Ruptured News // Postcards European tour // Sept.-Oct. 2025

September 11, 2025September 12, 2025NewsLeave a Comment

Sep 18 Brussels, Belgium – Studio Marcel Delcourt / Toaster, Ixelles @ 7:00 PM
Sep 19 Holzminden, Germany – Horstberg @ 8:00 PM
Sep 20 Offenbach Am Main, Germany – Hafen 2 @ 8:00 PM
Sep 22 Berlin, Germany – Kantine am Berghain @ 8:00 PM
Sep 23 Kiel, Germany – hansa48 @ 8:00 PM
Sep 24 Dresden, Germany – Ostpol @ 9:00 PM
Sep 25 Thu Neu-ulm, Germany – GOLD @ 8:00 PM
Sep 26 Schorndorf, Germany – Club Manufaktur e. V. @ 8:30 PM
Sep 27 Dachau, Germany – Old cinema of the KKD @ 7:30 PM
Sep 28 Karlsruhe, Germany – Kohi cultural area e.V. @ 8:00 PM
Sep 30 Bern, Switzerland – ONO – Das Kulturlokal @ 8:00 PM
Oct 2 Kreuzlingen, Switzerland – Apollo Kreuzlingen @ 8:00 PM
Oct 4 Paris, France – Folia @ 8:00 PM
Oct 9 Nantes, France – Stereolux @ 8:00 PM

RIPE: Listen/Order

Ruptured Album Release // VARIOUS ARTISTS // The Dome Sessions

June 15, 2025September 3, 2025NewsLeave a Comment

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.

Wassila Abboud, December 2024

THE DOME SESSIONS: Listen/Order here

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.

Watch the promotional trailer by Firas El Hallak

Ruptured News // SANAM members with Jessica Moss + Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at HOTEL2TANGO // 23+24 June 2025

June 5, 2025August 21, 2025NewsLeave a Comment

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

Tickets can be purchased HERE.

NIGHT 1 – MONDAY, JUNE 23

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.

Press Review // Postcards // Ripe

May 5, 2025May 6, 2025Press ArchiveLeave a Comment

Acclaim for Ripe, the latest album by Lebanese shoegaze trio Postcards, released by Ruptured in April 2025:

“On a foundation of what many would consider shoegaze and dream-pop, while the band has moved sonically with each release, the Postcards remit has been held together by the emotive storytelling of Sabra, and on Ripe it reaches a crescendo. Fraught with tension and the chaos that overshadows everyday life in Lebanon, Postcards frame it through song; and while you can certainly draw a line to this in previous works, on Ripe the band are at their all-encompassing best, reaching new levels.” – Simon Kirk, Sun-13 https://sun-13.com/2025/03/27/the-long-road-in-conversation-with-postcards-julia-sabra-pascal-semerdjian/#more-27934

“If previous Postcards albums were drenched in reverb-soaked melancholy, Ripe is what happens when that sadness curdles into fury. It is an album of contradictions: lush but raw, defiant yet wounded, intimate while also sounding like the collapse of a city.” – Chain DLK
https://www.chaindlk.com/reviews/12752

“Postcards channel this violence into their music, crafting dreamlike landscapes where guitars cut through the canvas like blades. Ripe is born from pain and uncertainty, an album of defiance that blends brutality and vulnerability, noise and melody. Like a lighthouse in the fog, it searches (in vain?) for a possible way out.” – Ondarock
https://www.ondarock.it/recensioni/2025-postcards-ripe.htm

“This is the soundtrack of burning youth, cigarettes over cityscapes, and late-night existential spirals. With the current situation in Gaza and Lebanon, the album takes on an even deeper resonance, its rawness mirroring the heartbreak, rage, and resilience of a region constantly on edge.” – Scene Noise
https://scenenoise.com/New-Music/Postcards-Ripe-Is-a-Love-Hate-Letter-to-Beirut

“A project of sharp contrasts and blinding sweetness, Postcards manage to sound both angelic and nervy, shifting seamlessly between storm-like intensity and moments of pure, hushed beauty (…) Ripe is a rare surprise — an album that sustains curiosity with substance, style, and flashes of emotional clarity across its ten tracks.” – Sodapop
https://www.sodapop.it/phnx/postcards-ripe-ruptured-t3-2025/

“A darker, more punk-infused take on shoegaze.” – CDM
https://cdm.link/postcards-from-lebanon-telling-the-worlds-story/

“Until now, the band was known for its mesmerizing blend of dreampop and shoegaze, carried by Julia Sabra’s airy voice floating over layers of synths. But with *Ripe*, the guitars storm into the space with fury. The trio’s sound becomes sharper, more cutting. The drums gallop, Marwan Tohme’s bass rumbles, and from this turmoil emerges a refrain that haunts the album’s opening track, ‘I Stand Corrected,’ echoing like a mantra throughout the record: ‘Destroy, rebuild, you know the drill.” – Djolo Cultures d’Afrique https://djolo.net/ripe-5eme-album-postcards-ne-dans-colere/

“A recent batch of new material from the Beirut label Ruptured just arrived at the shop. And though it is a challenge to single out just one release, my heart keeps returning to the fifth album from shoegaze trio Postcards. Ripe fills each gushing moment of this album with devastating imagery of smoldering buildings, poisoned blood, and barren shorelines. A challenging, shattering, necessary listen.” – Robert Ham, For The Record https://www.wweek.com/music/2025/04/22/for-the-record/

