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 musician and producer JOY MOUGHANNI. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.
Joy Moughanni is a Beirut-based producer, engineer, and songwriter, and a partner at Tunefork Studios. He emerged from Beirut’s alternative scene through the electronic and pop projects Pomme Rouge and Gizzmo, producing four EPs before moving into a solo practice and becoming a collaborator with artists across the region.
TRACK LISTING:
Joy Moughanni – The Voice I’ve Yet To Understand
Autechre – M4 Lema
Ben Frost – Killshot
SANAM – Sametou Sawtan
Sary Moussa – A Storm, a Gift
aya – hexed!
Jerusalem In My Heart – Tanto
NP [Jad Atoui & Anthony Sahyoun] – Coins With Memory
The Dome Sessions emerged from the architectural and acoustic qualities of the dome designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1962 in Tripoli, Lebanon. Since 2010, Firas El Hallak has used this space as a site for sonic experiments, exploring the relationships between sound, space, and memory. The dome’s distinctive reverb and resonance have shaped a series of recordings that capture the characteristics of the structure while evoking the untold stories held within its walls.
What began as an individual pursuit evolved into a collective project. Artists and collaborators joined forces, contributing to a body of work that reflects the layered history and collective memory of the dome. Each piece resonates with the space’s acoustics, dissolving the boundaries between past and present, personal and communal.
These recordings extend beyond a musical album; they form part of the soundtrack for an upcoming film that examines the dome’s place in Tripoli’s cultural and historical fabric. The Dome Sessions therefore becomes an exploration of place, identity, and collective history through multiple senses.
At its core, the project highlights the power of collective action. It demonstrates how reclaiming spaces can breathe new life into the forgotten. By transforming the dome into a site of collaboration, the collective emphasizes the role of art in preserving and reinterpreting heritage. The Dome Sessions invites listeners to a shared experience of space through sound.
All tracks recorded on-site by Tunefork Studios in April 2023. All tracks mixed at Tunefork Studios by Anthony Sahyoun & Fadi Tabbal, except for Session 8 (mixed by Hadi Deaibess).
Music composed and performed by the artists, except for: Session 1 (Once I Entered a Garden) originally composed by Medhat Assem for Asmahan. Session 10 (Zahrat al-Mada’en) originally composed by the Rahbani Brothers for Fairuz.
Created and produced by Firas El Hallak. Co-produced by Anthony Tawil.
Audio captured by Neumann and supported by Eltek. Mastered by Cedrik Fermont at Syrphe, Berlin.
Album photography by Gabriel Ferneini. Artwork & design by Cynthia-ël Hasbani.
For two nights, members of Lebanese sextet SANAM and a lineup of collaborators will take the stage at Montreal’s Hotel2Tango for a series of solo and duo performances. While the band itself won’t be performing, these sets will highlight the individual artistry of its members alongside special guests, exploring free-rock, post-folk, and experimental sounds in an intimate setting.
Hotel2Tango – 110 Van Horne, Montreal QC Monday, June 23 & Tuesday, June 24 Doors 8 PM | Music 8:30 PM Entrance $20
Sandy Chamoun (Solo)
A solo set focused on vocal performance, blending tradition and contemporary experimentation.
Farah Kaddour (Solo)
A performance rooted in folk and classical Arabic music, showcasing her mastery of the buzuq.
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh & Anthony Sahyoun (Duo)
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, co-owner of Hotel2Tango, joins Anthony Sahyoun for an exploratory duo performance.
NIGHT 2 – TUESDAY, JUNE 24
Antonio Hajj, Jessica Moss & Pascal Semerdjian (Trio)
SANAM’s rhythm section—Antonio Hajj and Pascal Semerdjian—teams up with avant-garde violinist Jessica Moss for a unique collaboration.
Farah Kaddour & Marwan Tohme (Duo – Cassette Album Launch)
A special set celebrating the release of Farah and Marwan’s new cassette on Ruptured Records, offering an exclusive first listen.
Anthony Sahyoun (Solo)
A closing performance featuring a key voice of Beirut’s experimental music scene.
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 musician SANDY CHAMOUN. Originally commissioned by Stegi Radio and produced by Onassis Stegi.
