Press Review // Charbel Haber // May a soft sun bless your sky while you wait for the inevitable

Acclaim for May a soft sun bless your sky while you wait for the inevitable, the latest album by Lebanese experimental musician Charbel Haber, released by Ruptured in April 2026.

“So, it’s a journey. In music and stories, those usually go from darkness to light, or from and then back to home. As the album proceeds through tracks like “One last stroll in the garden of light,” it becomes a journey without a map—a quest for a place that may be safe and, if not that, then still; and if not that, then maybe a place where one can take a breath and think clearly.” – George Grella, Bandcamp ALBUM OF THE DAY https://charbelhaber.bandcamp.com/album/may-a-soft-sun-bless-your-sky-while-you-wait-for-the-inevitable

“An utterly gorgeous minimalist ambient/classical/record from this Lebanese producer is as gentle and moving as a sunrise.” – Bandcamp New & Notable, 24 Apr. 2026

“At times, Haber’s music evokes the cinematic post-rock of bands like Sigur Rós and Explosions in the Sky, but his latest full-length is neither as chilly as the former nor as grandiose as the latter. May a soft sun bless your sky while you wait for the inevitable may cast its gaze toward the heavens, but with its inherent warmth, not to mention the softly crackling static that is present pretty much throughout the record, it’s an effort that crucially still feels very human.” – Shawn Reynaldo via Substack https://firstfloor.substack.com/p/charbel-haber-may-a-soft-sun-bless

‘May a soft sun bless your sky while you wait for the inevitable’ is an unhurried uncompromising piece of musical narrative. Charbel Haber has composed in essence a long form communication which needs to be experienced as a whole. It’s not a superficial mindfulness soundtrack but something ultimately more revealing, told through the lens of experience.” – John Parry, Backseat Mafia https://www.backseatmafia.com/album-review-charbel-haber-may-a-soft-sun-bless-your-sky-while-you-wait-for-the-inevitable-a-serene-ambient-soundtrack-of-beauty-and-bewilderment/

“The album reveals itself as a series of inner reflections, with the listener entering mid-thought. The tracks arrive without defined beginnings or endings, like suspended sonic scenes already in motion before we encounter them. Loops stretch and erode over time—beautiful, luminous, yet almost always clouded by uncertainty. “One last stroll in the garden of light” offers a strong example: bright and inviting, with sharp ornamentations rising from within the drones to catch the light, before the drones and fragmented passages pull it back toward darkness.” – Mohammed Ashraf, Ma3azef https://bit.ly/4eqjpHj

“Between futuristic promise, morbid surrealism, and tender melancholy, an atmosphere arises that feels both otherworldly and fragile. Tracks like “This show starts in the future,” “One last stroll in the garden of light,” “I stutter when I speak of love and death,” and “The unfortunate meeting of an accident and the goddess of time on a dissecting table”—the latter a reference to Louis Aragon and simultaneously to the legendary debut of Nurse With Wound—evoke a floating theater of images in which time, form, and memory merge into one another.” – Uwe Schneider, African Paper https://africanpaper.com/2026/05/02/charbel-haber-may-a-soft-sun-bless-your-sky-while-you-wait-for-the-inevitable/

“The gentleness of Charbel Haber’s new album conceals emotions and places, offering a renewed way of inhabiting the world in times of war and exile. The cover artwork, by Ali Cherri, resonates deeply—its correspondences are striking, unsettling, and never forgetful.” – Joseph Ghosn via Substack https://substack.com/@josephghosn/

“The album’s sonic architecture is deeply tied to its conceptual concerns. Loops evolve like consciousness itself—constantly updating, feeding back into their own transformations. Death is not treated as an event but as a horizon: something that shapes the trajectory of the sound without ever fully arriving. This gives the music its peculiar tension—slow, restrained, yet always moving toward an unseen endpoint.” – A Closer Listen https://acloserlisten.com/2026/04/22/charbel-haber-may-a-soft-sun-bless-your-sky-while-you-wait-for-the-inevitable/

“The severity of war – Lebanese musician Charbel Haber”: album review by Arndt Peltner for Deutschlandfunk Kultur https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/die-schwere-des-krieges-der-libanesische-musiker-charbel-haber-100.html

“Loops, modular bits, soft melodies, no-wave grit and spiritual jazz glow all drifting about together. Beautiful, sad, hopeful and gently massive. Wee existential croissant of a record.” – First Press https://www.firstpressvinyl.com/release/1777910513/charbel-haber-may-a-soft-sun-bless-your-sky-while-you-wait-for-the-inevitable

