We released A Separation From Habit by Joy Moughanni on cassette in April 2025. It now returns on vinyl.
Limited to 200 copies. 50 are available via our Bandcamp page. The rest will travel with Joy on his upcoming tour.
Built from archival tape recordings (1975–1985) by Georges Tarazi, alongside radio fragments and electronic processing, the album moves through conflict and memory, without offering resolution.
Named one of The Quietus Albums of the Year 2025 (#48).
Two new compilations have just been released by our friends at Tunefork Studios and Beirut Synth Center, bringing together a vast cross-section of musicians and artists from Beirut and beyond.
At a moment when Israeli bombing and military escalation have once again forced mass displacement across southern Lebanon, this project gathers work from artists across generations and scenes, to raise funds for grassroots aid supporting those who have been pushed from their homes.
The list of contributors speaks for itself: Bachar Mar-Khalife, Julia Sabra, Mayssa Jallad, Postcards, Charif Megarbane, Yasmine Hamdan, Zeid Hamdan, Mazen Kerbaj, Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, Sary Moussa, Faten Kanaan, Mary Lattimore with Pascal Semerdjian & Fadi Tabbal, and many more. It genuinely feels like everyone who matters in Beirut’s musical landscape is present here, alongside close friends and collaborators from further afield.
Sales from the compilation go to Beit Aam and other local initiatives working directly with displaced families in Beirut and the South.
We live in sand is the 3rd album from SNAKESKIN, the Beirut-based duo of Julia Sabra and Fadi Tabbal.
Written in October 2024, just as Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza fully spread to Lebanon and finally reached Beirut, the album is their darkest and rawest yet, exploring what it feels like to wait, to love, to grieve, and to keep living while the world falls apart. Pairing Tabbal’s masterful production with Sabra’s vivid imagery and evocative singing, the duo, as Resident Advisor put it, mines “deep emotional depths by tempering dream pop’s sweet-natured reverie with experimental snarl.” Bearing witness to impossible events, We live in sand is a complex and nuanced work, balancing forward-thinking pop sensibilities with relentless realism and a poetic spirit of empathy.
Composed, performed and produced by Julia Sabra and Fadi Tabbal between Beirut and Bern. Lyrics by Julia Sabra. Drum samples by Pascal Semerdjian.
Mixed by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh at Hotel2Tango, Montreal. Mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering, Montreal.
Album art, band portrait, and “October sun” video by Mohamad Abdouni. Design by Josette Khalil.
This album is the third volume in the Corrosion Series, a collaborative effort by Beacon Sound in Portland and Ruptured in Beirut.
PREFACES RETURN WITH ‘ACQUA MARINA’ – A SUN-DRUNK, HAUNTED GUITAR ALBUM FOR OFF-SEASON BEACHES
Out 15 August 2025 via Ruptured and Hisstology
Beirut-based trio Prefaces return with Acqua Marina, a luminous and melancholic new album that conjures the empty beach clubs and concrete shorelines of Lebanon’s coastline. Out 15 August 2025 via Ruptured and Hisstology Records (vinyl + digital), the album marks the band’s second full-length release—following their 2021 debut Hippodrome.
Prefaces is composed of Charif Megarbane (Cosmic Analog Ensemble, Habibi Funk), Salim Naffah (Alko B), and Pascal Semerdjian (Postcards, SANAM)—three key players in Lebanon’s independent and experimental music scenes. On Acqua Marina, the trio distills elements of surf rock, Mediterranean psych, and vintage library music, while weaving in the modal turns and rhythms of the Levant.
Where Hippodrome emerged from a spirit of improvisation and spontaneity, Acqua Marina is more deliberate in tone and form. The album was recorded at Tunefork Studios in Beirut and shaped around recurring imagery: abandoned pools, tiled corridors, rusting gates, and the strange beauty of deserted resort towns. Lead single “Marmoura” captures that sensibility with reverb-laced guitar melodies and a gently hypnotic rhythm, drawing the listener into Prefaces’ submerged world.
Acqua Marina speaks in coastal dialects both real and imagined. Fans of Khruangbin, Allah-Las, Omar Khorshid, Ennio Morricone, or Megarbane’s own Cosmic Analog Ensemble will find plenty to explore in its currents.
The album is released on limited edition vinyl and digital formats, with artwork that mirrors the album’s themes of faded glamour and seasonal drift.
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.
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.
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)
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
“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 وِشاح 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/
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 وِشاح 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
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