.fr/2023/10/19/youmna-saba-a-plus-dune-corde-a-son-oud/



Listen/Order CD (Touch)
Listen/Order LP (Ruptured)

Ruptured Album Release // YOUMNA SABA // Wishah [VINYL EDITION]

Releasing December 15th, 2023 on Ruptured Records:
Although these are terrible times we are living in, it pleases us to finally announce the vinyl release of “WISHAH”, by Lebanese musician, composer and musicologist Youmna Saba.

“Wishah” (meaning veil in Arabic) is a composition for voice, oud and electronics, composed and performed between 2021 and 2022. 

Following her previous solo works “Njoum” (2014) and “Arb’een” (2017), this album marks a significant turning point in Saba’s journey. Created after leaving Beirut and settling in Paris, “Wishah” reveals a profound shift in her musical expression, informed by rigorous research in the sonic properties of sung Arabic phonemes and their role in shaping synthesized electronic sounds.

The composition is organized into five distinct stages, each contributing to a process of gradual revelation. As the tracks unfold, they strip away layers of constructed emotions and perceptions that have been intricately woven over time, to expose a space that no longer exists. “Wishah” is in many ways a farewell to home.

Youmna Saba is a musician, composer and musicologist. Her current research focuses on instrument and space resonances in different sonic and musical contexts. With four albums to date, she has collaborated with artists from different countries and backgrounds, further enriching her repertoire and expanding her reach. These include Kamilya Jubran, Floy Krouchi, Mike Cooper and the Neue Vocalsolisten ensemble, among others. She is the laureate of the first sound residency at Quai Branly Museum, Paris (2022-2023) with her research project and installation “La Réserve des Non-Dits”, now on view at the museum; and a laureate of the music residency program at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2020-2021).

“Wishah” was first released by UK label Touch back in October 2023, as a CD and digital album. Ruptured will release the vinyl version in December 2023.

“Nestled in the interval between the urgency of speaking, and that of remaining silent or speaking out of turn, Youmna Saba engages in a relentless yet passionate and loving heart-to-heart with her instrument.” – Nasri Sayegh, L’Orient le Jour

“A remarkable new work from Beirut’s Youmna Saba, now based in Paris. Saba is an accomplished oud player, found on many other artists’ releases (such as Oiseaux-Tempête). On Wishah و​ِ​ش​ا​ح her oud’s sound is technologically extended, to amplify every string squeak and body tap, and further integrated with sympathetic electronics. The works range from abstract processed sound to delicate oud fingerpicking, and most tracks patiently reach a place where Saba brings in her emotive vocals. It’s an immersive, moving listening experience.” – Peter Hollo, Utility Fog (FBi Radio)

Wishah
Written and performed by Youmna Saba.
Recorded and mixed by Fadi Tabbal at Tunefork Studios, Beirut.
Produced by Youmna Saba and Fadi Tabbal.
Mastered by Stephan Mathieu.

Vinyl version produced by Ruptured in Montréal, Canada in Fall 2023.
Limited edition of 200 copies pressed at Microforum, Toronto.
Design and photography by Jon Wozencroft (courtesy of Touch UK).



Starts shipping on December 15, 2023.
Listen/Preorder here


Photo by Nasri N. Sayegh

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest JANA SALEH // 07 November 2023

Ziad Nawfal’s monthly broadcast for Stegi Radio (formerly Movement Radio) in Athens – with a guest mix by Lebanese musician, producer & DJ JANA SALEH. This broadcast was commissioned and produced by Onassis Cultural Center, and presented for the first time in the frame of Stegi Radio.

1. Ashiqat al Wardi (Jana Saleh rework) – Zaki Nassif
2. Nomad – Bedouin Burger
3. A Patriotic Song – Sabreen
4. Each Day – Deena Abdelwahed
5. Excerpt from I Only Have Eyes On You – Jana Saleh
6. Lelly Yah – Marwan Pablo
7. Part 4 – Dirar Kalash
8. Ya Nass – Sanam
9. Amrikkka – Shabjdeed
10. Juliano – Jana Saleh
11. Abu Zeluf – Jean Jenkins



Photo by Ayla Hibri

Ziad Nawfal Mix for Stegi Radio with guest BAKISA // 03 October 2023

Ziad Nawfal’s monthly broadcast for STEGI RADIO (formerly Movement Radio) in Athens – with a guest mix by Lebanese-born, Italy-based DJ & producer BAKISA. This broadcast was commissioned and produced by Onassis Cultural Center, and presented for the first time in the frame of STEGI RADIO.