“Here warbling, tinny guitar samples float between cavernous drone and what sounds like a chorus of angels, recalling some of Jefre Cantu-Ledesma’s early drone work.” – Graham Latham, anything / everything newsletter https://anything-everything.ghost.io/mad-enough-to-stay/

Pacific Notions broadcast with Alex Ruder on KEXP: https://www.kexp.org/shows/pacific-notions/?stream_time=1777813320

Included in ‘Reverie’ playlist by TIDAL: https://tidal.com/playlist/62eb0635-1bc6-4043-b564-f5f054dab918


Listen/Order


Ziad Nawfal Guest Mix for Movement Radio 04 // 14 January 2021

Ziad Nawfal’s 4th monthly mix for Movement Radio in Athens – featuring music from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Denmark, Canada and the USA. This mix was commissioned and produced by Onassis Cultural Center, and presented for the first time in the frame of MOVEMENT RADIO.

1. “A” Trio – b [LB]
2. Karkhana – Rock Farock [LB/EG/TR/CA/US]
3. Ilvy – Jonestown [LB]
4. Fadi Tabbal – Ceremony By The Sea [LB]
5. Al Mothlath – Dead Traveler [SY]
6. Abdullah Miniawy & HVAD – The Dirty Canes Lake [EG/DK]
7. Ismael – I Was So [EG]
8. Muudra – Hemshin Breath [SY]
9. Bikya – Sherif [EG]
10. Al Nather – Su3ad [PS]
11. Khan El Rouh – Mount Qaf [SY]
12. Bakisa – Tempiii [LB]
13. El Far3i – Tazkara wo Jawazain [JO]
14. El Rass – نفَس [LB]



Photo by Nour Raad

Ziad Nawfal DJ Mix for Morphine x Beirut // 17 October 2020

The full, unedited version of Ziad Nawfal’s DJ set for the Morphine x Beirut fundraiser, organized by Morphine Records in Berlin, in collaboration with Irtijal, Ruptured, Frequent Defect, The Ballroom Blitz, Unsound and CTM:

1. Jerusalem In My Heart – A Granular Buzuk (feat. Sharif Sehnaoui) [LB]
2. Kid Fourteen – One Day I’m Gone [LB]
3. PanSTARRS – Khally Balak Hatmoot [EG]
4. MAKH – Abstract [LB]
5. Jad Atoui – Alpha 60 [LB]
6. Radiokvm – Aristophanes*213 [LB]
7. Monolake – Beirut [DE]
8. Morphosis – Wild in Captivity [LB]
9. Liliane Chlela – 2022 [LB]
10. DJ Haram – Overeager [US]
11. Aya Metwalli – Matkhafsh Menni [EG]
12. Rise 1969 – 3Jane Tessier-Ashpool [LB]
13. Lumi – To the Shore [LB]


Ruptured News // MUSIC RELIEF FOR BEIRUT #4: Amman, Beirut, Tunis

In the aftermath of the August 4th explosion in Beirut, which left several hundred people dead, thousands injured, and resulted in city-wide material damage, several labels and platforms have started releasing compilations in support of the crisis.

Grief Into Rage: A Compilation for Beirut is a 36-track compilation by Jordanian label Grief Into Rage, aiming to raise funds in support of Beirut and its inhabitants. 100% of the compilation’s profits will be donated to the Lebanese Red Cross and Tunefork Studios’ Beirut Musicians’ Fund. Notable contributors include Arabs with Synthesizers and Asifeh.

Buy Grief Into Rage here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


System Revival Recordings put together System Revival: For Beirut, The End Of Corruption as a fundraiser for the people of Beirut. 100% of the compilation’s proceeds will go directly to support organizations on the ground in Beirut. Notable contributors to this lengthy 31-track collection include Kujo, Legowelt, MAKH, NP (the duo of Anthony Sahyoun and Jad Atoui), Nur Jaber, Safa and Yasmine Hamdan.

Buy For Beirut, The End Of Corruption here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Ma3azef teamed up with New York-based mastering engineer Heba Kadry to curate a compilation of new and unreleased material from regional and international musicians, entitled Nisf Madeena (half city). All proceeds from the compilation’s sales are going to local initiatives working to provide assistance on the ground in Beirut, namely AFAC’s Fundraising Campaign for the Arts and Culture Community, Tunefork Studios’ Beirut Musicians’ Fund, and Beit el Baraka. The 17-track compilation includes contributions by Nicolás Jaar, Zuli, Aya Metwalli, Fatima Al Qadiri, Deena Abdelwahed and Marc Codsi.

Buy Nisf Madeena here.