Sandy Chamoun is a multifaceted artist, singer, and actor based in Beirut. Her music draws from her ongoing interest in a wide range of subjects, including audio-visual arts, politics, satire, and folk traditions.
In 2022, Chamoun released her debut solo album, FATA17OCT. She is currently developing her second album, Sawt El Doumoue, commissioned by Mophradat. Beyond her solo work, she is a founding member of two notable musical groups: the political satire band The Great Departed and the free-rock, post-folk sextet SANAM. SANAM’s debut album, Aykathani Malakon, was released in June 2023 on the UK label Mais Um Discos to critical acclaim, followed by the live album Live at Cafe Oto a year later.
Chamoun has also delved into Arabic folk songs with social and political themes. She has performed the works of iconic figures like Sheikh Imam and Mona Meraashli at venues such as Metro Al-Madina in Beirut. As a performer, she has appeared in several acclaimed Lebanese theater productions, including Political Circus, Welada88, and Aghani Servicet (Taxi Songs). Her skills extend to sound design, with credits in short films such as There Is a Baba in Our House by Leil Zahra Mortada and Congress of Idling Persons by Bassem Saad.
TRACK LISTING:
– Anthony Sahyoun feat. Julia Sabra: Wasted Efforts
– Marc Codsi: Fugue 1
– Youmna Saba: Al Khayal
– Kamilya Jubran: Wahdi
– Diamanda Galas: Judgment Day
– Howie Lee: Bankers
– Katibeh Khamseh: Silat Rahem
– Arca: Prada/Rakata
– Malayeen: Omar
– Jerusalem in my Heart: 2asmar Sahar
– Mohamad Omran: Aslamtou Wajhi
– Saint Abdullah: Sounds from the Hosseinieh
– Abdullah Miniawy: Purple Feathers
On Ghadr, Sandy Chamoun, Anthony Sahyoun and Jad Atoui play with chaos. Built on group improvisation, surges of coruscating electronics and distortion meld with vocals that, while stemming from a background in classical Arabic singing, seek to reroute tradition. “We explore rhythmic structures that don’t have specific time signatures,” says Atoui about his and Sahyoun’s use of synthesis to embrace the tension between order and chaos. “Sandy’s approach to singing isn’t necessarily very rigid either. We felt a common inspiration.”
The album, whose title imperfectly translates to ‘Treachery’, began on a residency in Switzerland while the trio were touring Europe (Chamoun solo, Atoui and Sahyoun as their duo NP). It was later finished in their home city of Beirut. The five tracks are built on vibrant circuits of guitar and modular synthesis, the former often acting as a trigger for the latter’s volatile output.
Chamoun’s vocals blend her background in classical Arabic music with free-singing, using tradition as a foundation for exploration rather than standards to follow. Apart from “Hayawanon Ghader (treacherous animal)”, all the songs’ lyrics pull from the archive. Opener “Tahal Layl” interprets a Bedouin folk song. “Bihali” is based on a tenth century poem by Abou Firas Al-Hamdani. “Al Moulatham” quotes an Instagram post by Yousef Al-Domouky about the war in Gaza. “Al Samaa” uses a text from contemporary Lebanese poet Paul Chaoul. “I’m working with my references, and with the music,” explains Chamoun. “It’s a playful place with my history and now.”
WATCH a video excerpt by Nour Ouayda
About the album’s title, Chamoun explains: “On this planet, the only thing that’s happening now is treachery. It’s the headline of our days.” Terror in Gaza, its shockwaves through the Middle-East and its place in longer histories loom over the record. However, while Ghadr reflects the present moment, it isn’t consumed by it. The trio agree the album reflects tenderness as much as anger. It’s audible in the effortless swings between abstract and soaring. The way Chamoun’s lyrics put ninth century odes to a bird and ancient Bedouin love songs next to personal reflections by Al-Domouky or Chaoul on real world tragedies.