1. FAIRUZ – Ma Tfil
2. Recording in Via Uncino
3. GEORGETTE SAYEGH – Natarni Al-Shibak (“clean” version)
4. MOHAMED ABDEL WAHAB – Hayati
5. EL IQAA – Al-arabiya
6. Recording in Crete
7. NADIM MISHLAWI – Track 6
8. SCRAMBLED EGGS – Let It Go (Extended)
9. Recording in Beirut International Airport
10. YARA ASMAR – Synth waltzes and accordion laments
11. SCRAMBLED EGGS – Sleep
12. JAD ATOUI – Diving Blue
13. MARC CODSI – Invocation I
14. GEORGE WASSOUF – Kalam Ennas
15. ZIAD RAHBANI – Final Theme
16. ZIAD RAHBANI – Bennesbeh Labokra … Chou Last Scene
17. FAIRUZ – Bhebbak Ya Loubnan
18. ZABELLE PANOSIAN – Ground Crane take 2 (music from Armenian diaspora)



Press Review // Mayssa Jallad // Marjaa: The Battle Of The Hotels

Acclaim for Mayssa Jallad’s album Marjaa: The Battle Of The Hotels, released by Ruptured in March 2023 (digital) and by Ruptured & Six of Swords in October 2023 (vinyl).

“Singer/songwriter and urban researcher Mayssa Jallad (draws) a map of the battle with her music, vocals and acoustic guitar, accompanied by Fadi Tabbal’s synths, percussion and field recordings.” – The Wire, #41 Best Albums of 2023
www.thewire.co.uk/audio/tracks/the-wire-s-releases-of-the-year-2023

Lars Gotrich, All Songs Considered (NPR Radio), The Best Experimental Music of 2023:
https://www.npr.org/2024/01/02/1197958329/vikings-choice-2023

“It’s a remarkable conceit for an album, and though the magic realist lyrics may be lost on non-Arabic speakers, her incredibly nuanced voice and arrangements—a beautiful mixture of goth-tinged dream pop, drone, ambient—convey both the gravitas and surrealism of the subject matter. For fans of Grouper, Lucrecia Dalt, Martyna Basta, Mabe Fratti, et al.” – Philip Sherburne, Futurism Restated Substack, Overlooked Albums of 2023
https://futurismrestated.substack.com/p/futurism-restated-44-records-i-missed

“With the help of Fadi Tabbal and a selection of Ruptured-affiliated musicians, we’re treated to a highly evocative & moving collection of narrative songs (even for those of us who don’t speak Arabic), which musically inhabit a space on the corner of 1970s US folk, Arabic melisma and sound-art. A haunting, engrossing work.” – Peter Hollo, Utility Fog (FBi Radio), Best Albums of 2023
https://www.frogworth.com/utilityfog/archives/2023/12/17/playlist-17th-dec-2023-best-of-2023-part-1/

“There’s a stoic determination in the purposeful acoustic guitar strums that hold the fractured sonic architecture of Mayssa Jallad’s “Markaz Azraq (December 6)” together. Her words carry the weight of a thousand suns. Still, her delivery is plaintive and unafraid as she tells the story of a nameless man who lost both sons during the Battle of the Hotels. Once the instrumental palette expands, the warm glow from Fadi Tabbal’s synth personifies the steely perseverance needed in the face of such destruction.” – Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis
https://foxydigitalis.zone/2023/04/18/lingering-scars-an-interview-with-mayssa-jallad/

Also included in Foxy Digitalis’s Best Albums of 2023:
https://foxydigitalis.zone/2023/12/21/2023-favorites-songs-of-our-lives-style/