“On previous releases, we heard echoes of various influences, but on Ripe, the band’s own voice comes through more clearly—the album’s title couldn’t have been better chosen. Ripe is a beautifully balanced record with a sound that leaves a lasting impression. Singer/guitarist Julia Sabra soothes at times with her warm, gentle voice, but she can also unleash its full power, perfectly complementing the driving rhythm section of drummer Pascal Semerdjian and bassist/guitarist Marwan Tohme.” – Luminous Dash https://luminousdash.be/reviews/postcards-ripe-ruptured-t3-records/#google_vignette

Adventures in Sound & Music x Resonance FM broadcast by Shane Woolman for The Wire Magazine: https://shanewoolman.uk/ana-lua-caiano-guest-mix/

Utility Fog broadcast on FBi Radio by Peter Hollo: https://www.fbi.radio/programs/utility-fog/episodes/utility-fog-16th-march-2025

Featured in Premonition broadcast: https://www.premo.fr/transmission/Deux-Cent-Trente-Septieme-Tentative/237

Listen/Order

Ruptured Album Release // POSTCARDS // Ripe

March 6, 2025March 6, 2025NewsLeave a Comment

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 with guest JULIA SABRA // 06 January 2024

February 1, 2024January 27, 2024Music ShowsLeave a Comment

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
Sanam – Ya Nass
Sam The Dog – Pulling It Off (unreleased)

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

October 5, 2023October 9, 2023NewsLeave a Comment

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

Ruptured Album Release // MAYSSA JALLAD // Marjaa: The Battle Of The Hotels

April 21, 2023September 17, 2023NewsLeave a Comment

Releasing March 3rd, 2023 on Ruptured Records:
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.

“Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels” is a concept album born of the idea of merging singer/songwriter Mayssa Jallad’s two vocations: music and urban research/architectural history. Written in collaboration with producer Fadi Tabbal, the music builds upon Tabbal’s spatial approach to sound and Jallad’s research on Beirut’s Hotel District.
The album is a reference to Jallad’s Historic Preservation master’s thesis, in which she detailed the history of the “Battle of the Hotels”, a 5-months battle that took place in Beirut at the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War, from October 22nd, 1975 to March 29th, 1976.
Jallad saw architecture as a main protagonist of the battle, as she discovered it was the first high rise urban battle in the world. The close of the battle resulted in the 15-year Green Line, an urban rift which split Beirut into “East and West”, restricting movement and communication and creating a violent divide that still resonates today.
“Marjaa” comprises two parts. Part A: Dahaliz, is a stroll in the city, where Jallad tries (and fails) to follow an old map. Musician Youmna Saba is a companion in this journey of remembering the once winding corridors (“Dahaliz”) of the city, destroyed by new developments since the 1960s. Empty skyscrapers propel her onto a past filled with the violence of snipers, and a present filled with the glamorous injustice of empty luxury real estate endorsed by powerful warlords-turned-politicians.
In Part B: Maaraka, Jallad inhabits the building of the Battle of the Hotels, as its events unfold. She calls the fighting militias the Blues and Reds, respectively the Lebanese Front (Christian Nationalists) and the Lebanese National Movement (Pro-Palestinian leftists), leveling the playing field, and drawing a map of the battle through songwriting. Sary Moussa produces the conclusion of the battle in “Holiday Inn (March 21 to 29)”, which ends with the ultimate severance of the city of Beirut.
The music caters to post-war youth who have never been taught this difficult history. Once we consider the “Battle of the Hotels” as our common heritage, it provides an opportunity to teach the value of civil peace. It is also a call to protest for the renewal, rather than the recycling of the political class that has once destroyed the country and holds us, to this day, hostage of its violence.

Featuring Youmna Saba, Marwan Tohme, Pascal Semerdjian, Julia Sabra, Farah Kaddour, Sary Moussa, Yara Asmar and Fadi Tabbal.

Available as a digital album and limited edition vinyl LP (in collaboration with Six of Swords in the UK).

Listen/Order here

WATCH the video for Markaz Azraq (December 6).

READ Brad Rose’s interview with Mayssa Jallad in Foxy Digitalis.

READ Christina Hazboun’s album review in Bandcamp.

READ Maha El Nabawy’s album review in SceneNoise.

(2021 end-of-year lists) – POSTCARDS

December 26, 2021January 2, 2022ChartsLeave a Comment

It’s been a while (five good years actually) since we’ve done this, and so we’ve gone ahead and asked the musicians whom we worked with this year in some respect or other, to tell us about their favorite albums of 2021.

POSTCARDS

– Anthony Sahyoun: Proof Of Infinite Descent
– Kinematik: Ensemble 1: Al Jadi
– Juana Molina: Segundo (21st Anniversary)
– Dolphin Midwives: Body of Water
– Beach House: Once Twice Melody
– Grouper: Shade
– Jessica Moss: Phosphenes
– Ben Shemie: 303 Diary
– Squid: Bright Green Field
– Low: HEY WHAT

KOZO // Interview // 02 September 2019

September 9, 2019June 14, 2024Live On AirLeave a Comment

Lebanese post-rock quintet Kozo were the guests of Ruptures in the studios of Radio Liban 96.2FM, for an interview covering their musical influences, as well as the recording and production of their first album Tokyo Metabolist Syndrome.

Listen:

Track listing:
1. Kozo
2. Kozo
3. Battles feat. Matias Aguayo
4. Tortoise
5. Death Grips
6. Brockhampton
7. Panda Bear
8. Kanye West feat. Justin Vernon
9. Do Make Say Think
10. My Bloody Valentine
11. Kozo