Sonically and lyrically Ghadr is music of possibility and potential. The five tracks travel through unbounded terrain rather than along fixed paths. “I don’t like to pull the listener in one direction,” Chamoun continues. “You need to play with your imagination and not stick to one story and one meaning.” While the record reflects their state of mind as residents of Lebanon, and the uncertainty that entails, Sahyoun suggests they’re striving to reach beyond it. “We try to access parts of our subconscious and see what dimensions it has outside of what we’re witnessing day to day. When we play, there’s a rhythm between the three of us. We feel each other sway,”
Ghadr is the first release under the name Chamoun/Sahyoun/Atoui, but the trio’s connection is deeply rooted. Sahyoun and Chamoun are members of ecstatic rock collective Sanam. Atoui and Sahyoun’s explorations of synthesis, solo and as NP, are long-running. On Ghadr these histories form something new. A charged record which faces the world as it is while offering glimpses of something else.
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. Marmalsana [Burkhard Beins, Tony Elieh & Maurice Louca] – Inundo
2. Youmna Saba – Akaleel
3. Yara Asmar – Are These Your Hands? Would You Like Them Back? (With Majd Chidiac)
4. Marmalsana [Burkhard Beins, Tony Elieh & Maurice Louca] – Alveno
“Poppies in October” is a collection of poetry and music that questions and explores matters of language, violence, and the intertwined fates of Palestine and Lebanon, with particular focus on the now almost-year-long Genocide in Gaza.
SHATR COLLECTIVE is donating all proceeds from the sales of this album to ULYP Gaza Student Emergency Fund, supporting Gazan medical students. Please consider giving what you can (more info at the link below).
The brainchild of Sarah Huneidi, Nadine Makarem, and Theresa Sahyoun, Shatr Collective aims to excite, maintain, and nurture the culture of poetry in Beirut, and showcase modes of expression where poetics are allowed to flourish.
Poppies in October (borrowed from Sylvia Plath’s eponymous poem) joins traditional and popular Palestinian literature with texts written by Sahyoun and Makarem, set to an original soundtrack by Huneidi.
The written works are a tribute to the survivors and martyrs of the genocide in Gaza. Most of the texts were conceived and written in times of heightened emotion and barely underwent any editing process.
The music is a merger of original production and sound clips from historical, literary & media sources, with the intent to encapsulate the chaos of the passing days amid a context of defiance and tragedy.
Currently available on digital platforms and Ruptured’s Bandcamp page as a pay-as-you-will album. Donate as generously as you can.
Recorded by Anthony Sahyoun at Tunefork Studios, Beirut, Lebanon. Produced by Anthony Sahyoun & Shatr Collective. SHATR artwork and album design by Farah Fayyad.
Ziad Nawfal’s monthly broadcast for Radio Alhara in Bethlehem, Palestine — playing Lebanese musician & producer Fadi Tabbal’s latest album in full, along with a selection of some of his recent production work.
Track List:
FADI TABBAL — I RECOGNIZE YOU FROM MY SKETCHES
1. (keep beating)
2. Absence or death
3. Oh Heart!
4. Oh heart, are you burning
5. All those nights
6. You were right
7. (keep pumping)
8. When we swam together
9. (keep thumping)
10. I am all that is left
+
11. Snakeskin (Julia Sabra & Fadi Tabbal) – Snakeskin
12. Elyse Tabet – Sequel / live to tell (with Nadine Makarem)
13. Charbel Haber & Fadi Tabbal – La certitude de l’aube
14. Charbel Haber, Joseph Ghosn, Fadi Tabbal – In A Technicolor Dream, You and I Were Floating in The Caspian Sea
15. Mayssa Jallad – Holiday Inn March 21 to 29
16. Postcards – Coins (with Sary Moussa)
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.
Charbel Haber & Fadi Tabbal- Enfin La Nuit
Postcards- Fall From Grace (unreleased)
Marc Codsi – The Wait
Interbellum – Flotsam
Mayssa Jallad – Kharita
Marwan Tohme – To Begin Again (unreleased)
Yara Asmar – Come Back Later
Fadi Tabbal – You Were Right (unreleased)
Anthony Sahyoun – Untitled (unreleased)
Snakeskin – In Our Garden
Farah Kaddour – Khuzama (unreleased)
Youmna Saba – Akaleel
Charif Megarbane – Souk el Ahad
Sary Moussa & Charbel Haber – An Atom of Your Love
Ruptured Music 