“In the end, the album, like the city on which it is based, feels like an infinite loop of history, relayed through the brave yet saintly voice of an artist who has taken the task of documenting the past through music.” – Christina Hazboun, Bandcamp
https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/mayssa-jallad-marjaa-battle-of-the-hotels-interview

“The 12-track record blends Arabic blues with folk, synth, oud and electronic elements with field-recorded soundbites of traffic or thuds that sound like distant gunfire. Jallad’s incredible vocals chronicle what storied buildings such the Holiday Inn, Burj El Murr and Haigazian University witnessed during the war.” – Maghie Ghali, The National News
https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2023/11/24/mayssa-jallad-music-album-beirut-civil-war-buildings/

“The result is a starkly beautiful soundscape. There is a somber, atmospheric dreaminess to the album, which is powered by the ethereal wonder of Jallad’s vocals. Largely acoustic, it nevertheless delves into the realm of dark ambience, creating an occasional sense of militarism or otherworldliness.” – Iain Akerman, Arab News
https://www.arabnews.pk/node/2345016/lifestyle

“In an overwhelmingly creative and critical act, Mayssa Jallad turns the destruction of the Lebanese Civil War into a stunning, two-sided album driven by poetic songwriting mixed with historical narration, lush strings and synths, gentle drones, and her incredible vocal prowess.” – Maha ElNabawi, SceneNoise
https://scenenoise.com/Reviews/Mayssa-Jallad-Drops-Emotive-Debut-Solo-Album-Marjaa

Also included in SceneNoise’s Best Albums of 2023 (Middle East & North Africa):
https://scenenoise.com/Reviews/Best-Albums-Of-2023-Middle-East-North-Africa

Marjaa: The Battle Of The Hotels is a record that sidesteps the pitfalls that other works concerned with atmosphere or memory fall into. Jallad’s record acts as a slow burning process of revelation.” – Richard Foster, The Quietus
https://thequietus.com/articles/33629-mayssa-jallad-interview-marjaa-the-battle-of-the-hotels

“Singer/songwriter and architectural historian Mayssa Jallad and a host of Lebanese musicians have made a rich, sometimes transcendiary sonic mapping of a memory of war. This is an extraordinary record and one that you should approach with no qualms… like Matana Roberts’ work, this is a soundtrack that directly deals with traumatic memories that have ceased to inhabit their original form and need to be conjured up in ways that both lure the listener in, and allow the information to be imparted in a way history is not normally taught… utterly hypnotic… a record that can leave you initially wondering what is going on whilst realising you are listening to something really special… you really should listen to this record, it’s quite brilliant.“ – Richard Foster, Louder Than War
https://louderthanwar.com/mayssa-jallad-marjaa-the-battle-of-the-hotels-review/

“Lebanese singer Mayssa Jallad showcases her incredible voice on debut album Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels. Her breathy intimacy creates an atmospheric Arabic blues, yearning on album highlight Mudun.” – Ammar Kelia, The Guardian

“Historical trauma, strings, drones, metallophones and buzuks wrap around powerful stories and gossamer vocals on Lebanese singer’s tender, intimate debut. With shades of Nico, Jarboe and Elizabeth Fraser, ’80s’ 4AD fans will rejoice.” – Andy Cowan, MOJO

As it progresses, Marjaa seamlessly fuses folky introspection, orchestrated drama, crackling electronica and field recordings. Sometimes – again, without any incongruity – within the same song… This bold, multi-layered album is utterly accessible. A triumph.” – Kieron Tyler, The Arts Desk
https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-mayssa-jallad-marjaa-battle-hotels

“Mayssa’s voice is holy, haunting, throughout, as the music moves from the heavily processed – Kharita, where code crackles like furiously fanned flame – to the “organic” – the prettily picked, prancing, pirouetting, near medieval Baynana, whose dancing lyric recalls the Cocteau Twins’ Liz Frazer’s giddy glossolalia.” – BanBanTonTon
https://banbantonton.com/2023/11/09/mayssa-jallad-marjaa-the-battle-of-the-hotels-six-of-swords/

“The album is a touching homage to a dissociated home full of ghostly places.” – Uwe Schneider, African Paper
http://africanpaper.com/2023/04/29/i-felt-that-the-city-had-witnessed-a-violence-that-nobody-wanted-to-mention-interview-with-mayssa-jallad/

Marjaa is, as one might expect, a sombre affair largely comprised of Jallad’s delicate vocals backed by acoustic guitar and ethereal synthesizer. Elsewhere, co-composer and producer Fadi Tabbal adds the crackle of distant artillery and a ghostly wind between the high-rise blocks.” – Daniel Spicer, Songlines

“As a lyricist, Jallad is poetically laconic. One track, “Kharita”, from the Dahaliz section, has two just lines: ‘I walk the streets alone, in my hand a map/ That I don’t understand. It’s this precise, minimal weightiness that helps make Marjaa such an accomplished and unusual album.” – Louise Gray, New Internationalist

Featured on Shane Woolman’s broadcast Adventures In Sound And Music for Resonance FM (UK) in July 2023:
https://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/on-air/shane-woolman-presents-adventures-in-sound-and-music-mayssa-jallad-special

Featured on Steve Barker’s broadcast On The Wire for Totally Radio (UK) in October 2023:
https://www.totallyradio.com/shows/on-the-wire/episodes/on-the-wire-22-oct-2023#_

Featured on Bobby Jewell’s broadcast Earth Tones for Resonance FM (UK) in November 2023:
https://extra.resonance.fm/episodes/earth-tones-2023-11-03

Featured on The New Noise’s broadcast Pangea (Italy) in November 2023:
https://www.thenewnoise.it/pangea-250/



Listen/Order on Bandcamp

Ruptured News // Mayssa Jallad Live in Europe // November 2023

Mayssa Jallad will play a short European tour in November 2023, in support of her latest album Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels.

Confirmed performances include Oslo World Festival in Oslo, Norway and Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
She will be accompanied by Julia Sabra (Snakeskin, Postcards) and Pascal Semerdjian (Postcards, Sanam).

Head over to Mayssa’s website for more info.


MARJAA: Listen/Order (Ruptured) 

MARJAA: Listen/Order (Six of Swords) 


Portrait of Mayssa taken in Beirut by Mohamad Al-Rifai

Ruptured Album Release // MAYSSA JALLAD // Marjaa: The Battle Of The Hotels [VINYL EDITION]

Releasing November 3rd, 2023 – a joint release by Ruptured and Six of Swords

Lebanese singer/songwriter Mayssa Jallad’s first solo album. A poetic reflection on Beirut’s War of the Hotels, one of the bloodiest events of Lebanon’s Civil War.

The vinyl edition of ‘Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels’ is co-released by Beirut-based label Ruptured and UK newcomer Six of Swords. It is pressed in a limited edition of 300 copies, with a limited D2C edition containing download coupon and a full-colour, double-sided 34 x 68cm art print on 150gsm wood-free paper with map, 3D diagrams and timeline depicting the historical events of the battle.  

Mayssa will play a short European tour in November, including performances at Oslo World in Sweden and Le Guess Who? in The Netherlands. 

“In the end, the album, like the city on which it is based, feels like an infinite loop of history, relayed through the brave yet saintly voice of an artist who has taken the task of documenting the past through music.”Christina Hazboun, Bandcamp
daily.bandcamp.com/features/mayssa-jallad-marjaa-battle-of-the-hotels-interview  

“It’s an album with everything; vital history, experimental melodicism, inventive structures, mountains of emotion, and Jallad’s stunning voice. There is so much to learn, so much to hear.”Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis

“In an overwhelmingly creative and critical act, Mayssa Jallad turns the destruction of the Lebanese Civil War into a stunning, two-sided album driven by poetic songwriting mixed with historical narration, lush strings and synths, gentle drones, and her incredible vocal prowess.”Maha El-Nabawy, SceneNoise

releases November 03, 2023



Listen/Order (Ruptured) HERE

Listen/Order (Six of Swords) HERE